Man Stuff

Posted on November 18, 2013 by jimtheyouthguy

Leadership

All men are created to be leaders.  That doesn’t mean that we are all the boss, in command or the “top dog”.  Often leadership includes leading under authority or in the mundane.  To lead means to live integrity, make godly decisions and act as a man of God.  We distort that in American culture – often even in the church.

When we look at “leaders,” we hardly ever see the servant leadership described by Jesus.  Oh, we’ll talk about our “servant leaders” and what they “sacrifice” for the flock, but it rarely looks like Philippians 2:3-8, Luke 22:24-27 and John 13:3-17 (yes, I expect you to read those).  The guys we watch, read and listen to, who presumably present the wisdom of God, don’t show that wisdom in accordance to James 3:13-18.  It all begins with humility.

Not humility that exists to draw attention to itself – “Look at my humility.  I’m so proud of it”.  It is not playing the humble game to cover up our controlling nature.  It is not also the self-loathing or poor self-image that masquerades as humility.  It is the humility that recognizes the power and place of God’s Spirit in us.  With His Spirit we can act decisively, speak with authority and lead with considerable influence that results in a light that shines before men to the Glory of our Father in Heaven.

Pushing Back the Dark

As God’s kingdom comes and rules in more and more areas of our life, we can begin to push back the Darkness around us.  In Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time, there is a darkness that is spreading throughout the universe.  As it envelops planets it subjugates the inhabitants in a form of thought slavery.  Every now and then, as Darkness threatens to consume a world, a star would burn brightly and push back the Darkness until it burned out.  In the “death” of the star, Darkness would be delayed and light ruled for awhile longer.  That is what we do.  We bring light into dark places and push back the darkness proclaiming God’s righteous rule and redemption where we stand –  until we burn out.

Men are uniquely suited for this.

Look at our movies.  In 300, King Leonidas dies for the idea of a free Sparta.  In Saving Private Ryan, Captain Miller gives his life to bring a soldier home.  In Braveheart, William Wallace dies for a free Scotland.  In The Passion of The Christ, the character Jesus dies for all humanity.  ;p  It is built in us to find a great deal of meaning in sacrificing ourselves in service to a greater good.  We can endure nearly anything if we believe it matters.

What Really Matters

The problem is nobody knows what really matters anymore.  So men spend themselves in the service of self, accomplish nothing of lasting significance and leave all sorts of chaos and pain in their wake (like we learned in 33 The Series).  To do what’s right because it’s right even when no one is looking, to do the “unimportant,” mundane things with integrity, to give up our pleasure in the moment to bring God’s Glory into the Dark – that is where manhood lives.

In The Magnificent Seven (quite possibly the best Man Movie of all time (see also, the Seven Samurai), Charles Bronson’s character. tells three boys the meaning of bravery, responsibility and manhood.  Like so many of us, the boys see the glamor of a gunfighter.  His freedom, his strength, prestige, money – all the self-centered and self-absorbed characteristics we tend to harbor and feed in the darkness of ourselves, and, if we are honest, we admit we aspire to obtain for ourselves.  But, he tells them, true bravery is found in the mundane responsibilities that are done simply for love.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wOxuFrMP1E

I am crucified in Christ, therefore I no longer live . . .

Don’t settle for anything less than being the man God created you to be – just like your big brother, Jesus.

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Mostly He Just Listened

Posted on November 18, 2013 by jimtheyouthguy

There is a story that in an interview, Mother Teresa was asked about her prayer life.  I tried to find this interview or some evidence for this attribution, but was unsuccessful (though I did read several enlightening interviews with Mother Teresa on a variety of subjects including prayer.)

When asked, “When you talk to God, what do you say?”, she responded, “Mostly I just listen.”  This brought the obvious next question, “So, what does God say?”  Mother Teresa responded, “Mostly He just listens.”

I think that is one of the things I miss the most about my dad.  To have someone who really knows you, just listen . . .

No advice.  No correction.  No debate.  No agreement or commiseration.  Just to be heard without judgement.  To have someone not only notice, but pay attention to you.

Even that expression “pay attention” speaks volumes.  It is an active process.  It is a deliberate process.  It has a cost.  It requires sacrifice of self.  It is a silence that is full off meaning, shouting, “I love you!”

Just listen to someone today.  It is a gift of great value that is so simple to give yet so rarely offered.

