All too often I have seen a lack of leadership leave people and organizations frozen, unable to act, and eventually failing. I’ve seen it, you’ve seen it, and we will continue to see it. Unfortunately, that is an issue that we are facing head-on today.

I usually don’t talk politics in my blog. When I do, it’s usually just a summary of a recent event. However, today, I have to raise issue with just that; the lack of leadership. I’m not even going to discuss political parties in particular. I don’t want to get into the whole debate. I want to look at it holistically and non-biased. Today will be just about leadership.

This Friday, we face a mini-crisis called sequestration. This is simply a series of budget cuts that are automatically triggered due to the lack of action on the part of the government. If you want to read more about sequestration, you can read the Budget Control Act of 2011. In this Act, the government is required to cut approximately $85 billion from the budget immediately. That sounds huge. It sounds like progress. It isn’t. That’s $85 billion from $16 trillion. Translation? A drop in the ocean.

Every political side is currently blaming the other. That’s not news. That’s not news-worthy. What is at risk in this high-stake gamble is of no consequence to either party, but rather to those who put them there. If you are like me, you’re tired of it all. You’re sick of the rhetoric. Here’s what we need:

We need someone to step into the gap to make something happen. This person has to be a leader that can get something from both sides. We need a leader. I have seen nothing at this point that would lead me to label anyone in our current political stable as a leader. When was the last time we were this divided as a country? When was the last time that we so polar opposite on so many things? Where is the leader we are looking for to get something done? That’s the question. We can skirt around it and blame each group for lack of cooperation. That’s fine, but it does nothing.

What does all this mean to the common man? It’s like not having a household budget, and having one spouse always spending the money, and the other spouse wanting to keep the money. It’s one spouse blaming the other, and finger-pointing is common place. The home begins to crumble from within, and all because there’s no leadership, no plan, no one to stand in the gap and be willing to make the changes or take action. Each spouse has their family on their side explaining why it’s not his or her fault. The result is havoc, hurt, and usually divorce. In the bigger picture, we can’t just divorce our country.

We can, however, change them. It’s time to demand that our leaders actually lead.  It’s not time to plan for re-election; it’s not time to posture for gain. It’s time to represent the people. It’s time to take action. It’s time to lead.

We don’t have that currently. Sure, you might be able to name one or two people who you think are representing a particular group. Has that changed anything?  Have they stepped up and brought a solution to all people? Have they managed to bring a bipartisan answer?

Let me answer my own question; no. No they haven’t.

It’s time to pray.

What do we do? In a moment like this, we have to ask the right questions. What do you plan to do? What’s the answer? I’m not looking for what party should do what. I’m looking for a leadership answer. Do you have one?

Category: Failure, Integrity, Stand Up, Work
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When I was growing up, there was one thing that I knew at an early age, and that was you were expected to work hard. No one took it easy, at least very often. I was surrounded by hard workers, and I was expected to do the same. There’s something to be said about a job well done, and it feels great to finish. I wonder about those who don’t work hard. Solomon has a word for those; “foolish.”

In Ecclesiastes 10, Solomon gives us a few words of wisdom (of course) for parents, as well as those in leadership positions. He says that the foolish are easy to spot, and that they can ruin a lot of things that the wise have worked hard to accomplish.

In verses 1-3, he says,
1 As dead flies cause even a bottle of perfume to stink,
so a little foolishness spoils great wisdom and honor.

3 You can identify fools
just by the way they walk down the street!

At first thought, I wondered if it was rue that the foolish wwere so easy spot. I think, at times, it is. Of course, if you watch the news you see it nightly. But then there are those times that your spirit tells you, warns you, that you are around or dealing with someone who is foolish. I pray that I don’t have to deal with that when my daughter one day introduces me to her boyfriend!

On the leadership side, certainly there are times that we have to deal with those who are less motivated than we want them to be. In verse 15, Solomon puts it this way,
“Fools are so exhausted by a little work
that they can’t even find their way home.”

