Sweet Tweets!

My favorite Tweets from May:

• BCooP Truth: Every decision we make is pushed through the grid of FEAR OF MAN or FEAR OF GOD.
• hotdogsladies If it's not moving, it's probably not much of a target.
• BCooP The lack of desperation in our lives is the byproduct of idolatry. Wrestle with this Truth.
• cory1013 Compassion can never coexist with judgement, because judgement creates distance, which prevents us from really being with others. -Nouwen
• RickWarren MATURITY:Feeling the wrong thing but doing the right thing.You can't always control feelings but u DO control your actions
afuturem33 Surrender must be a daily choice!!
• kevinqueen "Spiritual disciplines are not the mark of a mature Christian. Spiritual disciplines are the means by which we become mature." Charles Bello
• RickWarren Many truths in the Bible I only understand by obeying them in faith. Then later, looking back, I can see God's reasons.
• plattdavid No matter what we say/sing on Sunday morning, rich people who neglect the poor are not the people of God.
• jimthemethodist Idea for Churches: In the "who we are" section, don't tell us what you're not. Tell us what you are, what you will be ,and what you can be.
• kevinqueen Ignoring God while pretending to serve him dishonors God and diminishes the call. Faithfulness is found in keeping first things first.
• jasonyounglive People connect w/relationships & responsibility. Do you provide that for the volunteer leaders in your church?

Find me @joshburnham.

Leading and Being Led

There a clever little phrase:

Are you a thermometer or thermostat?

The idea being that one adjusts to the temperature, the other alters it.

The part of me that leans into a leadership role hears the pull to be the thermostat. "Influence those around you." "Connect with people in ways that affect positive change." "Make a difference." Dare I even reference something Jesus said.

But I also hear the pull to be the thermometer. There's wisdom in adjusting ourselves to the right kinds of voices speaking into our lives. If we don't yet have it all figured out and we still have room to grow and improve and we have helpful, caring people speaking into our lives, it's arrogant foolishness to remain unchanged.

I'll reconcile this faulty choice by saying it's a "Both-And" situation with this long, rambling sentence: We need to diligently listen to God and the voices of wise counsel He's placed in our lives so that we may continually be adjusting our lives in obedience to Him, AND, at the same time, we must be sharing and showing that which we do know and have attained with the people around us in hopes of helping them to grow in maturity. This, to me, is what Paul wrote about to the Corinthians and what Jesus had in mind.

What's Better Than Being Likable?

It's better to be interesting than likable.

I don't know if it's always been this way or if it's a development of today's world, but these days it certainly seems that interesting trumps likable.

Don't believe me?

• Nobody likes somebody else to have been in a traffic accident, but all the rubber-neckers on the interstate sure do find it interesting.
• I don't know of very many people who would say they like the series of decisions Tiger Woods has recently admitted to having made in his personal life, but there are lots of people that think it's very interesting.
• Shannon and I get so creeped-out by some of the plot twists of CBS's Criminal Minds, but we keep watching nearly every week.
• I don't particularly like men's college basketball, but my interest is captured by March Madness.
• I don't like Butler University (and to be fair, I don't dislike the school either), but I was glued to this year's NCAA Men's Basketball final.
• And we don't have much of a reason to like any number of Hollywood celebrities whom we've never met, but so many people think the tabloids and gossip magazines in the checkout lines are interesting enough to thumb through.

Maybe in this information age we define "interesting" by the value we place on our finite attention, when there are a seemingly infinite number of things vying for our attention. Or maybe it's because there are so many options to which we can give our attention, we simply find more things interesting. Either way, things we find interesting seem to be more valuable to us than the things we like; we're willing to be interested in things we do not like. These two qualities, likable and interesting, they're not polar opposites or mutually exclusive, but they're also not identical.

Now, I realize this is written by somebody who can be very UN-likable. I know. I've been told.

And, I realize that what one person or group of people finds interesting can be something in which others have little or no interest.

