Daniel and his three friends are some of my favorite Biblical characters. They modeled what it means to live a life of integrity, which is taking a beating today.

Several years ago James Patterson and Peter Kim authored the book, The Day America told the Truth. They conducted a survey by asking Americans what they would be willing to do for 10 million dollars. Here’s what they learned.

• Would abandon their entire family (25%)
• Would abandon their church (25%)
• Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
• Would give up their American citizenship (16%)
• Would leave their spouses (16%)
• Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
• Would kill a stranger (7%)
• Would put their children up for adoption (3%)

When I read this my heart sunk. I can only imagine that since that survey over 20 years ago, the same survey would yield even more discouraging results.

However, Daniel and his friends show us these 5 ways we can deepen our integrity in a world that seems to discourage it.

1. Be willing to make tough choices. On several occasions Daniel made tough choices like refusing to eat the royal food and refusing to worship the image of the king. Each carried a potentially deadly penalty.
2. Treat your adversaries with respect. When King Nebuchadnezzar issued the edict for all the wise men to be killed because no one could interpret his dream, Daniel appealed with great tact and wisdom. His actions averted certain death for he and many others.
3. Build your moral compass around Jesus. The story of Daniel consistently reinforces how Daniel kept his deep commitment to God even though he lived in a pagan world and was force-fed that culture’s beliefs.
4. Stay consistent in the small things. At one point the king demanded that the king and no other god be worshipped for 30 days. Anyone refusing to do so would be killed. Daniel’s practice was to pray three times daily to the one and true God. He could have easily cut corners for 30 days. Yet he stayed true even in what could be perceived as an inconsequential issue.
5. Realize that people will either become bitter or better when you live with integrity. Key government officials all ended up supporting and respecting Daniel when they saw how he responded to them with integrity. Yet at the same time others were jealous and were offended at his integrity.

What choices have helped you deepen your integrity?

“I just learned 5 ways to deepen my integrity.” (tweet this quote by clicking here) 

Related posts:

• The Placebo Pastor: are you one?
• 5 Ways to Turn Criticism into Carnage.

Integrity is taking a beating today.

• 20 baseball players potentially being suspended for doping
• Lance Armstrong being striped of all his awards for lying
• The IRS apparently misusing its power
• The Justice Department being accused of lying
• Identity theft occurring to 1 out of 10 people

We live in a world where self-interest seems to trump character and integrity. And, pastors and ministry leaders aren’t immune to the temptation to spin, cut corners, or compromise.

Yet, the One whom we serve lived a life of integrity and He expects us to do the same in His power. Teacher, we know you have integrity… (Matt 22.16, The Message)

I’ve listed 8 benefits of integrity below.

1. It protects us. (?May integrity and uprightness protect me because my hope is in you. Ps 25.21)
2. It gives us confidence. (The man of integrity walks securely. Prov 10.9)
3. It helps us make better decisions. (?The integrity of the upright guides them. Prov 11.3)
4. It reflects well on the Lord. (I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. 1Chr. 29.17 )
5. It sets you apart from others. (these four come from John Maxwell)
6. It creates trust in others.
7. It gives staying power.
8. It extends influence.

What quality would you add to this list?

“I just learned 8 benefits integrity brings to your life and leadership.” (Tweet this quote by clicking here.) 

Related posts:

• The 7 C’s of Great Ministry Leaders.
• What is all our Web Searches were made Public.

I recently read a great article by Brad Powell on the 7-C’s of great ministry leaders. I’ve heard of the three C’s, but his 7 captured the essence of great leaders.

Here are his 7-C’s.

1. Calling: we must have a sense of God’s all where we currently serve
2. Character: perhaps the most important, there is no substitute for integrity and a pure heart
3. Competence: we need the right gifts and abilities to match the  needs in our ministry
4. Confidence: our confidence in the Lord gives us what we need to lead without hesitation
5. Courage: we must be willing to take unpopular stands sometimes and remind ourselves that we play to an audience of One
6. Commitment: if we are going to last for the long haul we must be ‘all in’
7. Continuous growth: a good leader must constantly be learning and growing.

What C’s for great leaders would you add (or any other qualities that don't begin with C)?