Again, I go back to my childhood. I was raised knowing what hard work was, and I honestly believe that is a rarity in today’s society. There aren’t many I have found that come into the “real world” with an understanding of how to work. That falls on us parents.

There’s something to be said about experience and qualifications. Too many people believe God is just going to give them the six-figure income and corner office, for no other reason than being themselves! As leaders, we need to make sure that we are choosing and making wise decisions on those we put into leadership positions. As parents, we need to choose wisely when it comes to rewarding our children.

Solomon actually admonishes those things he had witnessed up to that point. In verse 5-6, he says
“

There is another evil I have seen under the sun. Kings and rulers make a grave mistake 6 when they give great authority to foolish people and low positions to people of proven worth.”

See exactly how Solomon describes this? He says it’s “evil.” He says it’s a “grave mistake” when the wrong people are in the wrong places. It’s a mistake to just put people or reward people with position, status, or any other form of award without merit. This is much different from blessing someone who has a need in their life. What Solomon is referring to here is that “good old boy” network, or illegal kickbacks and preferences.

We have a lot to consider! Solomon has definitely challenged us as parents, leaders, managers, or wherever we are in life. If it’s dealing with coworkers, employees, or our kids, he has given us some words to teach.

Category: Stand Up
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Have you ever been asked a question where the answer was so obvious that it almost seemed like a silly question? I mean, it didn’t really make sense to even ask it when the answer was so simple. Rhetorical? Not quite, but close.

I’m taken back to John 6 when there were so many people clambering to listen to Jesus. They had been there all day. When Jesus saw all the people, He looked at the disciples and asked how they were going to feed them all. Trick question. In fact, in verse 6, it says, “ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.” He already knew the answer, but poor Phillip was looking at the current situation and realized that there was no way they could do it with their resources.

Jesus had another plan. They found a young boy who had 5 loaves of bread and two small fish. One, that tells me this kid knew he would be fishing for a while. If he brought 5 loaves of bread with him, he was either feeding the ducks or knew it would take him all day to catch fish! The second, is that he fished like I do. He had two small fish.

The next thing is that this boy, though he didn’t have much, brought what he had to Jesus. A simple faith in what small amount he had is what Jesus used to touch thousands. In fact, Jesus took that little bit of food, blessed it, and in verses 12-13 (still in John 6), it says:

¹²When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

Jesus took what was given, supplied the needs, and then blew up the expectations. Look at verse 13. They gathered twelve baskets worth of left overs! What a beautiful example of God’s provision.

Today, we would call that a miracle. But, shouldn’t we call it faith?

Jesus asked a trick question. He knew that the question He asked Phillip would be answered by looking at their resources. He knew that they would look at the situation and find it hopeless. He also knew that with His blessing, it would be abundant. God’s ways are always so much higher and better than our ways.

On a personal note, today I found out a couple of things. One, our church, like many churches, is experiencing a downturn in tithing. It is hurting. For those of you who don’t know, our church is a young church plant called Bay Area Community Church in League City, TX (www.bayareacommunity.org).  We have been meeting in a local intermediate school’s auditorium. However, there is an opportunity out there for a building, a place that we could call home. Looking at our current situation, it would be almost impossible to say that we could do it on our resources. It is easy to look around at the need and the situation, and then say it is impossible. Should we pursue it? Perhaps it is a trick question. The answer should be yes. We should look to Jesus for his support in blessing what we bring to feed the thousands. We should also have the faith of the boy who brought what he had. He knew he didn’t have much, but he also knew the faith he had in Jesus outweighed the doubt of the crowd. When they questioned who Jesus was, he knew it was a trick question.

Category: Stand Up
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Last week I had the opportunity to take our church’s youth group to Extreme Camps in Tyler, TX. It was a week that truly impacted most of them. Many of them learned what it is to spend time with God, to learn what it is that holds us back from following God completely, and that it is actually God who helps us break those chains. So, while many of you thought I may have disappeared, I didn’t. I was just camping!

