Of Raging Bulls and Life Choices

Most decisions that I have made in my life are pretty insignificant. No one cares what color socks I wear each day. The college I attended, my major and GPA are all unimportant for most people in most situations. Usually the outcomes of my decisions are not known, or are so inconsequential that even I do not notice or remember.

Sometimes, however, my decisions have long-term effects. Those long term effects can be positive, but too often I find that I am sorry for decisions I have made. There is embarrassment, debt, and other problems. These are all the residue of not thinking through what is important and what will happen when and if...

The biggest problem is that most of these decisions were made when I was too young, or too naive, to take into account the full impact of all that I was doing. Fortunately for me, although I made some silly choices, the consequences have been minor and short-lived. That is not true for everyone. The consequences of addictions, sexual encounters and other experiments can be devastating and long-lasting.

That is the lesson that is brought home clearly in the classic film, Raging Bull. In the film, Robert DeNiro plays middle-weight boxing champion Jake LaMotta. Time after time we see LaMotta make bad, impulsive choices. He his violent with his wife. He has an affair. He beats his new wife. He beats his brother. He associates with the Mafia. He throws a fight. He gets involved with young girls in his bar. LaMotta makes one bad choice after another.

The reason this happens to LaMotta, and too many of us, is that LaMotta only sees right now. He is not concerned about ruining his relationship with his brother, only about satisfying his rage at the moment. The future is too far away to take seriously. "I'll worry about tomorrow when tomorrow gets here" is the attitude that many of us have.

We all need to learn something from Raging Bull. We need to take the future seriously. Plan for the future. Think about what ingesting that substance will do to the rest of your life. Consider the implications of everything you do for the future. Go ahead and have a great time, but make sure that your great time lasts beyond today.

Broken Things

One of the advantages (or disadvantages, depending on your perspective) of lively in a wealthy time and place is that you accumulate a lot of 'stuff.' I have way too much stuff. I collect things (books and records) and in addition to that I have a lot of things that are useful or enjoyable to me. My home and my office are filled with things that are frivolous.

One of the consequences of this pattern of acquisition is that things are not valued as much as if they were rare to me. I do not get attached to my possessions the way I would if there were fewer of them. Scarcity creates an almost selfish preservation mentality. For the most part, I do not have that problem.

When I am finished with an item it is no problem for me to put it in a garage sale or flea market. I regularly take my clothes and other discarded items to Goodwill or some other thrift store or charitable/ mission organization. I can easily share the wealth with others, especially those who I perceive to have greater needs than I do.

This makes it much easier to dispose of broken things. I find it relatively easy to discard things that have worn out or been broken. Things that are no longer useful to me or anyone else get thrown away. I have thrown away dishes, clothes, cameras, computers, records, magazines, cars, toys, food, tapes, videos, mail, telephones, light bulbs and too many other things to name.

Often, it is more efficient to throw things away. After all, it is less expensive to buy a new television than to fix your old one. Just throw it away.

When things get broken, I get rid of them. Every Wednesday evening I cart a barrel full of broken things to the end of my drive and on Thursday morning a truck comes and takes it away. It is convenient and simple. I like it that way.

This is complicated when I encounter broken people, however. There are a lot of people who have problems. They have difficulties that I cannot understand. How easy it is for me to want to throw them away. How I am tempted to dismiss these men and women and children as too much trouble. I throw away everything else, why not people too?

But that is not God's way. God fixes broken people. No person should be thrown away. God is patient, willing and able to put together the broken pieces and restore life and health to anyone. This is a great lesson that I need to learn. I should be more understanding. More loving. More like God.

I want to throw broken people away, but God wants to fix them.

I Think, Therefore I am a Minority

A friend of mine is always saying that a few people think, but most people use labels so that they do not have to think. How true. We have analysts who explain world events to us every day on the evening news. This is very convenient. He saves us the trouble of having to figure all those complicated things for ourselves.

That reminds me of my first girlfriend. She was a little bit older than me and she was able to vote in a certain election that I was not allowed to vote in. This drove me crazy. I wanted to vote in the worst way. I knew every candidate and all their positions. Dating teen-agers do not talk about politics, however. We were too busy with peer pressure, complaining about our teachers and wondering if our parents would let us go to the movies on Friday. It was not until after the election that I enquired of my beloved's voting experience. She told me simply that she had voted for all the wrong candidates (at least in my opinion). I cried out, "Why?" She said, "I voted for who my dad told me to vote for." It was easier for her than thinking.