Related posts:

• An Attitude of Gratitude
• What if all our Web Searches were Made Public

Psalm 69:30, "I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving."

Psalm 95:2, "Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms."

Psalm 100:4, "Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name."

What has helped you keep a thankful spirit?

Related Posts: 8 Indispensable Qualities Every Leader Needs

Israel’s second king, King David, poses a question about character in Psalm 15.1, “God, what do you look for in those who draw close to You?”

He them summarizes the answer in the first part of verse 2 with the words ‘blameless’ and ‘righteous.’ The NASB version uses the word ‘integrity’ for ‘blameless.’

Psa. 15.1 LORD, who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?  2 He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart 3 and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slur on his fellowman,  4 who despises a vile man but honors those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts,  5 who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

The verses that follow verse 1 describe a blameless-integrous-righteous person.

Take a moment and ask yourself if these qualities would accurately describe your leadership character. If not, what needs to change in you?

• I tell the truth. (v 2)
• I avoid gossip. (v 3)
• I protect the reputations of others. (v 3)
• I hate what God hates. (v 4)
• I show honor to the faithful. (v 4)
• I keep my word. (v 4)
• I’m fair with others. (v 5)
• I refuse to be manipulated. (v 5)

I love these this definition of sin from Susanne Wesley, the mother of Charles and John Wesley. We leaders would do well to heed her wisdom as we lead.

Whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes off your relish of spiritual things; in short, whatever increases the strength and authority of your body over your mind, that thing is sin to you, however innocent it may be in itself.

For more Leadership Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

What do you do when your plans get interrupted? Fume...fuss...cuss?

I tend to fume.

Recently two experiences interrupted my well laid-out plans. In the process, I learned a few simple life lessons.

Interruption #1

I'm taking a voice-over class in Chicago and I park in the same building where the class is held. The valet keeps the key and after the class (later that night), I retrieve my key from the security guard and drive home. Except this week. The guard couldn't find my key. She called the boss and while he drove back to the building, I had some time to kill. For the next while, I was able to have a meaningful conversation with Faith about having a relationship with Christ. She didn't trust Christ, but I believe her heart opened a bit. Eventually, the boss found my key and I made it home.

One redeemed interruption.

Interruption #2.

Two days later I prepared for my quarterly overnight planning retreat at a retreat center a few miles west of my home. Just before I left, I opened my MacBook Pro to send out an email. When I opened the lid ... a black screen stared back. This happened two weeks prior and I thought is was a one-time glitch. Apparently not, though. Fortunately, the first time one of my staff guys was able to perform a convoluted fix because my re-booting, removing the battery, and screaming at my Mac didn't work. But, he was now out-of-town. I checked with another staffer and he said he thought  he could fix it. He did. By the time he fixed it, though, I faced losing a half-day of my retreat. Plus, I had lost the file of my current sermon.

On my drive to the retreat center, I faced a choice, I could fume or pray. I choose the latter. Amazingly, that focused prayer time centered me and prepared my heart for the retreat, even though on the way a train stopped me and when I arrived the place was locked.

Another interruption redeemed.

Here are the 3 lessons I learned from those interruptions.

1. Life often seem like a series of interruptions punctuated by a few plans that get accomplished.
2. When interrupted, we all choose how we will respond.
3. When we respond with God's grace, He will redeem even the most frustrating interruptions for His Glory and our benefit.

For more Help and Resources for Pastors, visit Pastor Stone’s main site.

The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, 5 Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them. Although written with church leaders in mind, it's applicable to anyone facing difficulty.

Circumstances beyond our control (demographics or a location that hinders growth), an uncooperative board (they say no to an important initiative), or even family issues (a chronically ill child who requires an inordinate amount of energy) can hinder and dilute our ministry efforts. In other words, we seldom immediately see the benefit from brokenness.

Brokenness has touched my life in the two places where it hurts the most: my family (one chronically sick child, one who rebelled for five years) and my ministry (many dreams yet unfulfilled). But Jesus said brokenness must precede fruit bearing.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.[1]

As the nineteenth-century Danish theologian Søren Kierkegaard said, “God creates everything out of nothing—and everything God is to use he first reduces to nothing.”[2]

Richard Foster, one of today’s most influential voices on spiritual formation, described one of the greatest benefits from brokenness. He calls this the “crucifixion of the will” and says it brings “freedom from the everlasting burden of always having to get our own way.”[3] Having to always get our own way is the antithesis of the other-centered life Jesus modeled for us.