The real sweet-spot is to find that thing, or create that experience, or be that person, who is both likeable AND interesting.

Sweet Tweets!

My favorite Tweets from April:

• TWLOHA "We need never be hopeless because we can never be irreparably broken." – John Green
• johncmaxwell The bookends of achieving our goals are decisions & discipline. Decisions help us start. Discipline helps us finish.
• RickWarren STRONG thoughts are not necessarily LONG thoughts. Same with sermons.
• lukermartin A lot of stuff is just sitting there for anyone to see. The tricky part is looking.
• RickWarren God's uncondtional love for me doesnt mean He approves of everything I think, do, or say. Every parent knows the difference.
• JimGaffigan You'd think with all of our technological advances they'd be able to figure out a way to make cheese good for you.
• briandrussell Salvation functions as a commissioning for God's future rather than merely a cleansing of our past. #fb
• kirkhagan I bet God gets a good laugh when we talk about "being productive"
• vickytcobra I wish some people had a 140 character limit to what they say.
• johncmaxwell Share ur passion: Martin Luther King, Jr, didn't proclaim from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, "I have a plan!" #ECFC

Find me @joshburnham.

Space Pirates and House Fires

Pop quiz: Do you know who this guy is?No, not Harrison Ford. That's Han Solo, the space pirate (who had just negotiated a lucrative deal to transport two men to Alderaan, enough to pay off his debt to crimelord Jabba the Hutt, when Greedo showed up to collect the bounty on him). Don't judge me. Like you couldn't have rattled that off.

Anyway, I have one of the original 1977 Kenner Han Solo Star Wars figures. For years he's sat on my bookshelf. And not just because space pirates are super awesome. For me, he's a reminder.

Several years ago Shannon and I had a house fire. You can read the story, but basically lightning struck and ignited the insulation in our attic. We pretty much lost everything in the attic and in a few rooms of the house, including dozens of cd's, my Xbox, and my guitar stuff (acoustic, electric, 12-string, amps, pedals, magazines... ugh. It still pains me to think about.).

I don't know what you have in your attic, but we had boxes and boxes of stuff stored up there. One of those boxes was my Star Wars collection; many of the original figures, space ships, etc. Han Solo was one of the few that survived, slightly charred.

Although we lost a lot of stuff, one of the life lessons that I took from that experience is that "stuff is just stuff." The Xbox, I got a new one. The guitars, I got a new one. Even the stuff that was not replaceable, it was still just stuff. Thankfully, our wedding album and family photos were safe... but even that stuff, it's just stuff.

And stuff fades. Stuff doesn't last.

I heard somebody say one time there are three things that last forever: God, the Word of God, and people's souls. It's nice to have nice stuff, but stuff doesn't have lasting value. I want to continually be investing my life in something of lasting value, something of eternal value. I think that's what Jesus would have wanted (see Mt6).

Technorati tags: star wars action figures, han solo, house fire, lasting value

Sweet Tweets!

My favorite Tweets from March:

• hotdogsladies Nice thing about a face tattoo is never having to wonder whether people think you're an idiot.
• BCooP Cultures become DISTINCT & EFFECTIVE when leaders choose to say "NO" to many things in order to say "YES" to the Ultimate thing.
• BCooP On VISION: See CLEARLY, Share CREATIVELY, Say CONSISTENTLY.
• perrynoble Dear "average," you suck...stay away from my walk with God, my marriage, my parenting, my friends and my church!
• stevenfurtick Swagger Jackers: Don't let anyone back you down from doing what you know God has told you to do. http://bit.ly/csE7cB
• jasonyounglive Social justice needs to focus on not just meeting needs but breaking & changing the system.

Find me @joshburnham.

Technorati tags: sweet tweets

Sweet Tweets!

