When You Feel You’ve Lost God’s Anointing

Posted on February 2, 2011 by

If you’re a Christian, you know what this post is all about. The anointing is the power behind the service of a believer. It is daily being led by the voice of God, that inner voice that brings so much peace and assurance of our decision.

But throughout life, you will encounter seasons of lost anointing. Some times you will be at fault, and at other times you won’t. You may lose the anointing due to sin, or a stupid mistake. The anointing may even be absent due to situations beyond your control (i.e. not in the right place, not met the right person, not the right time, etc.).

So what is a Christian to do when the anointing feels lost?

1.  Realize your mistake is not beyond God’s grace. Those who once operated in a powerful anointing and then go long periods of time feeling dry usually go through a grieving process. First you begin a relentless search in your thoughts trying to figure out what you did wrong. If you find that you did something wrong, let me remind you of the gospel that you at one time so whole-heartedly proclaimed.

Jesus paid it all. You may have backslidden or simply made an unwise decision that caused great backlash. Whatever the case, there is nothing that has been done that can’t be forgiven. Once you figure out where everything went wrong, repent.

2. Begin where you left off. There has never been a marathon judge who looked at a fallen runner laying on the ground and said, “You need to go back to the starting line to begin again”. Instead, he says the same thing God would say to you today, “Get up from where you fell down, and begin running again”.

3. Your mission and purpose has not changed, although the strategy may have. God has a mission and a purpose specifically for you when he decided to bring you into the world. Whatever that is, it has not changed. Romans 11:29 says:

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.”

Take for example someone that is called to teach God’s word. During certain seasons of their life, this may be carried out through preaching, blogging, writing books, online podcasts, leading a small group, etc. The mission and purpose has not changed, but the strategy through which they are fulfilled may change many times throughout the course of his life.

4. Fellowship with the right people. There are gifts within you that must be stirred up again. There are certain people that stir my spiritual gifts every time I get around them. These are people that are in someway connected to your ministry. They carry a similar anointing. Paul talked about this with Timothy:

“…I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” –2 Timothy 1:6

Rather than fellowshipping with the right people, maybe you need to sever some ties to people who are pulling your desires towards things that are not related to your life’s mission.

5. Be patient. God has not forgotten you. You are far to precious to him. If you feel that you’ve been placed on the shelf, continue to faithfully seek after him. Jeremiah 33:3 reminds us “Call unto me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.”

How have you handled those seasons when you feel you’ve lost the anointing? Please feel free to share. You may be able to help someone else.

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Implementing Change In A Healthy Way

Posted on January 31, 2011 by

As long as you’re speaking of change in a vague way, people are all on board. We saw proof of this when President Obama was running for the highest office in the United States. His entire campaign was centered around change. Sides begin to form though once changes become specific. Up until then, everyone loved the thought of change. Lines quickly became drawn when his idea of change didn’t match up with what others had in mind.

When implementing change, it’s sexy to shake everything up, change everything all at once, and make a statement to everyone through the new policies that this is the way things are going to be from now on. But sexy isn’t always healthy.

At the time of this post, my youngest son, Micah, is four months old. He has been feeding off of milk for his entire life. My wife and I know that he will eventually be able to enjoy the pleasures of juicy steak, hearty chili, and delicious hot wings, but it would be ridiculous and certainly detrimental to his health to start feeding them to him now.

His doctor wants us to start feeding him baby food. So today, I broke out the finely pureed green beans. He hated it at first! In order to get him to eat, I had to give a small spoonful of green beans, then wash it down with the all familiar milk. Over time, Micah’s meals will get more variety and the textures more solid.

If this method makes sense for introducing change in a baby, then what about your organization?

Transitions are a very healthy way to implement lasting change. Think of them as baby steps. While there are some great things to be said about starting with a clean slate, and I’ve used that approach before, there are plenty of benefits to be found in taking baby steps.