[2] Søren Kierkegaard, The Journals of Kierkegaard, ed. Alexander Dru (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959), 245.

[3] Richard Foster, Prayer (New York: HarperCollins, 1992), 55.

What if all our web searches were made public? The thought for many would probably be quite unsettling.

The beautiful, wonderful internet, unfortunately, can also be a sinister place to do and see things that otherwise we wouldn't or shouldn't.

Actually, AOL did something like this in 2006. Through a research project, they released the search history of 650,000 users over a 3-month period, over 20,000,000 searches. Although they stripped the names from the data, when the public learned what had happened, the outcry forced AOL to pull the data off the web. However, much of  it was posted elsewhere on the web.

Here's an example of one woman's sad search history over two and a half months

body fat calliper 2006-03-01 18:54:10

curb morning sickness 2006-03-05 08:53:23

get fit while pregnant 2006-03-09 18:49:37

he doesn't want the baby 2006-03-11 03:52:01

uou're pregnant he doesn't want the baby 2006-03-11 03:52:49

online degrees theology 2006-03-11 04:05:24

online christian colleges 2006-03-11 04:13:33

foods to eat when pregnant 2006-03-12 09:38:02

baby names 2006-03-14 19:11:10

baby names and meanings 2006-03-14 20:01:27

physician search 2006-03-23 10:20:04

best spa vacation deals 2006-03-27 20:04:09

maternity clothes 2006-03-28 09:28:25

pregnancy workout videos 2006-03-29 10:01:39

buns of steel video 2006-03-29 10:12:38

what is yoga 2006-03-29 12:17:31

what is theism 2006-03-29 12:18:30

hindu religion 2006-03-29 12:18:56

yoga and hindu 2006-03-29 12:32:05

is yoga alligned with christianity 2006-03-29 12:33:18

yoga and christianity 2006-03-29 12:33:42

abortion clinics charlotte nc 2006-04-17 11:00:02

greater carolinas womens center 2006-04-17 11:40:22

can christians be forgiven for abortion 2006-04-17 21:14:19

can christians be forgiven for abortion 2006-04-17 21:14:19

roe vs. wade 2006-04-17 22:22:07

effects of abortion on fibroids 2006-04-18 06:50:34

abortion clinic charlotte 2006-04-18 15:14:03

symptoms of miscarriage 2006-04-18 16:14:07

water aerobics charlotte nc 2006-04-18 19:41:27

abortion clinic chsrlotte nc 2006-04-18 21:45:39

total woman vitamins 2006-04-20 16:38:16

engagement gifts 2006-04-20 16:57:04

engagement rings 2006-04-20 16:58:37

mom's turning 50 2006-04-20 17:51:13

high risk abortions 2006-04-20 17:53:49

abortion fibroid 2006-04-20 17:55:18

benefits of water aerobics 2006-04-20 23:25:50

wedding gown styles 2006-04-26 19:37:34

recover after miscarriage 2006-05-22 18:17:53

marry your live-in 2006-05-27 07:25:45

When I read this my heart sank. And, it forced me to ask myself some tough questions.

1. Am I honoring God with the topics I search?
2. Are my searches innocuous or do they point to sinful desires in my soul seeking to be satisfied with pixels?
3. If not overtly sinful, do these searches point to holes in my soul (ie-searching other church web sites to see how well my church stacks up)?
4. Would I want my wife, children, elders, congregation, or friends to know where I searched?

I first considered these thoughts when I read an article in Christianity today by a Christian blogger and leader, Tim Challies. I recommend it highly.

I believe it would behoove every pastor to consider what his or her web searches reveal.

If you knew you would never see someone you loved again in this life, what would you say?

I've move as a pastor/teaching pastor from two churches in the last 20 years, and I've shared these 10 parting thoughts to those people I loved, not knowing if I'd ever see them again.

1. Say thank-you a lot.

• 1Ths. 5:16   Be joyful always;   17 pray continually;   18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

2. Look for the good in people and tell them.

• Eph. 4:29   Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

3. Don’t morph into your culture so as to make your commitment to Christ a spiritual casuality.

4.  Live in grace, but don’t abuse it. Consider a higher standard for life than everybody else.

• 1Pet. 1:15 As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness.