My favorite Tweets from February:

• BCooP We only love the world as ferociously as we perceive Christ's love for us.
• lukermartin 5-5 in the 9th End. USA/Denmark Olympic Curling, feel the excitement.
• RickWarren Power in preaching comes from intimacy with God not from trying to impress people with how much you know about the text.
• CandiPShelton We need friends who will always have our back but won't always take our side.
• kevinqueen "The church is the only cooperative society in the world that exists for the benefit of its non-members." -Archbishop William Temple
• johncmaxwell Failure isn't so bad if it doesn't attack the heart. Success is all right if it doesn't go to the head. -Grantland Rice
• jasonyounglive The measurables inside your organization will determine the behavior of your team members.

Find me @joshburnham.

Technorati tags: sweet tweets

Sweet Tweets!

My favorite Tweets from January:

• RickWarren "What will grow our church?" is the wrong question.Instead ask"What is preventing growth?"All living things grow IF healthy
• joelt_ Success requires you to continue "playing to win" and resist at all costs "playing not to lose."
• RickWarren Praise & criticism are TESTS of character.You pass both tests the same way: humble yourself to God & show love to others.
• MaxLucado Why listen to the mockers…when you can, with the same ear, listen to the voice of God?
• stevenfurtick There's a big diff between falling down (Peter) & falling away (Judas). Grace means God's got your back-get back up!
• BrianCHouston Leaders goal: An "anything could happen" ATMOSPHERE, a "whatever it takes" CULTURE, & an "all may come" TONE OF VOICE!
• stevenfurtick When all else fails, & you're not sure what to do, just have integrity. Everything else will eventually come together.
• BrianCHouston Leadership goal: To be deliberate in mixing SEASONED wisdom & YOUTHFUL exuberance in a single team, for ongoing momentum!
• MattChandler74 When the illusion of control disappears we become men and women of prayer

Find me @joshburnham.

Technorati tags: sweet tweets

The Sound of Potential

God used this video of a young man born without eyes and limited use of his joints to teach me some things I needed to hear today:

• Attitude and perspective are inextricably connected
One defines the other.

• Plan B is ok.
"Ok, we're not going to play baseball, but we're going to play music together. And that was really exciting. Let's see how far we can run with this."

• A father sacrificing for his child is stirring, always.
I think there's a reason that story moves everybody.

• Our limitations may be the very things that give birth to our greatest gifts, if we'll let them.
It's like a cosmic judo move or something. In the video Patrick Henry Hughes makes the comment, "God made me blind and unable to walk. Big deal! He gave me the musical gifts I have and the great opportunity to meet new people." He may not have been able to do so many of the things that other people do in the way that other people do them, but that doesn't prevent him from doing the things he can do. And much of what he does are things that others can't do. Plus, and this is important, he doesn't do it alone.

• Don't be that guy... whoever that other guy is. Be you.
I think we often see what we admire in others - their gifts and talents and abilities. I wonder how often the pressure we put on ourselves to imitate or conform to those things, thinking that would allow us to inspire others, prevents us from being what God would have us be. And if we'd just be obedient to who God has made us... well THAT WOULD inspire others.

Technorati tags: espn otl, patrick henry hughes, i hope i find my melody

Sweet Tweets!

Some favorite Tweets from December:

• jasonyounglive A leader must commit to that which has not yet happened. Otherwise, you're not leading, you're following.
• BrianCHouston Old methods won't produce new results! Break old habits for a NEW year!
• RickWarren To be faithful in loving people the way Jesus does you must be willing to appear foolish to those who just don't get it.
• johncmaxwell Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. -Einstein
• BCooP Celebration is a MAJOR KEY to REPLICATION.... if you want to see MORE OF SOMETHING... You've GOT TO CELEBRATE IT!
• perrynoble Two powerful weapons the enemy will use against you is discouragement and distraction...keep your eyes on Jesus!
• kevinqueen There is no such thing as small obedience. God writes mountain sized stories through mustard seed moments.
• stevenfurtick Don't just pray for rain...prepare your fields! Faith w/o works is dead.

Find me @joshburnham.