  1. There are clear steps to the finish line. Everyone knows what is expected out of them at each phase of the plan, allowing for things to flow much smoother than if you had no plan. As a result, you know when you’re heading in the right direction and what constitutes a “win” for you and your organization.
  2. Your plan can be adjusted during implementation. Every plan has its bugs that need to be worked out. When change happens incrementally, it allows you time to think through your decision, received input from others on the team, identify the plan’s flaws, and adjust the plan on the fly.
  3. Slow change still allows for some familiarity. Veterans of organizations tend to be the slowest to adopt new changes. Each has found some source of comfort in certain characteristics of the organization. In order to embrace change, they must still be able to hold onto some since of familiarity, even if only for a short season. If change is implemented to quickly, especially in the area where they have found comfort, you will only villainies yourself in their eyes. Your goal is to get them on board with your vision.
  4. Slow change allows time for the indirectly affected parts to adjust. Think through your potential decision for a moment. Who will it immediately impact? Then who? We are often good at allowing time for those who report directly to us to adjust, but what about those in the third and fourth rings of leadership. Change in an organization is like dropping a stone in a calm pond. Ripples (plural) eventually spread throughout the entire pond. It touches everyone and everything at some point. Taking things slow allow even those who are indirectly impacted to adjust.
  5. Change becomes part of your culture. The last thing you want change to become in your organization is an event. You should be constantly trying to improve. Planning for transitions allows change to be an ever present part of your organization. It sends the message that no strategy is sacred. The vision at all costs!

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The One Thing Your Critics Can’t See

Posted on January 23, 2011 by

These days, it seems that the only thing you have to do to be criticized is to take a stand for something. So long as you stay with the status quo, you can enjoy a life of peacefulness on the river of complacency. But once you catch a vision of what could be, you become unsatisfied with normal. You become more and more determined that some things are worth fighting for. That’s when you make up your mind, map out a plan, and begin implementing the change necessary to make the vision a reality.

Your critics see your actions and they feel the pressing of the waves of change. They despise you for making things different. They see how your decision is affecting their environment. They see how you’re affecting their friends. They see how you react to their criticism. But the one thing your critics can’t see is your heart.

Sincerity is only seen up close. Only those with whom you share your most intimate circle of trust can see your intentions apart from your actions.

Critics are mistakenly viewed as unreasonable. Sometimes the disconnect between you and the critic is not that the critic disagrees with your vision. It’s that the critic does not view your vision from the same perspective. Would it be worth your time to share your heart with your critic? Would it help if they saw the vision with the same passion as you first saw it?

As leaders, we must not just be advocates for change, but our heart must be seen in our policies. Granted, some critics may always find opposition in the things we do. But others may be won, when we allow them close enough to see the vision in the way we see it.

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Don’t Give Up

Posted on November 24, 2010 by

If you’ve been praying for unsaved family members, there’s still hope. If you’re a husband or a wife who lives with a spouse that will seemingly never get it, there is still hope. If you’re a parent who is trying to raise your children to follow Christ and learn from your mistakes, there is STILL hope. It doesn’t matter what the situations look like, you can still take courage when God’s word is your source.

“…Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord who is great, and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”     –Nehemiah 4:14

Your ability to stay strong, to fight the good fight has nothing to do with you; nothing to do with the circumstances of your present situation. Instead, it has EVERYTHING to do with God. He is strong because we are weak. He is awesome because we are simple. The fact is that your situation turning around depends on God’s promise and your faith as evidenced by you continuing to fight for them.

How has your prayer life been for that family member that has burdened your heart? Have you continued to show them love and respect? Many loved ones that are unsaved need someone to stand in the gap for them when they are unable to connect with God on their own. Will you be that person? Will you continue to fight for your family?

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2 Types of Teenage Girls

Posted on November 23, 2010 by

Photo courtesy of ©iStockphoto.com/_IB_

The Bible is such a practical book. Even in the 21st century, it speaks to the issues we face in our society. Many people never make the connection, because they overlook the parts that are harder to understand. We believe what is said in  2 Timothy 3:16-17:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

With that as the basis of our study of Scripture, I wanted to take a moment to answer a question that I have received many times throughout my years in ministry and the school system. The question is usually phrased in different ways, but all parents want to know the same thing; How do I help keep my daughter’s virtue? By virtue, I would mean purity of heart, mind, and body.

Many fathers and mothers have shed many tears in my office at school and over the phone as they shared feelings of utter helplessness in stopping their daughter’s trend of bad decision making. The answer for us parents is found in the poetic pages of the Song of Solomon. You can read the actual scriptures here. Let’s examine the two types of teenage girls.

The Wall

Some girls are described in the Song of Solomon as walls. From young ages, they possess a sense of righteous independence. They don’t need a boyfriend to feel significant. They are ok with taking a stand for what’s right, even when its not the popular thing to do. These are girls that understand that what they have to offer is so valuable, it won’t be given away lightly.

