Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee

I love the song by REO Speedwagon (I know I’m showing my age) “Rollin with the changes.” Mainly because it rocks. But as most people know I’m a change agent. I thrive in changing environments. I changed my blog design 2 months ago and it was ok. Then Joe Kennedy made a new design for me. Thanks Joe, I like it a lot.

Sorry I didn’t get to come to Angela’s birthday party. Angela, you are a fine young lady and I appreciate your hard work. You are very talented and have a great heart for God. You deserve a great day! It would have been fun to see you, Whitnet, Soupie and others.

I’m sorry for all of the destruction that is occuring to people in LA and TX. We’ve been thru our own share of bad weather in Mobile. I sure hope there are no more storms this year.

I am pumped about going to Catalyst in a week and half. For one, I love Atlanta! 2 the speaker will be inspiring, John Maxwell, Andy Stanley, Louis Giglio, Donald Miller and more. The music is 2nd to none! This is my 3rd one to go to. I missed the last 2 because of $$ in the church. I wouldn’t miss this year for anything!

2 + years ago I read one of my favorite books, The Next Generation Leader by Andy Stanley. Some of you heard my message that I gleaned from it. His whole premise is the less you do the more you accomplish and the less you do the more you enable others to accomplish. I also read Now Discover your Strenghts by Clinton and Buckingham that says we should concentrate on our strenghts and now our weaknesses. Then I took an online Strengths Finder survey. I found out that my strenghts are the following:

Activator:
“When can we start?” This is a recurring question in your life. You are impatient for action. You may concede that analysis has its uses or that debate and discussion can occasionally yield some valuable insights, but deep down you know that only action is real. Only action can make things happen. Only action leads to performance. Once a decision is made, you cannot not act. Others may worry that “there are still some things we don’t know,” but this doesn’t seem to slow you. If the decision has been made to go across town, you know that the fastest way to get there is to go stoplight to stoplight. You are not going to sit around waiting until all the lights have turned green. Besides, in your view, action and thinking are not opposites. In fact, guided by your Activator theme, you believe that action is the best device for learning. You make a decision, you take action, you look at the result, and you learn. This learning informs your next action and your next. How can you grow if you have nothing to react to? Well, you believe you can’t. You
must put yourself out there. You must take the next step. It is the only way to keep your thinking fresh and informed. The bottom line is this: You know you will be judged not by what you say, not by what you think, but by what you get done. This does not frighten you. It pleases you.

Woo:
Woo stands for winning others over. You enjoy the challenge of meeting new people and getting them to like you. Strangers are rarely intimidating to you. On the contrary, strangers can be energizing. You are drawn to them. You want to learn their names, ask them questions, and find some area of common interest so that you can strike up a conversation and build rapport. Some people shy away from starting up conversations because they worry about running out of things to say. You don’t. Not only are you rarely at a loss for words; you actually enjoy initiating with strangers because you derive satisfaction from breaking theice and making a connection. Once that connection is made, you are quite happy to wrap it up and move on. There are new people to meet, new rooms to work, new crowds to mingle in. In your world there are nostrangers, only friends you haven’t met yet-lots of them.

Maximizer:
Excellence, not average, is your measure. Taking something from below average to slightly above average takes a great deal of effort and in your opinion is not very rewarding. Transforming something strong into something superb takes just as much effort but is much more thrilling. Strengths, whether yours or someone else’s, fascinate you. Like a diver after pearls, you search them out, watching for the telltale signs of a strength. A glimpse of untutored excellence, rapid learning, a skill mastered without recourse to steps-all these are clues that a strength may be in play. And having found a strength, you feel compelled to nurture it, refine it, and stretch it toward excellence. You polish the pearl until it shines. This natural sorting
of strengths means that others see you as discriminating. You choose to spend time with people who appreciate your particular strengths. Likewise, you are attracted to others who seem to have found and cultivated their own strengths. You tend to avoid those who want to fix you and make you well rounded. You don’t want to spend your life bemoaning what you lack. Rather, you want to capitalize on the gifts with which you are blessed. It’s more fun. It’s more productive. And, counterintuitively, it is more demanding.

Strategic:
The Strategic theme enables you to sort through the clutter and find the best route. It is not a skill that can be taught. It is a distinct way of thinking, a special perspective on the world at large. This perspective allows you to see patterns where others simply see complexity. Mindful of these patterns, you play out alternative scenarios, always asking, “What if this happened? Okay, well what if this happened?” This recurring question helps you see around the next corner. There you can evaluate accurately the potential obstacles. Guided by where you see each path leading, you start to make selections. You discard the paths that lead nowhere. You discard the paths that lead straight into resistance. You discard the paths that lead into a fog
of confusion. You cull and make selections until you arrive at the chosen path-your strategy. Armed with your strategy, you strike forward. This is your Strategic theme at work: “What if?” Select. Strike.

