Everywhere...All the Time

Have you ever wished you could be several places at one time?  Maybe you double-booked appointments and had trouble choosing which one to keep and which one to cancel.  Maybe your children had school functions at the same time and you attempted to tread the murky waters of decision knowing that the choice will please one child and haunt the other (or haunt you).  This dilemma can cause much anxiety to us as humans, but what about God?  Does He struggle with this issue knowing that almost 7 billion people inhabit this Earth?  Obviously there must be some serious scheduling issues in Heaven.

However, God never has a problem keeping up with His creation, especially those He calls children.  There is a strange theological position called omnipresence.  This big word simply describes the attribute of God in that He is present everywhere at all times – not just present, but fully present.  How is that possible?  God is present by way of the Holy Spirit.

Psalm 139:7-12 in the Message states, “Is there anyplace I can go to avoid your Spirit—to be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there! If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me in a minute— you're already there waiting! Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I'm immersed in the light!" It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you.”

This is difficult for us to comprehend because of our human limitations.  However, God is not limited by our human reason or thought.  God is not confined to our three dimensional world.  However challenging this may be to us, God’s omnipresence can be life-changing when we live with the knowledge that God is right here, right now wherever I am.

God is with me at home with my family, at school with my friends, and at work with my peers.  God’s omnipresence gives me assurance that I will never face another life situation alone.  God’s omnipresence literally fulfills the promise Jesus made in Matthew 28:20 when He said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” and the promise of Hebrews that declares God will never leave us nor forsake us.

Maybe that’s why Jesus is called Immanuel, which means “God with us.”  Maybe this is why one of God’s descriptive names in the Old Testament is Jehovah Shammah – “the Lord is there” (wherever you are!)  Maybe God doesn’t have a problem keeping up you and me, because He’s everywhere…all the time.

Disconnect in order to Reconnect

I recently took a night away to be with my family since our children were out of school on Monday. We drove into Amish country and stayed a night at a beautiful hotel with an indoor pool (a definite plus in Northeast Ohio!) and a game room. No, not the kind of game room with electronic games, but an old fashioned room with board games that help families spend time together. I knew my kids would be excited to get away, but I was very surprised at what they were most excited about--not the pool, not Amish country. They were excited about a promise Laura and I made them--we promised to turn off our phones, email and web browsing (I even left my phone at home). Their excitement came from the commitment to give our total attention to them, even for a short period of time. In essence, we disconnected (from the world) so that we could reconnect (with our kids). I was amazed that our teenage children, who sometimes answer us with one-word answers or grunts, actually talked to us and showed more affection than they had in a long time. Don't get me wrong, we have a strong family bond but the bond was made even stronger through a brief intentionality to disconnect in order to reconnect.

In ancient times, when a person decided to disconnect from the world to reconnect with God, it was called solitude. I think we've lost the art of solitude. In much the same way, when we disconnect from the world and spend some focused time with God, He begins to seem and feel so much nearer than He has before. As we reconnect with God, our doubts about the nearness of God diminish as we push into the love and affection we seek from Him. It took us one act of disconnecting and our children responded with a reconnection I treasure. What if we decided to disconnect from the world in order to reconnect with our Creator? How much more real would He seem to us? How much more would we realize the love of our Heavenly Father? 

Why not disconnect in order to reconnect?

Knowing When to Lead and When to Relate

I traveled to Scotland in 2008 to visit missionaries and preach at a Sunday worship service. On our return flight from Scotland, the flight attendants were still serving snacks in a frenzied manner as we began our initial descent into NY. I asked one of them why they were in such a rush. It turns out the pilots had played a joke and told the flight attendants we would be an hour late, when we actually were almost an hour early. The flight attendants were literally running down the aisles picking up trash and securing items in order to prepare for landing (they even threw the bags of trash onto the bathroom floor!). They sat down to land within 30 seconds of landing. It was extremely funny because I knew what had happened, but I wonder how it was viewed by the other 200 passengers unaware of the joke. The other passengers probably thought the flight crew was extremely inefficient and unprofessional.

It got me to thinking about leadership. It's important for leaders to relate to their employees and volunteers. This should include many moments of laughter with one another that build relationships. However, leadership involves timing. Just as leaders need to make right decisions at the right time; good leaders know when it's time to relate and when it's time to lead. These pilots didn't understand the law of timing. There are moments that require leaders to lead in a transcendent way:

• When it involves mission – jokes would have been fine over lunch, but the crew should be committed to its mission (making the flight safe, enjoyable, and efficient).
• When it affects another person's performance – the passengers unaware of the joke simply thought the flight attendants did a poor job of planning.
• When it reflects poorly on the organization – the displeased passengers will remember one thing – the airline seemed disorganized!

The real problem is that view of the flight attendants is not accurate. These flight attendants were great! They handled some unruly passengers with professionalism and even handled a minor medical emergency with great compassion. It makes me wonder about my own leadership – do I lead and relate well? Am I intentional about timing my relationship and leadership moments to maximize my employees/volunteers potential for the good of the organization?

