5 Ways to Make Your Walk with the Lord New and Different

Ok, I just got this email from the BolderBoulder organizers.  The BolderBoulder, in Boulder, Colorado, is one of the coolest 10k races ever.  Almost 60,000 people run this race each year.

In this ad promoting the 5 Ways to make my 2012 race new and different, I see 5 ways you (and I) can make our walk with the Lord new and different.

1. Go for a personal record.  

God expects us to grow in our faith, to mature, and to bear fruit.  Are you?  God loves us regardless of our performance, but it brings Him pleasure to see us growing up in Him.

2. Slow down and enjoy the view.

God stopped at the end of creation and rested.  Jesus stopped in the midst of his ministry…often, and rested.  One of the best things we can do to improve our walk with the Lord is to slow down, or stop altogether, and enjoy the view.

3. Plan out your 2012 year with regular weekly attendance at church as a jumping-off point.

How are you doing on that new year’s resolution to go to church more regularly?  Unless you’re a physical freak of nature you can’t just show up to run a race like the BolderBoulder without having trained. Ideally, to run a 10 k, you need to start training a couple of months before the race–running 20-30 miles a week.  But then, as the race organizers know, once you’re in shape for a race like the BolderBoulder you might as well stay in shape.  Regular weekly attendance with a local church makes it easier to keep attending regularly (because it becomes a habit and you develop spiritual “muscle memory”) and gives one ample opportunities to maintain and grow even stronger spiritually.

4. Mentor a new runner.

I expect the leaders with whom I work to reproduce themselves so my team and I are intentional about mentoring.  I know that ministry can–just like running a 10k–be very intimidating.  In fact, getting into ministry–just like running a 10k–can be so intimidating that one may decide that it’s too difficult of a venture to even start.  Understanding that, I–just like the organizers of the BolderBoulder–am very intentional about mentoring new young “runners”.

You and I should also do the same with new Christians.  It’s called discipleship and it’s the key–just like training for and running a 10k–to finishing this race we call being a follower of Christ.

5. Run with friends and family. 

Our first ministry is to our families.  What are you doing to be intentional about discipling your friends and family?  My son is a runner and wants to run the BolderBoulder for the first time this year.  I’ve done it, so I know what it takes to finish the race and–if we decide that it’s in the budget–I will run it with him, at his pace, so that we can cross the line together.

Since I’ve never run the BolderBoulder with him, and he’s never run it at all, crossing the line together would be new and different for both of us.

I just want to cross the line into glory with my friends and family, because crossing from this world into glory with my friends and family would be–unlike training for, running, and finishing the 2012 BolderBoulder–truly new and different.

 

Get Real

Recently I was asked to explain what I meant when I spoke about being “real,” so I wrote this.

Of Christians and the Church, one of my heroes, Deitrich Bonhoeffer said:

We have been silent witnesses of evil deeds; we have been drenched by many storms; we have learnt the arts of equivocation and pretense; experience has made us suspicious of others and kept us from being truthful and open; intolerable conflicts have worn us down and even made us cynical. Are we still of any use? What we shall need is not geniuses, or cynics, or misanthropes, or clever tacticians, but plain, honest, straightforward men. Will our inward power of resistance be strong enough, and our honesty with ourselves remorseless enough, for us to find our way back to simplicity and straightforwardness?
–Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Reckoning made at New Year 1943

An authentic life is a powerful life.

Too many people have bought into the lie, “If people really know you then they won’t really like you.” So they hide their pain, fear, doubts, and insecurities behind a façade and doom themselves to a shallow existence in which broken hearts are hidden, pain is ignored, and potential loved ones are kept at arm’s distance.

Alcoholics Anonymous has been unbelievably successful in healing people struggling with alcohol addiction by requiring authenticity. Each meeting starts with members confessing, “My name is Joe and I am an alcoholic.” “My name is Beth and I am an alcoholic.” “My name is . . . and I’m an alcoholic.” This is a difficult, but essential confession for anyone who truly wants to be healed.

For true healing to occur the mask must come off. The hypocrisy must end.

The problem cannot be healed until the problem is confessed.

As a minister I’ve dealt with hurting people on a weekly basis for many years. I anticipate our Sunday morning services for many reasons, not the least of which is the opportunity for people to get real with each other and with God. But it happens every week despite our best intentions.