These girls are emotionally stable. They are socially sturdy, mentally tough, and physically, they display their beauty modestly. These girls may very well need encouragement to make friends, start dating, etc.

The Door

These are the girls that cause their dads to bald and turn gray before their time. They subconsciously wear a sign that says “open for business”. These young ladies actually lack self confidence at deeper levels, yet they portray extreme confidence in front of their peers. They are willing to pour out their heart to anyone who will listen. They will give their body to anyone who will show them the slightest bit of interest.

So what’s the answer? In the Song of Solomon, the brothers of “The Door” say, “we will enclose her with boards of cedar”. That means that these girls should be guarded constantly. As a parent, you should make most of the decisions for this girl because she is not yet mature enough to make good decisions. Know who she is texting. Know where she is going, who is gong to be there, and how she plans on getting from point A to point B.

Doors of your house are designed to keep the wrong people out and let the right people in. While protecting your daughter, continue to teach her who the right people are.

Conclusion

The worst thing you can do as a parent, is to try to turn your door into a wall, or vice versa. Figure out which one your daughter is and work within that frame. Her personality is one of the things God gave her to glorify him. When trained properly, both the ladies who are doors and those who are walls can bring glory to God and honor to the family.


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Dads and The Holidays

Posted on November 22, 2010 by

The holidays are upon us. What will you do to make sure this season isn’t wasted in consumerism and hurry?

1) Remember the purpose behind the holidays. It’s all about Jesus. It’s celebrated with friends and family. How is your focus?

2) What is your plan for making the holidays memorable? Your greatest memories have very little to do with WHAT you have done, but more to do with WHO you did it with. Who are the most important people in your life?

3) How’s your joy? The holidays can bring about some of the worst emotions in people. Depression gets darker. Anxiety tighten’s its paralyzing grip. Some of you may be feeling anxious about your finances. Just remember that the bible tells us not to be anxious for anything, but in all things, to make our requests known unto God. People can take out bottled up anger on those they love the most. How is your joy this holiday season?

4) How do you plan to help your wife get the house ready for the holidays? Its time to get your calendar ready. Take a day to have your family decorate the house for the holidays.

5) How can you make your daughter feel like a princess during this season? Take your daughter out for a daddy-date. Enjoy that time together. Talk to her. Be willing to listen to her. Teach her through your actions, and even through your conversation, how a man should treat her. You’ll be glad you took the time to instill these values in her.

6) What would be something fun and outdoors that you can do with your son? These days, so many boys need to connect with their masculine roots. This doesn’t happen in front of the XBox. Get outside. Take him hunting, sledding, or go cut down a Christmas tree (I’ve done that one and we had a great time). It will be a small investment on your part, that will leave an eternal memory for your son.

7) How will you be generous this holiday season? My family and I love to pick out a family to bless during the holiday season. We’ve also been involved in the Angel Tree program in past years. It refocuses you and your kids on the generosity of God the Father, when he gave his only Son. God is generous and that means we should be too.

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Pros and Cons of One-Liners

Posted on October 23, 2010 by

We’re living in a day and age when brevity is valued. “Keep it short, get to the point” could very well be the mantra of our generation. Twitter has encouraged us to speak in short, powerful, 140-character clips. Major news providers love to pull single quotes out of very lengthy speeches. I have even heard CEO’s of major corporations admit that their thinking has even been “twitterfied”.

Social Media, depending on what avenue you choose can allow for either more conversation or more one-liners. Either is a matter of preference. While I like the one-liners for basic input and output of info, I feel like deeper levels of thought are discovered with conversations.

THE CONS OF ONE-LINERS

  • They don’t always tell the whole story
  • They don’t set your statement in context
  • They are easy for critics to manipulate

THE PROS OF ONE-LINERS

  • They are easy to remember
  • They cause you to carefully think through what you really want to say
  • They help feed our insatiable desire for quick input

While I’m a big fan of social media via Twitter, Facebook, Blogging, Text Messaging, etc., There must be a balance in our life that lies between one-liners and conversations. Conversations tend to make you dig to the next level of your thought. They bring up questions that force you to look deeper, think more critically. This is where the real gold nuggets of the mind are discovered.

So how are you at encouraging dialogue instead of always looking for the “wow” statement?

Can you think of any other pros or cons of the one-liner?

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