Technorati tags: sweet tweets

A Quick Jog Down Memory Lane

I was thinking back on past Christmases and memories I've held onto over the years. Here are a few:

• The year my parents video taped Santa delivering our gifts. The camera flashed out of focus and the living room reappeared with all our gifts in place. I was amazed. (I later figured out how Auto-focus works when you flash a cloth over the camera lens.)
• When I was in elementary school and sang a solo of Silent Night for our children's Christmas musical. I sang the first verse, but never memorized the second verse because everybody else sang that part while I was walking back to my place on the risers. I memorized it the next year during the Sunday mornings leading up to Christmas just because I felt like I'd gotten left out.
• The year my brother and I thought we'd opened all the gifts, then noticed the last two boxes: Red Ryders. It was just like the movie. My parents swore we peeked.
• A few years after my parents' divorce, mom let dad come over and sleep on the couch so he could be there as we opened gifts Christmas morning, which felt both odd and comforting at the same time.
• The year my uncle Walter died the week before Christmas.
• The first year my dad didn't get me a gift.
• When I was chosen as a reader for our church's Christmas Eve service. It was my freshman year in college and I got to share the opportunity with two close friends I'd graduated with the year before. It felt pretty special.
• Mine and Shannon's first Christmas together.
• Our first year with Noah and looking forward to this year, our first with Ansley.

Anybody out there have a Christmas memory or two you'd like to share?

Technorati tags: christmas memories, some ppl stroll, i'm only taking time to jog

Sweet Tweets!

Some favorite Tweets from November:

• jasonyounglive The capacity to generate & sustain trust is the central ingredient in leadership.
• stevenfurtick If the enemy is reminding you that you're unworthy today-agree w him. Then remind him of your affiliation w Jesus...
• mandythompson We forget that not everyone is like us.
• hotdogsladies At any given time, someone thinks you're wrong, useless, and unlovable. Once you accept this, food tastes better and you sleep like a baby.
• perrynoble We need to focus on HIS faithfulness rather than our fears! He is greater than anything that comes against us!
• RickWarren Love isnt letting people do whatever they want. That's often cowardice or apathy. Love cares enough to tell the truth.
• RickWarren You have just enough time to do God's will.If u cant get it all done, you're doing the wrong thing or doing it the wrong way
• jasonyounglive Accountability closes the gap between intentions and actions.
• stevenfurtick Lessons on joy from a glo-stick: often God has to break u & turn out the lights for His joy to shine thru your life.

Find me @joshburnham.

Technorati tags: sweet tweets

Sweet Tweets!

My favorite Tweets from October:

The Helpful/Thoughtful

• johncmaxwell Spectacular achievement comes from unspectacular preparation.
• stevenfurtick My joy is not determined by what happens TO me But what Christ is doing IN me and THROUGH me. #joygenome
• johncmaxwell Successful people make right decisions early & manage those decisions daily.
• DougFields "Life without labeling others isn't possible, the problem is labeling too quick and holding on too long." (via Matt McGill) #fb
• hotdogsladies Useful advice is rarely relaxing.
• stevenfurtick Figuring out how God is going to do His job isn't in your job description. Your roles & responsibilities: trust & obey.
• daviddonnan "Others determine your reputation, but only you determine your integrity" - Tony Dungy in Uncommon. #fb
• hotdogsladies I can't prove reading books makes you smarter, but there's compelling anecdotal evidence for what happens when you don't.
• RickWarren Balance ur preaching:“Edification,Exhortation & Comfort”1Cor.14:3 BUILD UP(doctrinal)FIRE UP(motivational)HOLD UP(pastoral)
• RickWarren It's HOW u live,not HOW LONG that matters; the donation of ur life,not the duration. U choose 2waste, spend,or invest time

The Funny

• hotdogsladies High school by our house appears to have replaced Phys. Ed. with KFC Famous Bowls and Rhianna videos.
• jepeay Does Twitter have a mailing address that people can mail their tweets to? If not, that's discriminating against the Amish and Alaskans.
• jepeay Toasters are being used less and less these days...which is why Poptarts should change their name to Spinaroundinthemicrowavetarts.