Each Sunday in our Church and in Churches around the world Christians wake up to the same serious problems that non-Christians have. Determined to persevere, they get ready, drive to Church, park their car, and resume the game. The “I don’t have a care in the world” mask goes on before they get out of the car, and as they walk through the doors of the church the game begins.

If I could, I would start each Sunday morning worship service by requiring each member to stand and get real.
“My name is Mike and I’m afraid of losing my job.”
“My name is Mary and I can’t pay my bills.”
“My name is Jennifer and I don’t understand why my teenaged daughter won’t talk to me.”
“My name is Adam and I’m afraid I’m going to die.”
“My name is Teresa and I don’t like myself.”
“My name is Javier and I have no idea of how to be a good father, because my dad left us when I was five.”
“My name is Lori and my heart is broken.”
“My name is Peter and I’m depressed.”
“My name is Rebecca and my husband just left me for another woman.”
“My name is Robert and I’m addicted to pornography.”
“My name is Arron and I want you to like me.”

Since we are imperfect humans living in a fallen world, we all eventually encounter pain, problems, failures, doubt, and fear. We can choose to deny life’s problems and hide them behind a forced smile, a wink, and empty words:
“I’m doing great. How ‘bout you?”
“Couldn’t be better!”
“Can’t complain.”
Or, we can get real and admit that since we are not God we could use some help and, in getting real—we will unleash a revival that will transform our lives, our churches, and our communities.

ESPN’s Stuart Scott on Tim Tebow’s Scriptural Eyeblack

I just read a really interesting comment by Stuart Scott of ESPN in this month’s issue of ESPN The Magazine about Tim Tebow’s use of scriptures on his eyeblack.  It was in reply to a question he received in his chat room.

Dave (Bethesda, Md.): What’s with the Bible citations on Tim Tebow’s eyeblack, Stu? If I were a player and had “There is” written on one side of my face and “no God” on the other, would that be okay?

Stuart Scott:  Dave, if that what you want to do, I don’t care. But Tim and I and billions of other believers in the world know you’d be wrong.  I’ve seen the workings of God many times in my life, like when my two daughters were born.  If you don’t believe in God, watch a child be born.  Then if you still say you don’t believe in God, that’s okay. The thing is, I think He’ll watch over you anyway!

Two of My Favorite People Together in Nashville: Tim Tebow and Coach Don Meyer

If you’re in the Nashville area, you might want to check this out.

Tim Tebow to headline Don Meyer Evening of Excellence April 17

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (January 11, 2010) — Former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow will be the featured speaker at Lipscomb University’s Second Annual Don Meyer Evening of Excellence, Director of Athletics Philip Hutcheson recently announced.

The event is set for April 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Lipscomb’s Allen Arena. Tebow’s appearance at Lipscomb is just five days before the National Football League 2010 draft.

“Tim Tebow is an outstanding athlete who has boldly lived out his faith both on and off the playing field. He is passionate about expressing his faith, and is the model of the type of student-athlete that we would hope all of our athletes would aspire to be. We are thrilled he is coming to Lipsomb and are certain his message is someone that we can all learn from,” said Hutcheson.

Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 as a sophomore and was a finalist in 2008 and 2009, has made his mark on the college football record books. He is the only player in NCAA history to rush and pass for at least 20 touchdowns in a season, and led his team to two national championships. In the 2010 Sugar Bowl, Tebow’s last college game, he had 533 yards of total offense — a record for a Bowl Championship Series game. Tebow has received numerous honors including the Sullivan Award, the Davey O’Brien Award, the Maxwell Award, the Manning Award, the William V. Campbell Trophy and being named Southeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009.

Known for wearing eye black that references Bible verses, Tebow spends much of his time off the field participating in mission and service work. He often spends his summers on missions for his father’s ministry that has taken him to locations such as the Philippines, Croatia and Thailand. He is also passionate about ministering to those in prison, schools and hospitals.

“I love doing it, and it’s something I’m very passionate about,” Tebow told a USA Today reporter last summer about his missionary work. “Doing those things, taking my platform as a football player and using it to be an influence and change peoples’ lives — that’s more important than football to me.”