Futuristic:
“Wouldn’t it be great if . . .” You are the kind of person who loves to peer over the horizon. The future fascinates you. As if it were projected on the wall, you see in detail what the future might hold, and this detailed picture keeps pulling you forward, into tomorrow. While the exact content of the picture will depend on your other strengths and interests-a better product, a better team, a better life, or a better world-it will always be inspirational to you. You are a dreamer who sees visions of what could be and who cherishes those visions. When the present proves too frustrating and the people around you too pragmatic, you conjure up your visions of the future and they energize you. They can energize others, too. In fact, very often people look to you to describe your visions of the future. They want a picture that can raise their sights and thereby their spirits. You can paint it for them. Practice. Choose your words carefully. Make thepicture as vivid as possible. People will want to latch on to the hope you bring.

Yesterday, I worked out of my giftedness and it cost me dearly. The point is we need to know what we are good at and concentrate our efforts there. I am a visionary. I am a people person too but not like Cassandra. She will talk to one person for entire evening. I will talk to everyone for a short time. To some Cassandra is deep and to others she is a snob. To some I am outgoing to others I am shallow. The point is I am who I am. I want to grow as a person esp. as a Follower of Jesus. But I can’t be who I am not. I am not gifted in mechanical stuff. Jason is a jack of all trades and a master of them all. I am a master of a few things only. I am passionate about life change, changing people’s hearts and minds. I am passionate about being part of something biggern than myself. That’s ok. I’m comfortable in who I am. Thanks to those of you who love and support me. I am a blessed man eventhough my wallet is shrinking! Ha!

I have been trying to fix stuff around our house from Katrina and just stuff that has fallen apart around the house. I fixed the fence today as well as the yard is finally clean. We had a leak in our shower and several people told me I could fix it. Famous Last Words. I’m an idiot! I took it apart and then broke it off. A plummer came over and said he is going to have to cut out our wall and put in a new fixture. All of this will set us back $500! I am an idiot! I can’t believe I am so useless. I tried to fix a dollar washer and it costs us $500! Unbelievable! Romans 8:28 is my claim today.

Go ahead and laugh. I have. I am so upset too. How could I be so useless. It is not like we have the money lying around. With the events of the last year in hurricanes and the pay cut this hurts. I have to laugh to keep from crying!

In their book Culture Shift, Wayne Cordeiro and Robert Lewis tell how totem poles are used to identify the values of Native Indian Tribes. They say when a person wants to know what the tribe is about, all they need to look at the symbols represented in the totem pole. Many churches, and people for that matter, would have grumpy, angry and ugly faces on their totem poles. How often do we come across to people as being “against” everything. Are we ever for something. People talk about being “pro” abortion or “pro” life or anti this or that!

I am “PRO” PEOPLE! My desire in life is to have a Totem Pole that is positive and life changing. I have a dream of a community that is changed by the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. I believe it can happen! I have a dream of a church that is so valuable that if it were not around the community would not be the same. The church, not a building, would have such an impact on the community that it wouldn’t be the same. I want to be a world changer! I confess that I haven’t been all I need to be! My heart aches to be more than I have been. I don’t want to notch, notches on my belt because I have won X # of people to Christ. I want to see lives changed thru the power of the Holy Spirit because I was faithful to God. I am PRO PEOPLE! Some may say I am too tolerant. I really don’t care! I truly love people because God does. If it means changing who I am, then so be it! If it means changing my career, then so be it! If it means changing the world, then I’m ready. I’m tired of just living! I’m ready to make a difference in the world for God. I want to be part of something bigger than myself. I am Pro People because I believe Jesus was!

Words matter! The old saying sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never harm me is a crock. Words can do more damage to people than physical abuse. I have seen it in my own life and in the lives of others. There is something about getting praise from people that lifts our attitude. Encouraging people are a joy to be around. People that lift others up are blessings. In the Old Testament, a blessing was something that a father would give to his first born son. It set the tone for the rest of their life. Unfortunately today many people live in verbally abusive environments. They are told how sorry they are and that they are losers.

What is cool about Jesus is because I am a loser, I win. When I lose all of the junk in my life, Jesus takes it and nails it to the cross. Because he lost his life, I win. What a blessing. It is funny to hear comedians like Don Rickles and Milton Berle insulting people. But, I would rather be around people that are blessings to others. Imagine how we could change the world if we were a blessing to our communities instead of pointing out all of the “evils!” Groups that carry signs that say “God hates fags” and blaming the hurricanes on God’s vengence on the “evil” in New Orleans and the casinos in Mississippi are missing the point. Jesus changed everything. There are many followers of Christ who live in those regions and are being used by God to make a difference. Jesus would have hung out in the French Quarter and Bourbon Street. He would have ministered to those who go to and work at the casinos. Why are we as the church condemning rather than being a blessing?

My prayer is that my life will be a blessing to others. My family, my friends, my church and the community I live in. If churches did this we could change our communities forever!