5.  Relate to others with a grace filled heart.

• See people through God’s eyes.
• Give others the benefit of the doubt.
• Freely forgive.
• Don’t hold grudges.
• When you are wrong, admit it and don’t make excuses-ask for forgivess.
• Seek understanding before being understand.

6.  Laugh a lot, but not at people to make them feel bad.

7. Trust God’s heart even when you don’t see his hand at work.

• Gal. 6:9 So don’t get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

8.  Be faithful in the small stuff.

• Luke 16:10   Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.

9.  Don’t live life safely.

10. Finish well.

• 2Tim. 4:7   I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day --and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
• Luke 19:17   `Well done, my good servant!'

What are the 10 things you tell someone you love?

I grew up in the south and in a denomination where drinking alcohol was frowned upon for the average church attender and definitely considered taboo for pastors.

I served in the central valley of California where I could drive to several wineries within five minutes and where the church didn't frown upon social drinking.

I served in another part of the country when at my first elders meeting, it was literally an open bar. I was offered a choice of about a half dozen alcoholic beverages.

I've noticed in the past two years that several leaders in the emerging church movement seem to portray through their teaching, blogs, and twitter profiles a "I drink and that makes me really cool," attitude. I heard one well-known teacher whom I respect play off the popularity of the WWJD craze by changing What Would Jesus Do to What Would Jesus Drink. He then spent several minutes talking about how much he enjoyed alcohol.

On the other hand, I know a guy who won't even go to a restaurant if they serve alcohol.

I've never preached a message against alcohol and I don't believe the bible prohibits drinking in moderation. After all Jesus turned water into wine and Paul encouraged Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach.

I even occasionally go to a bar with my improv class friends to hang out. I order a beer of the root beer variety.

I've chosen to refrain from even social drinking for these reasons.

1. I need all my brain cells. As I understand it, alcohol even in moderation can kill those cells. I want to make the wisest health choices for my body. I can get the limited health benefits from red wine in other non-alcoholic ways. I hope to keep my 'senior moments' down to a minimum as I get older.

2. I don't want to play Russian roulette. A quarter of people who drink are considered problem drinkers and almost 10% are considered alcoholics. I guess I don't want to risk becoming one of those statistics.

3. I believe in the principle of deference. Base on Paul's admonition in Rom. 14.21, I would not, by my drinking, want to cause a weaker brother to stumble.  It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else if it might cause another believer to stumble. (NLT)

4. As a leader, I've chosen a higher standard for my leadership life. Prov. 31.4 has influenced my thinking. Kings and leaders should not get drunk or even want to drink. (CEV)

• If you are a pastor, what do you think?
• If you are not a pastor, what do you think about pastors who do?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

When most people think of improv, the TV show Who's Line is it Anyway usually comes to mind.

I'd seen the show a few times and never envisioned myself taking an improv class. But, for the past few years I've taken several classes and I've had a blast. It's also given me the chance to hang around some people who don't embrace Christ as I do.

Last year my teacher got me an audition as a pastor in the re-make of Nightmare on Elm Street. I didn't get the part, but since then I've auditioned a few times for regional commercials. The roles I've played have ranged from a looking like a medical doctor to pretending I was a 50 year old former professional football player...who danced (I am not lying).

Recently I got a callback for a commercial.

That day the casting agency office was crammed with auditioners. I sat in the waiting room facing the entrance door so I was able to see every actor who came in.

Here's what I noticed. Every person who walked through the door quickly scanned the faces of every other actor in the room (as did I). What were we doing?

Comparing. We were subconsciously comparing ourselves with the others who were competing for the same spots.

Although I'm no mindreader, I imagine these questions surfaced.

• Are these guys more handsome than me?
• Am I prettier than the rest of the women?
• I wonder how much experience he has compared to me?
• Am I dressed as well as the rest?
• etc, etc.

My short stay in the waiting room of a casting agency reminded me that we naturally tend to compare ourselves with others in most areas of life.

When that happens, two things can occur.

We become proud of our accomplishments, looks, and experience because we think we are better than others.