And now we are in an election year- a presidential election year, no less- and we have too many people who have the same beliefs. It is easier for them to let some pundit- Al Sharpton, Ted Kennedy, Pat Robertson or James Dobson- tell them who to vote for than to do their own research. Learning about the candidates is hard work, after all.

One of the problems that we face is that many people are in love with opinions and they ignore evaluation. Evaluation causes you to study and analyze. If you skip write to opinion, you can get through much more easily. Not evaluating issues will leave you more time to watch reality programming on television. Jumping right to opinion can make us seem smarter than an individual who wastes time considering options and implications.

Another problem is the very one that my friend identified so clearly. If I can label people, or issues, or news events, I do not have to go to the trouble of thinking about them. If I put you in a category, I do not have to be bothered with who you are, what you feel or what you believe. My life is a lot less complicated that way.

And that's what life in the 21st century is all about, isn't it? We have drive through windows for banks, restaurants and prescriptions. We have microwave ovens and cell phones and other convencience items to make our lives easier. That's what we really want. We want easy. And that is an antonym for thought.

Life in 3-D

My life is not boring. I do not sit around waiting for things to happen. (In fact, there is too little sitting around in my life. There is always something to do.) As I look around me, however, I see a lot of people who live very lifeless, vanilla lives. This should not be.

I believe that every moment of every day in every life should be lived with complete zest and gusto. That television commercial from my childhood said that 'you only go around once in life.' How true. We should be intentional in our decisions and actions. We should make life the most and the best that it can be.

One of my philosophies of life- I may have too many philosophies- is to always have fun. If I find myself in the middle of an activity that proves to be dull, it is my responsibility to either stop it, or to find a way to make it fun. Life is too short. Carpe Diem. Live for the day. Make a difference.

So, here are some suggestions, some ways to live life more fully and to be more fulfilled. I like to think of this as life in 3-D.

1. Discover who you were meant to be. Many people are unhappy in life because they have no sense of purpose or direction. You might be drifting from one job to another, one experience to the next. God has given everyone a specific purpose in life. Find what your purpose is and fulfill it. Discover your 'calling' and answer.
2. Develop the gifts and talents that you have been given. Interests come from a number of places. Everyone has them. Be sure to use the gifts that you have. Learn what hobbies and activities create energy in your life. Focus on those things. Do those things. God gave everyone their own particular gift combination. Your gifts, interests and talents are to be used. Use them.
3. Deploy and do the work that you were created to do. You will find that fulfillment comes when you are actively pursuing those things that you are best suited to do. When you go and do the work that you were meant to do life will get better.

The Importance of Reading

I recently read the following quote from historian David McCullough: "The average American watches four hours of television a day. That's 28 hours a week. I also understand that the average American reads 250 words per minute. Therefore, if the average American would turn off the television set and spend those 28 hours a week reading, he could read all the poems of T.S. Eliot, all the poems of Maya Angelou, two plays by Thornton Wilder, including Our Town, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, and all 150 Psalms in the Old Testament. That's all in one week."

Think what you could do with your life if you would spend more time reading and less time watching television. In a year's time you could read dozens of classic novels. You could easily read the whole Bible. You could change your life.

But maybe no television is too big a step for you. It could be that you need to take baby steps. So, here is what I suggest.

• While you are watching television, make sure that you have the remote control in your hand. Use the mute button whenever a commercial comes on. (You really do not want to change the flavor of pop-tarts that you eat anyway, do you?) There are about 15 minutes of commercials in every hour of prime time television. That is a lot of reading time, and you do not have to give up Desperate Housewives to get it.
• Always have a book on your lap. Never go anywhere without a book. Read while you are waiting for the doctor or the check out clerk. So much of our lives are spent waiting we ought to put that time to use.
• Do not spend too much time with magazines. Use magazines to stay up on current events and trends, but do not be consumed with them. In a few weeks (or months at the most) your magazines will find their way to the trash bin. Generally speaking, your books will not.
• Commit yourself to a certain amount of reading. Make commitments to read a set amount of time each day, and a certain number of books in a year. Making goals is a good way to increase your reading intake.
• Read from a wide range of genres. It is easy to get caught up in reading a favorite author, or staying with a familiar topic. But be sure to read biographies, mysteries, non-fiction and classic novels in addition to your favorite kind of books.
• Join a book discussion club. This will do several things for you. It will help you widen the scope of what you read. It will also help you to read more thoroughly and critically. Book groups and their discussions also cause the reader to enjoy the reading as he/she anticipates the debate that is ahead.
• Read some books that get good reviews, but are not very popular. Just because it sells a lot of copies does not mean that a book is worth your time.