What are your thoughts?

What I've Learned from my Co-Workers at Mount Paran North--James Byrd

James Byrd is celebrating 10 years at Mount Paran North today! Pastor Byrd has served the Church of God denomination in so many capacities as pastor, evangelist, state/regional youth and discipleship director, administrative pastor and middle/senior adults pastor. In addition to that, he also served as a missions director at Haggai Institute for 7 years. JB is one of the wisest men that I have ever met and had the privilege to serve with. Though we never had an official mentoring relationship, he indeed is one of the mentors that I strive to emulate in servant leadership.

The greatest lesson I learned from James Byrd is to develop the art of listening to others and measuring my words. If you need an ear, you can be sure that Pastor Byrd will listen with full attention to what you are saying. This seems to be a lost art today because people are so preoccupied with multitasking that they miss the treasure of the moments we spend together. JB seems to be able to tune out everything else and focus only on the person he is engaged in conversation with. Because of his ability to listen, James Byrd can offer better advice and wisdom because he has actually heard and understood the other person and what they are facing in life.

Pastor Byrd also measures his words more than any person I have ever met. I often found myself interrupting Pastor Byrd when I thought he was finished speaking, but he was still measuring his words--this makes for awkward moments in conversation. Because he carefully thinks through every word before he speaks, the message he communicates is crystal clear. You do not walk away from a conversation with JB with misunderstanding. He communicates carefully and his clear messages are seasoned with grace.

James Byrd is the epitome and fulfillment of the scripture that says, "Be quick to listen and slow to speak." Thanks to my friend and mentor for teaching me invaluable lessons in leadership!

What I've Learned from my Co-Workers at Mount Paran North--David Lewis

David has been at North for over 18 years and has served in almost every conceivable ministry role. It is difficult to imagine a person having that much success in that many areas of ministry, and yet David has been very successful and highly consistent. He is the ultimate utility player--much like the guy you love to hate in baseball that switch-hits and plays every position well.

Though that is impressive in its own right, David's greatest trait is that he is one of the most loyal friends and colleagues a person can have. Now don't get me wrong--David is not afraid to speak his mind nor question established systems or ministries in leadership meetings. However, when the meeting is over and the decision is made, David supports the decision with his words and actions. If you weren't in the meeting, you would never know whether David was for or against the decision because his loyalty runs deeper than any personal agenda.

Because of this, I know that whatever I entrust to David from a working relationship to a personal friendship is safe. I hope and strive to be that kind of friend, leader, and co-worker where my loyalty can never be questioned. Thanks David for the 51/2 years of friendship and ministry we shared at North.

What I've Learned From my Co-Workers at Mount Paran North--Mark Walker

Dr. Mark Walker came to Mount Paran North in August of 1992 and serves as Senior Pastor. Mark is also a sought-after speaker for church conferences and serves as an adjunct professor at Southeastern University.

The most important thing I have observed in Mark is that his confidence in who he is in Christ enables him to look for the most talented people to come along side him in ministry. I have met a lot of talented leaders who say they would love to have good people to help them with their ministry or organization. The problem is they are so insecure in themselves, which prohibits them from hiring anyone they feel that may be better than them. Not so with Pastor Mark—he truly wants people that are extremely good in the areas that he is not. That has enabled him to surround himself with talented people who are loyal to him and Mount Paran North and exponentially increases his capacity to lead well and pursue the God-given vision he has for North.

Mark is one of the most gifted leaders I have been associated with and he reminds me that my security is in Christ. When I remember this, I open my life up to really talented people that God will send to help fulfill the vision.

What I've Learned From my Co-Workers at Mount Paran North--Cindy Hunnicutt

Cindy Hunnicutt came to Mount Paran North in January of 2008 and serves as the Director of Children’s Ministry. She is also founder and director of SquarePeg Ministries that reaches out to underprivileged children in the Atlanta area.

The most important thing I have observed in Cindy is to completely pour your life into the calling God has given you. If you are around Cindy for any amount of time, you realize that she lives, breathes and eats Children’s ministry. I once asked Cindy what type of music she liked to listen to. She responded, “children’s praise and worship music, of course.” The only other thing that matters to Cindy is her husband, Darrell, and her children (including their spouses) and grandchildren. This is the core of who she is. She is a devoted follower of Christ who has sold out to God’s calling as a minister, mother and grandmother. She is not enamored with little side issues that seem to distract others. Maybe this is why Cindy has been selected as president of a major children’s ministry more than once and is a much sought-after speaker and trainer at many children’s conferences.

Now Cindy can light up a room with her personality and seems comfortable in any situation. The reason is that she is comfortable in who she is in Christ and what God has called her to do. Thanks to Cindy for reminding me what a life of priority looks like in the busy world.