Or, we berate ourselves for not measuring up to the rest of the crowd.

I went away from this audition with a fresh reminder and desire to follow God's reminder to Samuel when he was looking for Israel's new king.

1Sam. 16.7 (MESSAGE) ...GOD judges persons differently than humans do. Men and women look at the face; GOD looks into the heart.

Wise words from the Skin Horse to the Velveteen Rabbit when we feel worn out, left out, or shut out.

from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Somebody once said there are two things in life we can't avoid, taxes and death. I'd like to add a third, discouragement.

Church leader or not, you will face it. It's an inevitable part of life. Just this past week I dealt with a bout of it.

It all began Monday even after we had a good day at church the day prior. We had baptized a dozen people, another half dozen indicated they had trusted Christ, and we began Alpha with a bang. Alpha is a great evangelism tool. Check it out at Alpha.org.

But, when I got the stats back from Sunday's service, I got bummed out. A not-so-good attendance and a very poor offering pushed me into discouragement. I've been doing well lately to not allow low Sunday statistics to affect me. This time, however, I didn't do so well. It didn't help that Thursday night my alma mater, GA Tech, got plastered by Miami on national TV.

I found, however, that three small choices helped me dig out of my funk. I take great comfort that King David lifted himself out of a serious bout of discouragement when he "encouraged himself in the Lord his God," (1 Samuel 30.6). I believe that small choices that may not seem overtly spiritual can become ways we can encourage ourselves in the Lord.

Here are the three.

• Break up your routine This past week my wife and my daughter were going to make a run to our local super Wal-Mart and they asked if I wanted to go. My first inclination was, 'no.' But after a moment's reflection, I said, "sure." Usually I'll just sit at the man bench at the check-out line. You know, those benches or chairs where guys sit to be very bored while their wives shop ... one of those. This time, however, I decided I'd go to the books area and browse. When I did, I picked up the 2009 Guinness Book of World Records and had few laughs. I saw, among other things, a picture of a guy who holds the world record in piercings (yuk) and a picture of another guy in India with the world's longest ear hairs at 7 inches (gross). This little break, albeit odd, helped get my mind off my discouragement.
• Pamper yourself. For a guy, I know this may sound feminine. But I don't mean you have to get a pedicure. Here's how I pampered myself. I swim at a local indoor pool three times a week and usually go back home to grab some breakfast. I'm on a tight budget (as most pastors are) so I don't eat out much. But this morning, I decided I'd go through the drive-thru and get some breakfast at McDonalds to treat myself. I spent $2.10 for a sausage biscuit and an egg McMuffin (sans egg). After I slathered each with grape jelly, I enjoyed this small treat. This small 'self-care' gesture encouraged me
• Do something outrageously fun. Each Tuesday night for the last four, I've gone to my musical improv class. Yep, it's like the TV show, 'Whose Line is it Anyway." I've never had as much fun as being in these classes. This is actually my fourth round of classes. As a pastor I'm a bit of a novelty to my classmates. Comedy turns blue so often, but when I put my clean twist on things, my classmate usually laugh. When I drive home afterwards, I feel like I've made a jumbo deposit into my soul.

So, the next time you face discouragement, give these ideas a try. Break your routine. Pamper yourself. Maybe even join an improv class.

____

Related posts:

• When Ministry Knocks you Down, How to get Back Up
• A Counter Intuitive Way to Manage Ministry Pain

Heard this on a recent Ravi podcast. Incredible.

"Jesus Christ continually contradicts us in the way we experience ourselves as alive.... and compels us to radically redefine what we mean by life. He encountered us the way we encountered the disciples on easter sunday. They were the ones marked out for death. Those who survived were really the dead. He the dead one was really the living."

Today I did something I've done only once before, I publicly demonstrated against an issue about which I feel very passionate.

I attended a rally in the small town of Batavia, IL with about 100 other people directly in front of my congressman's office, Rep. Bill Foster. We were there wanting to speak to him about the health bill working its way through congress. Sadly, at the date of this blog, he has not planned any public meetings to discuss the issue. Maybe in another blog I'll explain my concerns about the bad  implications of that bill, but this blog is about something sad I experienced at this rally.

Here's how the day played out.

