Do, or do not do. There is no Try.

“Do, or do not do. There is no try.” is what Yoda tells Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. Yoda is in the saga that is Star Wars the preeminent mentor of young Jedi Knights. While it is easy to live in fantasy and fiction (As it seems our country has for years financially) it is not the true grit of who a person becomes. We all need a mentor, a Yoda if you would.

They come in various forms, shapes and sizes, but they always propel us along the journey toward God if they are true mentors. We find two very different Archetypes of a mentor in Scripture. They are Peter and Paul. As Leonard Sweet says – Peter is relationally fast, but spiritually slow and Paul is relationally slow, but spiritually fast. They exist to reach to and mentor different types of people.

Some want their mentors to be intellectual only. Others want them to be very close – almost like their next breath. The primary types we need really do depend upon on personalities, but we need both to be able to better work in and through the world. We need both around so that we remember that God does not use just those that think like us to make a change in the world for the better.

The beauty of mentors is that they have great wisdom to share with us if we will but listen. Oh, to be sure, we may not learn a great deal about technology from them. Mentors exist to teach us how to make our way through the world that is not as easy and neat as we would like. They have learned a few things about how to make it through the world. We may have to learn from their mistakes (preferable) or learn from making the same mess ups in our own lives. God has some great things to teach us through these masters if we will but stop and learn.

Mentors give us the wisdom of the ages and allow us to translate that into our own age of being and becoming. It is a powerful lesson to know that in human relationships there is nothing new under the sun. We will not have invented any new form of dealing with one another this year that did not exist 2,000 years ago. All we will invent is new technology that can make those ways more effective or less effective.

Selecting a good mentor is important. For they will and should have a large impact on how you live your life. If you select wisely they will show you things about yourself that you never knew before. They will do so in ways that challenge you to grow and become more like the person God designed you to be.

This week who is your mentor? Who is challenging you with: “Do, or do not do. There is no try.” If you do not have someone, it is time to start a new quest to find one who will give you the wisdom that will change your life forever.

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

Encourager

I wonder why our faith is less about encouragement than judgment. Now, before you say it is only one faith, and in particular, Christians, I need to point out that they all do it. The only reason you have not seen the others is that there are not many of them around you. In reality, I suspect it is because most people identity SOCIALLY as Christian rather than as actual spiritual activity as such. So then how do we change our faiths – any faith – to be a faith of encouragement rather than judgment?

First, we start with the idea that people want to do better and get closer to God. We do not look at their shortcomings as a hindrance, but rather as a learning experience. Far too long, we have heard the back and forth recriminations that only seem to be self-fulfilling prophecy. I have yet to find anyone outside our broader community that is as hate filled and bitter against others, yet we decry the very same, though less intense, behavior in others.

Perhaps it is that people of good will, believing in the same God, can come to different conclusions and still be worshipers in the same space. To be an encourager rather than a judger means that you see that each has it’s God assigned task and cannot and should not be measured against the ministry of another.

Encouragement means to equip, pray and kick a person out of their complacency to the unique call, gifts and passions of God in their life. Many would rather sit still and do nothing than be criticized, but the encourager is there to remind us that the naysayer is not the person speaking for God.

The encourager will not be an enabler. They will not “do it for you.” They will not give you the excuse that you are OK if you do not try and keep trying. Encouragers are there for marathons, not for sprints. They do not let you settle for less that who God wants you to be and become. Over the years you know someone they can become more or they can shrink in the eyes of belief, God, and yourself. While God will always love them, they will lose that which they had if they do not use it according to the promise and intent.

This week, I pray you have an encourager and that you are being an encourager. If you are not in a positive, powerful, and moving ministry area at Covenant of the Cross that challenges you to reach your potential - find one and commit. When you do you will find God, until you do you will just be lazy and enabled to death by the mutual admiration society around you. I encourage you today to reach for the promise of significance and find the power of God rushing through you!

Blessings,
Pastor Greg

Find an Heir!

We either have heirs or our line is passé. The heirs that matter are not the one’s that are born of sexual intimacy. Rather the heirs that matter will be the ones that embrace us and learn as if osmosis was the only way that learning can occur.

Spiritual heirs, heirs to our legacy, embrace out story and vision and then take it to their own levels. Moses had his Joshua. Elijah had Elisha. They are absolutely needed to ensure continuity and next level for the people of God. In modern time we see this in Joel Osteen being not only a physical heir, but also a spiritual heir in leading Lakewood church to a far larger vision and intent. Joel did not repudiate John’s vision and mission, he expanded it.

To have a legacy to give to someone we must inherit a legacy. Did you inherit from a Moses or get the mess that Joshua left because he did not embrace someone as his heir. There are generational blessings and curses based on what is left. Right now, we are a nation that is not focusing on our legacy. We seem to focus on immediate gratification rather than building long-term prosperity, mercy, grace, and ability. So what does an heir to our legacy look like?

First, they participate in our lives so that they know our heart, mind, and soul for the things we are trying to accomplish in our lives. They have to believe in the goal and vision of their Moses or Paul. They do not have to agree with every decision, because it is about letting them experiment and grow as they live under the covering of another more experienced person. In short, they are able to learn by experiencing and experimenting as they prepare for their day in leading others.

Secondly, they extend your legacy. Absalom is different from Elisha. Absalom wants to get rid of his father, from whom he should inherit the throne. Therefore, his selfish and self-centered thinking eliminates him as an heir. The other is an Elisha who wants a double portion of Elijah’s spirit as he embraces Elijah’s vision and mission. We all need an Elisha, we all should be aware of an Absalom and counter them out of our lives.

Lastly, spiritual and legacy heirs expand the horizon of the person to whom they are an heir. They tend to keep their elders on their toes and thinking while at the same time learning how to apply unchanging principles to ever changing circumstances. There becomes a symbiotic relationship of give, take and learn. What we need in an heir is also someone who will expand the vision when we go to our rest. To expand they must first understand the roots and foundation and from there they will expand the vision to it’s next level.

This week, I pray that you find an heir. I pray that you find someone who can reorient you to the next place your vision calls as they live out their hope to be your heir.