One more word of encouragement; Reading is hard work. It can wear you down and be overwhelming. But, reading is one of the most rewarding and beneficial things that you can do. Commit yourself to reading and reading a lot right away.

Personal Toughts

Seven weeks from today I will be leaving for three weeks in Uganda. In Uganda I will be a part of a team teaching pastors who have planted churches. I am very excited about this opportunity. I have wanted to visit Africa for many years. I have been invited to participate in several work teams, but they never seemed just right. Construction teams, medical teams and the like, are not exactly what I do best (or at all).

But then this group came along and it fit perfectly. Our team is composed of six United Methodist Pastors, all from Indiana. We will be traveling to Uganda to lead the Uganda Bible Academy. The Academy is a training program for United Methodist pastors in Uganda who have very little training and limited access to educational opportunities. This is like a dream come true for me.

So, as I always do when taking on a new project, I began to research. I learned a lot about Uganda. I read about the wild life, the government, the weather, the geography and a little about the history. I cannot tell you everything about Uganda, but I am learning. I will continue to read and learn until the trip, I am sure.

One thing about Uganda was in my memory; Idi Amin. I was in school when Amin was in power. I don't remember much about him. I know that he was a bad man. There were jokes about him invading Angola on Saturday Night Live. I remember little else. But then there was The Last King of Scotland.

I do not believe that everything in this movie is accurate. In fact, I have no clue where fact and fiction meet in this tale. But, I am sure that I know more about Idi Amin and Uganda now than I did before I watched the movie. Forest Whitaker channels Idi Amin the way Philip Seymour Hoffman did Truman Capote. He does not impersonate Amin so much as he is Amin. I quickly lost myself in this movie- and I learned something along the way.

Amin began his reign as the leader of Uganda with the best of intentions. He wanted to do right by his people. His desire was to improve the lot of his subjects and his country. When he began to do this, however, he quickly learned how comfortable it made him. He was in a great situation. He received the adulation of millions of people. He grew wealthy. He began to think that he was always right and that there were no limits to his power.

I have never had the kind of wealth and power that Idi Amin enjoyed, but I have experienced a measure of each. I am financially relatively comfortable. Socially, and vocationally, people listen to what I say and sometimes do what I want them to do. These experiences are so potentially corrupting that they scare me every time. Lord Acton made the famous observation "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

When in a position of authority, it is important that all leaders

• cultivate humility
• seek out accountability
• retain previous relationships
• live generously
• continuously seek the well-being of others.

What are you doing with your time?

This question came to mind recently. I began to wonder how much of my time is wasted. What am I doing when I am not paying attention to what I am doing? Here is what I discovered. Almost all of the things that I did unintentionally were a waste of my time. To be wasteful, an activity needs to add no value to my life or to the life of anyone else. Therefore, taking a nap can be an important, restful activity, or it can be the wasting of a perfectly good afternoon.

In a like manner, watching television can be a waste of time, or it can be a meaningful experience of growth and refreshing. The first thing to remember is to spend your time intentionally. Do not let time get away from you. Plan what you will do; how you will occupy yourself. Here are some guidelines to help you with your time management:

1. Make sure that all activities are purposeful. Now what you are doing and why you are doing it. Do not spend time in unnecessary pursuits.
2. Remember that rest is important. It is not necessarily a waste of time.
3. Meditation and prayer time, although it seems non-productive, is very valuable to your emotional and spiritual well-being.
4. Be certain that your time is spent well. Ask yourself these questions:

• Will this event/activity cause me to learn anything or be more fulfilled?
• Will this thing cause me to be more content?
• Will this be intellectually, emotionally, spiritually or relationally beneficial to me or others?
• Will this serve to better me or the world?
• If I do not participate in this activity will I miss it later?