Find me @joshburnham.

Technorati tags: sweet tweets

Life is a Journey

Here's the thought:

• Life is a journey.
• Vision = the road map, gives direction.
• Passion = the gasoline, the go-juice that makes us move.
• Discipline = gives the vehicle to move in life b/c gas and a map ain't goin' nowhere w/out the car.

Credit to Brad Cooper for the thoughts. Now, go read what he said about it.

Technorati tags: vision, passion, discipline

Sweet Tweets!

The latest greatest fad to hit the Internets is Twitter. Perhaps you've heard of it? I think it's good for more than pictures of food and "I'm going to the bathroom" updates. I'll share my favorites from the past month...

My favorite Tweets from September:

• jimgaffigan Eating crab is too much work. They are the pistachio of seafood
• hotdogsladies New Butcher: How'd you know that's 2 lbs? Old Butcher: Dunno. Just do. NB: But what's yr trick? OB: My "trick" is being a butcher for 40 yrs
• RickWarren I must change for things to change.Only changed people change the world."Change your life,not just your clothes"Joel2:13mes
• perrynoble "Becoming obsessed with what people think about me is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about me!" (Quote by Craig Groeschel)
• mattmcgill I imagine the cool thing about nuclear post apocolypse would be little traffic. Down side: zombies and mutants.
• BCooP They dont make a condom that protects the soul....
• RickWarren 4 TESTS OF YOUR FAITH:HEB11 A major change-v8, A delayed promise-v9-10, An impossible problem-v11-12, A senseless loss-v17
• coachsteelman33 Learn from the past...prepare for the future...perform in the present...
• stevenfurtick If you WON'T LISTEN to God in one area, there may come a time when you CAN'T HEAR Him in the other areas.

Find me @joshburnham.

Technorati tags: sweet tweets

Leaders Love People

Whether it's friends, a spouse, or volunteers...

People like to hear "I love you."

o Not because it's part of a routine.
My wife and I often tell each other "I love you," just before we end a phone conversation. I like this and I hate it.

I've realized there are sometimes I say it out of habit; it's just become part of our routine to end a phone call. I hate this because I don't want some thoughtless phrase tossed out there for something that's so meaningful. And yet, I like this, too. I want to take every opportunity I have to let her know she's loved.

With a volunteer team or staff members, we should routinely let them know they are valued, but not out of habit.

o It must be genuine.
I still think most people have a built-in crap detector. People can call a bluff. And when it comes to hearing that you matter to someone, it's a painful thing to think it's just a disingenuous gesture. This can actually communicate the opposite message.

o Not just when you're looking for something.
If you only express appreciation or care when you're in need, it feels manipulative. Like the teenager that suddenly becomes the most pleasant, agreeable kid with the spotlessly clean room when they're hoping for permission to go out Saturday night... It's more than some system of relational deposits and withdrawals. Communicating care is about the other person, not your needs.

Technorati tags: volunteer appreciation, i love you

Change Can Be a Good, Difficult Process

When I clean out a closet, I make a mess. I pull out all kinds of stuff to sort through before tossing the old junk and putting what's left neatly back in place. When I'm doing yard work, sometimes it looks like a mess. I've got yard tools out, trimmed limbs lying around the bushes, and I'm a sweaty, smelly person.

Sometimes when things are in process, they seem to get worse before they get better.

In Exodus 5-6:1, Moses and Aaron go to Pharoah, requesting Israel's release, and Pharoah makes it harder on the people of Israel. God sends Moses to rescue the people of Israel and the people actually have it worse!

The people complain to Moses, and Moses complains to God. And God's response: Now you'll see what I will do.

God does work through the messes of our lives for good. Was this God's way of showing His strength and power and just how much He could overcome? He did say before that Pharoah's heart would be hardened.

Was this God's necessary pre-requisite in order for Israel to follow through on this change, not turning back to their old life? It's the process of change that is sometimes uncomfortable for us. But it's only when it's more painful to stay the same that we choose to change.