That of course, got me to thinking. Seems like a lot of things make me think lately.  There was a time when those who were actually walking with Jesus pulled a disappearing act.  Shortly after Jesus told those around Him that He was the way to the Father, that unless they ate of His flesh and drank of His blood, they would not see heaven; many of the disciples (there were more than just the Twelve at this point) deserted Jesus. Can you even imagine? They were so close to the Messiah and they just couldn’t do it. They didn’t get it.

Maybe the teachings were too hard. Maybe Jesus said things that just hit too close to home. Maybe they were following Jesus hoping for personal gain. Maybe they thought Jesus was going to put each of them as a czar over certain areas of His kingdom. Or, maybe they just realized that they didn’t want to be who Jesus was telling them to be. There are a lot of possibilities, but the truth is this: they left.

Why would we leave Jesus? You may think, wait a minute there Colby, I wouldn’t leave Jesus. Really? Every time we sin, every time we take matters into our own hands, every time that we go into things or make decisions without Him, we leave Him. Notice I said “we.” I do it too. I’m not pointing fingers as much as I am confessing.

But, it gets better. Jesus, after seeing the crowd of disciples leave, turned to the Twelve that were left and asked them if they were going to leave. Peter, the bold one, answered the answer for all of us.

In John 6:68, Peter said, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. ⁶⁹ We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”

What is your response today? Jesus asks us that every day, every decision, every temptation. Are you going to leave? Are you going to desert Him? Or will you take the opportunity to answer just as Peter answered?

“Lord, where else would I go? Who else would I turn to? YOU are the one who holds the answers. You are God.”

I am here. I am not leaving. I will not pull a disappearing act.

Category: Stand Up
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It amazes me at the amount of reality shows on television today. Literally, there is a show for everything. What ever it is that you like, there is a show for that; drama, whales, cooking, pawn shops, modeling, you name it! What I like about a couple of these shows is that I can see what these people are really like. It is almost scary to see how they act toward other people, but when they are alone with a camera, or away from the action, you see how they really are.

I once read that character is who you are when no one is looking. Like these reality shows, so many people put on the dog and pony show while out amongst the people, but their motives and their heart are much darker.

Dictionary.com defines “Authentic” as, “not false or copied; genuine; real.” Why is it that we have such a struggle with being authentic? It’s because we are usually fed a pretty steady diet of lies. These lies tell us that we are never enough. We are never thin enough, muscular enough, pretty enough, smart enough, or even Christian enough. God doesn’t view us that way. Psalm 139:14 is where David says, “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” We ARE who God created us to be. Sure, we are consistently being refined and shaped, but God has created us before we ever existed!

Johnny Diaz has a song called More Beautiful You. The chorus to it says:

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don’t buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

My favorite line there is actually the third one. You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do. Ever thought about that? There is something that you do, or you are going to do, that only you could do. What an amazing thought!

Second thought is this. Someone out there is waiting for me to do it. Someone out there is waiting for you to do it. Someone is always watching. Whether we realize it or not, we are always being looked up to by someone. We are modeling how to live to someone else. As a Christian, the scrutiny is even higher.

Paul told Titus about this. In Titus 2:3-5, he told the older women to “be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” See, there is that idea of modeling. If we are being watched, then ladies, this is what the younger women need to see from you. They may have no idea what it means to be a woman, or a woman of faith. How are you modeling to them?

Guys? You don’t get off easy. Paul addressed that in verses 6-8. Here, he tells us who are mature in faith to model as well. He says to “encourage the young men to be self-controlled. ⁷In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.” We have an amazing opportunity to help shape a generation! If we are models, it is the most powerful teaching method. How often have we heard that we want people, our kids, our employees, to do as we say and not as we do? We model our expectations and our true desires by our actions.

It’s time to take that seriously. It’s not the mask we put on at work, at church, in public. It’s who we are in reality. And our Reality Shows.

Category: Stand Up
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