to the least of these...

so tomorrow am i'll be teaching at christ fellowship - downtown campus. pretty excited about the opportunity.

however, there a ton of other good things happening while service is on. to name a few, a worship environment is created for our homeless friends. about 150 strong show up. we sing, teach, we don't push it, but many of the folks there even give of the resources they have. i'm floored every week.

showers, clean clothes, breakfast, and a hot lunch are served -- this happens every week. 

sunday mornings are great for different folks, for different reasons. 

so glad to be working within areas that are serving the city; regardless the cost. 

to the least of these...

to little dave...

some pics that my friend merari took...thanks for capturing dave's life. these are the images that we will look back on the day he gets married, has kids, and becomes a grandpa. thanks so much!

to the weekend...

so as i'm getting ready for the weekend, a few thoughts are running through my mind...so here goes.

-the nba finals were a great reason for adriana and i to spend dinner and time with our next door neighbors. it was incredible considering that we didn't really spend too much time watching the game

-i'm excited about teaching at CF DT this sunday am again. had a great response from the staff and folks there last sunday. this week, we'll be looking at the next chapter in dave's life - running to the battle and living on the edge...because that's the place that God has invited us to be (you gotta be there for the whole thing)

-class 401 at all the CF campuses are going on this weekend...get connected!

-we are taking dave's pacifier away today...for good. he's not reacting well to that, but oh well.

-my heart goes out to the many friends and family that have told me within the last 6 months that they've lost their jobs or have gone through financial loss. all good people that love God. i have been and will be praying for you

-my anniversary is coming up - June 24 save the date. this year makes 9 years. i love my wife more than i ever have

-God is in control.

to abilities...

so what do you do when you know that you have abilities and talent greater than that of your supervisor or up-line?

as i sit and chat with more and more folks, i discovering that this is more common than i realized. 

so my thoughts on the matter are as follows:

-honor your leader as best as you can (if you can't follow your leadership, then it's time to go)

-do what's best for the organization/business (if you get in trouble for doing what's right, it's the right thing to do)

-make lemonade out of lemons (if the current leadership is the problem, then provide solutions, not just complaints)

any thoughts on the subject? 

i'm still learning how to handle these things wisely when they come my way

to insecure leadership...

so today, i thought i would throw out some different ideas that i'm gathering from 2 main sources - 1 samuel and the life of saul and johnny hunt, pres of the southern baptist convention. 

basically, being a good leader is tough -- there's so many easy ways to get caught up in the initial success. below are some thoughts that j. hunt came up with; i think this is what happened to king saul.

i hope that i never lose sight of the bigger picture.

-An insecure leader has a hard time giving credit to others. “Why should praise seem like an unrecoverable cost? It is a gift that gives back to everyone.” 
-An insecure leader keeps information from his staff. “When you release information, you convey trust and confidence to others. When you conceal it, you convey just the opposite: no trust, no confidence.” 
-An insecure leader doesn’t want his staff exposed to other leaders—people who may possess qualities you don’t, people who may have skills your staff wishes you had. “When one person grows the whole team grows….Give your people the best—even better than you are.” 
-An insecure leader is often a micromanager. “He’s a control freak.” Nothing can happen that they are not fully aware of. They fear things will fall apart without them. This kind of oppressive control can wring the life out of your team. 
-Insecure leaders are too needy of praise. “For this reason, more than perhaps any other, they can’t really be leaders. When someone needs his followers to always be telling him how wonderful he is, he works in direct opposition to the heartbeat of leadership, which is: building into other’s lives.” 

-Insecure leaders don’t provide security for those they lead. “If the mood and environment in the office is one of fear, second-guessing, and self-doubt, you can be sure an insecure leader is in charge.” 
-Insecure leaders take more than they give. Instead of validating and encouraging others, they are focused on receiving it. 
-Insecure leaders limit their best leaders. “Insecure leaders cannot genuinely celebrate the victories won by others.” 
-Insecure leaders limit their organization. “Not only does insecurity throttle down the horsepower of individual team members; it results in putting restraints on the whole church or organization.”

what do you all think? 

let me know