My youngest daughter who struggles with the effects of four brain surgeries due to a tumor was at the hospital this morning. My access to our country's top-notch medical care and insurance is, by God's grace, the reason she is alive today. Today, however, she wasn't sick, but was visiting patients with her dog LuLu that she trained to be a therapy dog. She loves serving God this way and she and LuLu have brought great joy to over 100 patients in the last two years.

I picked her up at the hospital, dropped her off at our house, and then drove to Batavia.

After I parked, I joined the group and quietly held up my sign. Several people gave short speeches through a bullhorn and we applauded after each person spoke. About thirty minutes into the rally, a tall, lanky guy in shorts and a t-shirt spoke up from the crowd with a dissenting opinion. Immediately a few people around me began to boo him. The man who was speaking at the time responded politely and offered him the bullhorn, which he refused.

After a couple of minutes, though, he walked to the front and began to passionately make a point. Unfortunately, a guy close by made a snide remark and ridiculed him in front of everyone. Several of us spoke up and told him to let this guy speak his mind. However, because a few treated him so rudely, he walked to the back of the crowd and didn't make his point.

After the rally I felt so bad about how he was treated that I walked up to him and said, "Listen, we most likely don't agree about the government's role in medical care, but I want to tell you that you have every right to speak your mind. I'm sorry you were treated rudely by those two people." We chatted a moment more and I learned that he had simply happened by the rally. As I left I told him my name and he told me his. We shook hands and our eyes locked for a moment. If his eyes could speak, they would have said, "Thank you for caring."

Here's my point. Everybody in that crowd felt passionate about a political issue. Fortunately our constitution affords us all the privilege to voice  uncensored opinions. It's a freedom I cherish and that I hope every American also cherishes. However, a higher calling constrains every Christian to govern our passions. Passion must never quash courtesy and respect for others who may disagree with us or hold differing opinions. Matthew 20 records how Jesus modeled this concept.

Once He was in a large crowd with His disciples as he left Jericho and two blind men by the roadside realized it was Him. They began to cry out to Jesus for mercy. Amazingly, the crowd rebuked them and told them to shut up. They were interrupting things and voicing an unwelcomed message.

Jesus, however, disregarded the crowd and spoke to these two men. He asked what they wanted and as you might expect, they said they wanted to see. The Bible tenderly describes what happened next. The Message paraphrase says, Deeply moved, Jesus touched their eyes. They had their sight back that very instant ...

His sensitivity to the individual over the crowd changed these guys' lives forever. Apparently they became follower of Jesus as a result.

I hope that for the rest of my life I will remain passionate about many things (including political views). However, I pray that I will never quash respect and courtesy toward others who don't embrace those same passions.

What do you think?

Luke 6.31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. (NIV)

This morning I got a tweet that a large church in the southeast was starting another campus in the county where I started a church over 20 years ago. This church will probably start out with over 2,000 from day one. The church I started finally reached 500 after 14 years.

I must confess that unpleasant feelings crept into my heart when I read this tweet. I can't exactly pinpoint them, but they are probably an amalgamation of sadness (that I never achieved mega-churchdom), jealousy (I'm being honest), and an emotion that circles lack of competency (I probably don't have what it takes to be a mega-church pastor). Although I've been gone from the church I started over 9 years now and I serve a good church of over 1,000, the curse of comparison still sometimes rears its ugly head.

Our fallen human nature naturally tempts us to compare ourselves with the more successful, the prettier, the smarter. I believe we often do so to build ourselves up do we can feel significant. No matter your vocation, position in life, or size of your ministry if you are a pastor,  you probably face this same curse.

I don't have pat answers, but a few choices have helped me avoid the vortex of discouragement that comparison can bring.

1. I must remind myself that my identity comes not from my performance, but from my relationship with Christ.
2. I must do my best with the opportunity God gives me right now and if I do, I will please Jesus. Jesus commended the guy who returned 10 talents back to him the same way he commended the guy who returned 4. They each had different levels of giftedness, yet they both were faithful to the task they were given.
3. I must believe the words of Paul when he said that ultimately, it's not what I think of my performance that counts, but what the Lord thinks.

2Cor. 10.18 (MESSAGE) What you say about yourself means nothing in God’s work. It’s what God says about you that makes the difference.