Finally, never do anything 'just because.' Live your life with purpose.

Dream Big... Big Dreams

Dreaming is a dangerous proposition. If you make to big of a deal out of your dreams, it can be embarrassing when they do not come to pass. You can also get into big trouble from those around you when you have big dreams (remember Joseph and his brothers?). If your dreams are to small they are less risky, but they are also less fun to accomplish. So how should you dream? What are some guidelines? Here are a couple of suggestions:

• The first thing to consider in your dreaming is 'How big is your God?' Dreams are never too big if you are a child of the infinite Lord of the universe. If, however, you believe that God is small, limited or uninterested in our affairs, your dreams will need to be very small.
• How much time are you willing to give to your dream? How much energy will you devote to it? How committed are you to your dream? If you truly desire a thing, and are willing to work hard toward it, it will come to pass.

I believe that there is nothing that cannot be accomplished by a godly person with a big God who has a big dream. Dream on.

Reasons People Do Not Pray

One of the greatest problems with Christians- at least in USA- is the lack of prayer and the subsequent spiritual anemia. There is no one that is against prayer. In fact, nearly every person I know, Christian and not, would say that they should pray more than we do. We understand that we should pray and we feel guilty that we do not. So why do Christians not pray?

1. We do not pray because we do not know how. No one ever taught us how to pray. They taught us that we should pray, and helped us to feel guilty when we did not. But for the most part, our churches, pastors, Sunday Schools and Bible studies have failed to teach us how to pray.
2. We do not pray because it is boring. Too often this response is a result of the MTV world. Prayer often requires silence, waiting, stillness, and we get too anxious for that kind of commitment.
3. We do not pray because it does not work. After a life time of prayer 'wish-lists' that have gone unfulfilled, you may have given up. If God didn't answer by now, why would he answer at all.
4. We do not pray because we think that God is too busy for us. Our needs are less significant than those of other people we know. Surely, we shouldn't bother God.
5. We do not pray because we think that we can solve our own problems. We have been taught to do it ourselves, after all. Prayer could be construed as a sign of weakness or dependence.
6. We do not pray because we do not understand it as communication in a relationship with God.
7. We do not pray because we are lazy. Prayer is hard. It takes time. It is sometimes frustrating and disappointing. It is easier if I just don't do it.
8. We do not pray because we do not want to be considered 'religious fanatics.' Other people will look down on me or think that I am weird if I spend too much time praying.
9. We do not pray because we do not have time. There is too much to do and prayer is so 'non-productive.' We can't afford to spend our time on it.
10. We do not pray because we do not know all of the proper religious language. You have to sound spiritual or godly to pray. I just don't have the vocabulary.

Obviously, every one of these reasons is ridiculous. Prayer is the lifeline for every Christian. Get off your seat and start doing what God has called you to do.

New Year's Resolutions 2007.1

I know all the arguments against making New Year’s Resolutions. I know that they do not last. We do not keep them. They only serve to discourage us when we fail. But I cannot help myself. I keep making resolutions. Every year I make a whole list. I think that if I make a lot of resolutions then surely I will be able to keep one or two. This year I am making resolutions in two categories and you get to see them all.

Category I- Ministry Resolutions

• In 2007 I plan to make youth ministry a priority for our congregations. This will include enhancing, emphasizing and expanding the Coconut Hut and other youth activities. We will also work to recruit and develop new leaders for youth ministry.
• We will build the Kid’s Club. This will include a much needed effort to find, recruit, train and deploy new leaders.
• There will be an emphasis on supporting, working with and expanding the Building Blocks Pre-School.
• We will develop a new leadership training program. This will include Lay Speaking training and other opportunities.

Category II- Personal Resolutions

• I will read the Bible in 2007.
• I will read seven books of classic literature. (I don’t know why I picked seven, but it seemed like the right amount.)
• I am going to pray about and find the project that I will invest the rest of my life in. Right now the leading contenders are AIDS orphans in Africa and human trafficking of children in Southeast Asia and around the world.
• I am going to write one song each Friday.

Well, there it is. It seems like a lot. Now you know what I am going to do with 2007. What are you going to be up to?