Finding Myself in a Humble Place
Dr. Jim Grier, Distinguished Professor of Philosophical Theology
Every so often it’s good to be humbled. It’s a necessary posture for learning and growing. And if you value learning and growing, as I do, then being humbled can be a good thing. And humbled is what I’ve been this week.
You see I’m taking Theology 576, Christian Ethics, at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary as part of my master’s degree program. The professor is Dr. Jim Grier, someone I’ve heard about for many years. He is a man who is brilliant, passionate, articulate and full of integrity. I’m thankful to be able to spend mornings for two weeks listening to and discussing ethics from a Christian perspective with him and our class.
But I’m surprised at my new-found humbleness because I honestly thought “how hard could ethics be?” My mom and dad raised me well, my faith guides my life and I always want to do the right things. So why would it be hard to make and live out good ethical decisions?
During the first morning it became apparent that I didn’t have the ethics thing figured out nearly as well as I thought. Over this first week of class I’ve discovered that, if I want to live and evaluate the issues of our world from a Christian ethical perspective, I have a ways to go.
But the good news is I am sitting under someone who has much to teach me. My humbled position has turned into a passion to understand as much as I can about Christians ethics so that I can live and lead in a way that honors Him.
Allow Me to Be Nostalgic
Over the last week I have had moments when nostalgia has rushed over me. It started during work day for Winter Retreats. Continued Saturday night of our first weekend as I talked with staff and volunteers while spending time in the dining hall and kitchen . Then it continued as I walked over to Olson Auditoruim for the Saturday evening session. It was on this walk that it dawned on me that this is my 13th Winter Retreat season. For a moment it seemed impossible that I have been with SpringHill that long. Yet as I did the math I realized it was true.
Then I recalled my first Winter Retreat in 1998 when Denise, the kids and I visited SpringHill as part of our process of discerning God’s direction for me coming on staff. There were 350 campers and their leaders sitting on chairs in our dining hall – the pre expanded and pre renovated dining hall that is. It was that weekend we felt God’s Spirit leading us to pursue working on SpringHill staff.
The following year, my first winter on staff, we moved our sessions into the brand new gym. The gym allowed us to be more creative in our sessions, provided more recreational options and expanded to 600 the number of students who could attend each weekend. I have warm feelings for these early retreat seasons, for the work done and especially for the staff that did it.
Yet it’s important to know my nostalgia is not because I wish for days gone by but because, as I look back over these 13 years, I’m overwhelmed by the work of Christ, year after year, in and through the staff of SpringHill. I’ve seen our team grow in its ability to provide more creative and effective life changing experiences. I’ve seen our team mature in their approach and thoughtfulness in their preparation for these weekends. And I’ve seen our team work better and better together . There is no doubt there is a strong link between our becoming a more effective team and the nearly 1000 kids we now serve each weekend.
My nostalgia has provided the context for two other emotions I have also felt all week . The first is the pride I feel when I see our team in action doing what they do so well. And the second is thankfulness for the privilege I have to serve with them and to call them teammates.
Encouragement One Week into the New Year!
Every bit of gums needed to create this “masterpiece” that is Seattle’s gum wall!
One week into the New Year I hope you haven’t walked away from your new year’s resolutions. If you have or are thinking about it consider this story I heard a number of years ago. I can’t remember the source but I do remember the story every time I’m ready to give up on a commitment or project I’ve undertaken. Maybe it too will give you encouragement to keep doing those things that at one time you thought were worth doing.
The pastor and his wife bought a home in the country with a large parcel of land. Very quickly he began a daily routine of taking a long walk around his property to enjoy the beauty of it. There was only one spot on the property that bothered him and it was in the far back corner, away from any road or access. It was a spot where a previous property owner had deposited a huge ball of rusting barbed wire from some old fences.
He hated because it was such an eye sore on what was otherwise such a beautiful walk. Yet he had no idea how to get rid of this big mess. He couldn’t justify paying someone to go back to the spot and dispose of it. Every day he walked by it and everyday he just he just fumed about the wire and his inability to do something about it.
Then one day it dawned on him, he would bring a pair of wire cutters on his daily walk, cut off a piece of the wire and take it back with him. Doing this bit everyday would at least make him feel like he was doing “something” about it. So the next day he took his cutters with him and snipped off a piece of wire and carried it back to his house and threw it away.
Now you know where this story is going right? After 3 months of his daily walks the barbed wire mess was gone. Now I’m sure he missed days here and there because of rain or when he was sick or a family or work obligation. But he stayed with it and in the end he finished off that tangle of barbed wire.
The moral of this story? When tackling a big project or a New Year’s resolution you need to take it a step and a day at a time. If you miss a day or two or more, just start cutting wire again today. No big deal. The point is don’t give up because one day you will come to the end of that tangle and you will be glad you stayed with it.
So if after one week of the New Year you are thinking “I can’t do this” grab a pair of wire cutters and set it on your dresser, near your favorite chair or next to your computer. Let it be a reminder not to give up. That doing a little everyday can make a big difference.