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Life Is Performance Art

Posted on November 7, 2013 by jimtheyouthguy

Image of God

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  – Gen 1:27 KJV

We don’t need an image/representation/idol of our invisible God simply because He has already provided one (actually, billions of images).  Each of us is an image bearer.  Maybe not a complete picture of God, but we have the family resemblance.

You’ve seen it.  You watch a family walk across the parking lot and almost die laughing as you notice that they all walk the same.  You have your mother’s eyes, your father’s nose, Aunt Ida’s height and your grandfather’s facial expressions.  Family resemblance not only includes physical characteristics, but mannerisms, speech and habits.  Much of it is a matter of genetics, but often some of the most telling features are acquired through observation and imitation.

Dissonance

Despite our family resemblance to our Father in Heaven, their seems to be a disconnect between who God is revealed to be and how humanity operates.  While God “demonstrates His love for us (Rom 5:8),” we have demonstrated that “every imagination of the thought of [our] heart is only evil continually (Gen 6:5).”  Every family has a black sheep, but God’s seems to have several billion.

How can the children of a creative God be so destructive?  How is it that a God of order has children who bring chaos and confusion?  Why is it that the children of a God who call us to “come reason” are so unreasonable?  Clearly, there’s something wrong here.

Juxtaposition

Performance art is many things, but, regardless of the methods and media employed, it is calculated to change attitudes, behaviors and perception.  By interacting with the “audience” and inviting participation, performance art becomes a real event in a real space in a real time.  Though composed of abstract concepts and components, it becomes very concrete.  It does not allow for a passive response.

When we pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,” we declare our intention to see the Love and Truth of our Father replicated here on earth.  Our lives become performance art juxtaposing God’s kingdom with the kingdom of this world.  And the dissonance should be shocking – just like our big brother Jesus.

If we live Truth among all the lies and demonstrate Love in the midst of hate it will be shocking/noticed/memorable.  It is a life that invites participation in the kingdom of God and demands an active response.  Instead of being an event with beginning and end, it is a continuous performance drawing attention to the absurdity of the human plight simply by a life well lived.  Not shocking for the sake of attention, but inviting the “audience” to join the performance or at very least to declare where their allegiance lies.

I am made in His image.  I am art.

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Dad . . . Still

Posted on November 7, 2013 by jimtheyouthguy

We don’t always understand all the places we are connected to our most vital relationships.  It can be a long and often painful process of discovery on the journey through The Sadness.

Letter to my siblings:

August 28, 2012

It’s been a year since dad died, and I still discover new ways that I miss him.  I never really understood the amount of strength I drew from that relationship, and the varying ways that expressed itself.

I was just doing a nasty bit of car repair.  I had a leak in the  inlet pipe to the water pump.  Unfortunately, on this particular engine, you have to pull the intake manifold to get to the pipe.  That necessitates the removal of multiple components just to get down to the manifold.  I didn’t want to do it.  It was a big job.  It was a tough job (for a simple shade tree mechanic).  I need to talk to dad about it – wait … that’s not an option.

I searched the forums.  I talked to two professional mechanics.  I didn’t like what I heard, but the job had to be done.  I found a potential short-cut where the inlet pipe could be slid out from under the manifold without having to remove the intake.  That was the answer!

I started the process with new hope – only to have that hope crushed and the second state in which I found myself was worse than the first.  It was impossible.  The job was too big.  It was out of my range.  I had invested $60 in parts and 4 hours in labor and had accomplished nothing.  The car was still undriveable.  Situation hopeless.  I need to talk to dad about this – oh … yeah … that’s not going to work.  The old familiar “Sadness” crept back in.

If dad was around, I would have called him.  We would have talked through what the book said, what the forums said and what the mechanics said.  We would have talked about the potential problems, the most obvious areas likely to fail and what the most disastrous outcome would be.  Then he would have said good luck and told me to call him when it was finished.  And I would have gone and done it – whatever it takes.

So, I went and did it.  It was hard.  There were unforeseen difficulties (who knew I would have to remove the ignition module to get to the bolt in the rear center of the manifold).  I had to go buy the manifold gasket (twice – the dog ate the first one (I would have loved to tell dad that story)).  I put it together.  It worked.  The first time.  No issues.  I need to tell dad about it …

I never realized how much of my self confidence was based in my dad’s faith in me.  Those phone calls weren’t just to pick his brain, they were to bolster my assurance.  Most of his knowledge and experience I was able to reproduce with a little internet research, but his confidence in me …  Exactly the kind of realization I would normally call dad to discuss – oh … yeah … not happening …

Every day a new realization.  Every realization a new reminder that he is not there.  Man, I miss him.

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