If you're seeking God, maybe some of the mess you're going through in the short-term is evidence that God is in the process of making it better for the long-term. Maybe it's God's way of showing just what He can do in the face of the storms of life. Take encouragement that sometimes we need to be uncomfortable enough to recognize the areas of our lives that God wants to shape and mold into something so much better than we would settle for on our own.

Technorati tags: change, growth

Surprise! He Could Count to Ten

We didn't realize our almost-two-year-old could count, but it turns out he could and we didn't even know it!

About two months ago Shannon and Noah were at home waiting for toast in our new toaster. As they waited, Shannon would count out loud and Noah would repeat after her.

We had been doing this for a little while as he'd been learning new words, and his talking has been improving, and all...

Well, as Shannon and Noah were counting, Ansley spit up. So Shannon stops counting for a moment as she wipes up Ansley's mess. And Noah didn't wait on her - he went right on and counted to ten!

We didn't know he could do that! He'd never counted before (without us prompting him). The rest of the night, he walked around the house counting to ten, and counting to grandmothers on the phone. I don't know if he might have even been a little surprised by the new discovery.

I wonder how many times we might underestimate what all Noah DOES know and what he CAN do. I also wonder what all Noah doesn't realize he can do now and what he can do when given the chance.

This gets me thinking about how many times we might underestimate other people in our lives; what they know, what they can do, what they're capable of, their gifts and talents and potential... and how much of that they may not even be aware of yet... and how I can help them discover and use their giftedness.

Technorati tags: counting to ten, reaching potential

Facing the Fears of Leadership

When God showed up and spoke to Moses, it turned his world upside-down. God called Moses to a task that was way bigger than Moses could accomplish. God called Moses to the God-sized task of leadership.

But Moses wasn't so sure right away. He had some doubts and concerns about what God was inviting him to be a part of.

I think the doubts and concerns that Moses wrestled with are issues that many leaders have to face for themselves.

Moses' Excuses: Who am I?
The Core Issue: Doubted his identity.
God's Response: I'm with you; you'll worship on this mountain.
Note: There's a comfort that comes from the confidence of finding our identity in Christ. God is with you, and that makes all the difference. God basically responds, "Who are you? You are mine."

Moses' Excuses: Who's sending me?
The Core Issue: Doubted God's identity.
God's Response: I AM, repeats picture & vision of hope, and "I'm going to move!"
Note: God has been, is, and will be. God cares for His people. God is living and active.

Moses' Excuses: They won't believe me.
The Core Issue: Doubted people's response.
God's Response: Gives examples of how He was going to show himself.
Note: There's a bit of a feeling that stepping into leadership is like stepping out on a limb. But it's not the leader's job to worry about people's response. It's the leader's job to faithfully follow where God leads and invite others to join in. Besides, as the saying goes, out on the limb is where the fruit is.

Moses' Excuses: I can't speak well.
The Core Issue: Doubted abilities, not equipped for the responsibilities.
God's Response: I'll tell you what to say.
Note: God wouldn't call you to join in His redemptive work and then hang you out to dry. The old cliche is true: God doesn't call the equipped; He equips the called. God's power is made perfect in our weakness because then we know we're dependent on Him.

Moses' Excuses: Just send someone else.
The Core Issue: Wants to run away, avoid responsibilities.
God's Response: Anger. Take Aaron with you. Now go do what I say.
Note:It's a certain arrogance to claim so boldly that we know a situation better than God. It's a blessing to be invited to participate in God's work and activity. God may send others to do the same work (sent Aaron), but not to do what He's called you to do. And we come to know God by experience as we live in obedience and see God work.

Technorati tags: moses, leadership

Is Your God a Puppet?

Hearing God speak? or Speaking for God?

It makes a difference.

Graphic is from Jun7, 09 on ASBO Jesus, which is a funny, thought-provoking site you should take a look at.

Technorati tags: asbo jesus