A “Michigan man” or a Michigan “type man”
Bo Schembechler was not a “Michigan man” when he took the head coaching job at the University of Michigan. Meaning he had no prior relationship with the university as a student, player or coach. But no doubt in the minds of Michigan fans and alumni he turned out to be the model Michigan man and the measure of all subsequent coaches. As a matter of fact he’s the person who coined, or at least made popular, the phrase “Michigan man” when he was athletic director.
The problem with much of the media and fan discussion about their next head coach is that it’s centered on the idea that Michigan needs a Michigan man. If this was the line of reasoning in 1969 Bo would never have become the Michigan coach. What Michigan needs is a Michigan “type man”. One who fits the culture of Michigan and will deliver on the goals of the football program.
At SpringHill building and maintaining our unique culture is one of our highest priorities. We look for people who fit our culture and have the gifts and abilities to help advance our mission. We want a SpringHill “type person” not particularly a “SpringHill person.”
This is an important distinction for a number of reasons. First, our goal is to always to hire the very best person available for any job we have open. This requires the largest candidate pool reasonably possible. The “SpringHill person” pool can be too small and limiting.
Secondly, sometimes hiring a person who fits our culture but has no SpringHill experience allows us to have new ideas and perspectives brought into the organization. It would be arrogant to think we have nothing to learn from folks who have never been “SpringHill people”.
The one exception is when filling the top position in an organization. That person should come from within “the family”. Jim Collins advocates this in his book “Good to Great.” By the way in Michigan’s case the head football coach is not the leader of the University or even the athletic department thus this exception doesn’t apply.
So as a life long Michigan fan and steward of our family’s season tickets I want the best fit and qualified football coach available. Using this hiring approach works for many quality organizations including SpringHill and even once worked for the University of Michigan.
Getting Ready for 9000 Winter Retreaters
This weekend kicks off our Winter Teen Retreat season at our Michigan camp. We are expecting over 9000 students and their leaders over 12 weekends. This means there’s a lot of work to do to before we welcome them to SpringHill on Friday night.
Each year during the week before the season begins we have an all staff work day to help prepare camp. We have teams building sets, cleaning cabins and buildings, prepping activity areas, creating a prayer labyrinth and a host of other essential work. It’s a great chance for staff members who normally don’t work directly with our campers and guests to be involved in our second biggest season of the year. It helps all of us feel a part of these weekends.
One of the coolest things we do on this day is pray for every one of the 300 or so churches who will attend this winter along with the speakers and bands who will be part of each weekend. It’s important to us that the entire season, including each weekend be covered in pray. We pray for safety, for community building within groups and especially that the life of each student and leader be transformed through hearing, seeing and experience Christ.
So, as you think of Winter Teen Retreats over the next few months, please join us in praying for these students, their leaders and churches that their SpringHill Experience will be all God intends it to be.
Are You Ready to Take a Great Adventure in 2011?
The great adventure is to read the Bible through in 2011. I’m doing two things I hope will encourage others to join in this adventure.
The first is to journal and post my entries from each day’s reading to my new blog called Read the Bible in a Year at http://1yearbiblereading.com/ .
Second, through my Read the Bible in a Year blog, I want to encourage as many people as possible to read the Bible in 2011.
Here’s how it will work:
- Click on the http://1yearbiblereading.com/ and subscribe to Read the Bible in a Year.
- You will receive your first post on December 31st. If you subscribe after December 31st you will receive your first post that day for the following day’s reading.
- Each evening I will post brief summaries and reflections for the following day’s reading. As a subscriber you will receive an email of the post to aid that day’s reading. You may find them helpful as an introduction to the reading.
- Anyone can subscribe and join anytime during the year. Start reading from the beginning or pick it up where the schedule is currently at.
- If you like hard copies of the year’s schedule click on http://www.esv.org/resources/reading-plans-devotions/ and choose the “Through the Bible” schedule and then hit “print.” This is the schedule I will be following and use in my posts.
- Read the Bible in a Year blog has a comment section where dialogue can occur between those who are following this reading plan can happen.
It’s that simple. Now I have no idea how many people will join me in this adventure but my prayer is that there will be many people committing to reading the Bible all the way through whether they follow this schedule or subscribe to this blog or not.
Now one last thing. If you’re committed to reading the Bible thru in 2011 and want to encourage others to join… please share this page to your Facebook, e-mail it to friends or Tweet it (see below and click on your choice). Let’s get the word out and see how many people will join our little community of readers in 2011.
My New Year’s Resolution – Part 3
Let me say again, my experience reading the entire Bible through in a year has been life transforming, maybe the single most significant personal practice I’ve done in my life.
Also let me reiterate my belief that anyone can read the Bible through in a year. It takes a bit of organization, resilience and grace – grace from God and sometimes grace from yourself but it can be done by anyone.
So let me share a few things I’ve learned over the years that have helped me read the entire Bible and may assist you in your own quest to read the Bible through in 2011.