The Don Meyer Evening of Excellence is an annual athletic fundraising event named after long-time Lipscomb University men’s basketball coach Don Meyer who impacted the lives of countless thousands while at the helm of the Bisons.  Meyer, the winningest men’s collegiate basketball coach of all-time, was involved in a life-changing car accident on Sept. 5, 2008 that led to eight surgeries and the amputation of his left leg below the knee. He was subsequently diagnosed with cancer in his liver and small intestine.  Meyer was awarded the “Jimmy V Award for Perseverance” from ESPN at the ESPY Awards in July 2009.

Tickets go on sale January 25th.

www.lipscombsports.com

Thanks to You and the Tebow Brothers

I love this blog and I love interacting with you.  I love your comments, your insights, your questions, and your wisdom.

I’m busy this morning trying to finish the last chapter of my next book (which is due to the publisher on Monday), but I had to pause and thank you for reading my blog.

As of this morning, my blog has had almost 3,500  visitors this month.  This is a record . . . and very humbling.  I thought only my Mom was reading my blog!

In case you’re interested . . .

These are the top posts from this month (with view counts): 

 

Seven Reasons Why Living Together Before	260
J4 on the Early Show This Morning!	103
A Few of My Favorite Quotes	61
Fireproof Message Video	60
Inspirational Story of Faith, Hope and L	50

The most viewed post I’ve ever written is the one on Robby Tebow with 306 views.  Who would’ve guessed there were that many Gator fans out there with the ability to read?   Go Vols!  (You all know I really like and respect the Tebows.  I just gotta keep it real!)

I’m so grateful for you.  Thanks for stopping by on a regular basis.

Stay in touch and I’ll keep trying to write things that inspire, encourage, motivate, challenge, and bless you, my friends.

You’ve surely blessed me and I’m so grateful.

Tim Tebow returns for senior season

I’m not a University of Florida Gators fan, by any stretch of the imagination. 

That being said, Tim Tebow is The Man.

Wow!  This guy is such a great role model for young people.

This weekend he announced–in dramatic fashion–that he’s coming back to UF for his senior season.

Tim has his priorities straight. 

He may not have been a 1st round NFL pick this year–and been offered millions in 1st round signing bonuses by an NFL team–but he still was sure to make a ton of money from a good salary and the many endorsement deals he would surely receive as a professional football player.  Even so, he’s going to finish what he started off the field as well as on.

That’s good for the Gator Nation.

Bad for my Tennessee Vols.

Bad for the Big 12.

But, great for the Church.

Well done, Tim.  You are definitely a good and faithful servant of our Lord and a good role model for my boys.

A Heisman Poll

Based on the attention my posts on Robbie Tebow and Tim Tebow have received, there are a lot of you (my blog readers) who think a lot of Tim Tebow.
That’s cool.
He’s a pretty amazing athlete . . . and even more amazing Christian. But do you think he’ll win a 2nd Heisman?

Sorry Gator Fans–God Beats Tim Tebow in Presidential Campaign

I hate the Florida Gators, but I love Tim Tebow.

He’s not just an amazing football player, but–more importantly–he’s an amazing witness for Christ.  I’ve had the privilege of meeting his brother Robby Tebow and heard about how God has used the Tebow family to bless countless people. 

So, this article caught my eye. 

God Beats Tebow in Presidential Race

Check this out: 

JACKSONVILLE, FL — The space on the ballot for “write-in” candidates is supposed to be for candidates who qualify based on Florida law.  But it is after all a space labeled “write-in,” and frustrated or funny voters sometimes can’t resist taking a shot.  The City of Jacksonville has released the write-in results from this year’s Presidential election. Only the valid ones were counted, but we did go through the whole list.  The big winner? Hillary Clinton, with 234 votes. A distant second was Ron Paul with 174.

Other politicians got votes as well. Mike Huckabee got 21, Mitt Romney got 14. Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter each got 1 vote, which means they tied former Presidents Roosevelt (Theodore) and Truman, despite the differences in vitality.  Congratulations go to those four distinguished ex-Presidents: they all tied Homer Simpson and lost to Donald Duck, who picked up 3 votes.

As for the headline of this story, God did in fact out-poll Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow, 6-2, by far Tebow’s worst loss of the year. We couldn’t reach Tebow for comment. God hasn’t responded, either.

I demand a recount!