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Know the day before when you will create the 15 to 20 minutes space needed to do your reading.
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One day a week read 2 to 3 days (30 to 45 minutes) to catch up or better yet get ahead.
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If you’ve had a bad week and get behind to the point you think you can’t catch up, just start reading on the current day. If you only end up reading 80% of the Bible that is still an incredible achievement and God will still use it to change your life (He’s not keeping score).
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Break it up into two different readings at different times during the day.
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Keep a journal of thoughts and reflections you have. Create no pressure on yourself to do this every day – reading your Bible is more important and doesn’t require keeping a journal.
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Listen to the Bible audibly if that works best for you. There are some great audible versions of the Bible out there.
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Remember this is not a check list thing it’s a chance to seek and hear all of God’s Word. When you feel like it’s a chore, pray to Christ for His Spirit to give you what you need to keep at it. It’s a great place to be when you can look back and know that it was through God’s grace that you’ve read through His Word.
In my next post I will share with you one additional thing I will be doing in 2011 that I hope will be an aid for you as you read the entire Bible.
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My Annual New Year’s Resolution – Part 2
Over the years I’ve used 4 unique Bible reading schedules and have found each one helpful in different ways. Below is a description and assessment of these schedules followed by two links where they can be found on-line.
M’Cheyne: Each day read 2 chapters from the Old Testament and 2 chapters from either the New Testament or the Psalms. You read through the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice. It’s the most challenging schedule because of the amount of reading required. I recommend it for people who have used the other schedules and are ready to step up their reading.
Beginning to End: Start with Genesis 1 and read 3 chapters a day straight through until you reach Revelations 22. This is a straight forward approach that treats the Bible as a regular book. It has helped me understand the flow and placement of all the books of the Bible.
Chronological approach: Read 3 chapters a day taking each book in the order in which the recorded events occurred. For example you read the two Chronicles, Kings and Samuel books side by side. This approach has helped me understand both the historical context and the unique perspectives different authors have of the same event.
Old and New Testament Together: With this schedule you read 2 Old Testament chapters beginning in Genesis and a chapter from the New Testament starting with Matthew. This is my favorite schedule because it allows me to see the connectedness of the two Testaments. This is also the one I will use in 2011.
Two good sources for schedules are:
Back to the Bible – http://www.backtothebible.org/index.php/Bible-Reading-Guides.html
English Standard Version web site – http://www.esv.org/resources/reading-plans-devotions/ This site has printable schedules.
In my next post I will outline helpful things I’ve learned over the years that have assisted me staying with a reading schedule. Then on Thursday I will offer you an opportunity to join me and others in reading the Bible through in 2011.
My Annual New Year’s Resolution
Every Christmas break I set goals for myself for the upcoming year. Sometimes they are lofty goals, but most often they are basic goals such as losing some weight, reading a particular book or staying in better contact with friends. I have to admit I don’t always achieve all my goals. Some years have been better than others.
But there is one annual goal that I have set for myself over the past 25 years. It’s also the one goal that I have nearly achieved every year. It’s simply to read the entire Bible through from the beginning to the end. I’ve committed to this goal every year because every time I’ve read through it I’ve been transformed by it. There is no other personal commitment I’ve ever made that has so impacted every facet of my life then this one simple practice – reading the entire Scripture through from front to back.
Now before you’re tempted to congratulate me or think me a super spiritual person please know this – it is an achievable goal for anyone and everyone. I’m not a Bible scholar or a monk, I’m a regular person who has, through the grace of God, been able to make this commitment stick and have benefited from the incredible difference it makes. It requires no more than 15 to 20 minutes a day to achieve. What other daily 20 minute routine (other than some infomercial fitness equipment) can make such a difference in one’s life? So I’m without excuse, I need to do it again in 2011.
Over my next couple of posts I will outline different ways I’ve read the Scriptures through, things I’ve learned and resources I’ve used to help me make this commitment a reality. I’ll also share an additional element I’m adding to my 2011 resolution. My hope and prayer is that these posts will help you with a similar commitment for 2011.
By the way, Merry Christmas!
Coaching in the Big Time
Time out during our last game. “A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are.” Ara Parasheghian
I’ve just finished my 5th season of helping coach basketball at Northern Michigan Christian School (I also have 1 season of coaching varsity baseball under my belt).This season I was the assistant middle school coach (7th and 8th graders) where my son Jonathan played on the 8th grade team. Let’s just say we all had a “growing season” together meaning that our record doesn’t tell the whole story about all the things we learned. Not only did we learn a lot about basketball but more importantly a lot about life. Some of these lessons weren’t the easiest to learn. But they’re easier learned in middle school basketball than later in life when the stakes are higher.And it’s these life lessons that have driven me to spend so much time in the gym, on the bench and in the locker room working with young men, especially my own sons, and using the great teachable moments that sports provide to help them move from being boys to becoming Christian men.
Jonathan #12 running the offense.
