I am a PC guy – always have been and have no complaints. The one I built for home is the fastest machine I’ve ever had the pleasure of using and is so much fun to use.

I’m also a geek that loves nifty tools. From my iPhone to my Kreg Pocket Hole jig to my MX Revolution mouse and Surface 1030 mousepad – I look for things that are not only cool but help me get the job done more effectively and efficiently.

In addition, I’m an artist and as such, am quite attracted to Apple’s innovative products because they look so darn good and are so well thought out. Apple has mastered the User Experience (UX) game, which is incredibly difficult. In this arena, they have no peers. But fancy looking products and great UX only do it for me for a moment before the geek in me wants more.

You see, it’s not just about how well the tool works, but how well it works with other tools. My iPhone is great, but it is a stand-alone device (albeit a very versatile device) that serves to meet the need of portable connectedness.

When I saw the iPad, I had the same reaction – what a great looking device, but how would it help answer a problem for me better than what I have. The answer was resounding silence, which brings me to the point – integration.

I think the next technological evolutionary step will be to have a unified computing environment that allows you access to your files, apps and web-based content in an unrestricted and uninterrupted manner while moving from one device to another. We see this in the movies all the time. Tony Stark’s (Ironman) house had a very powerful computing system that ran the entire house and no matter where Tony went, he had access. The system became an extension of him in life.

That being Hollywood, I understand it is more science fiction than current day reality; however, it seems like Apple is poised to make that jump. They control the hardware and the sotware and have just enough moxy to try to pull it off, but will they? One thing will have to change – closed systems (think their hyper-critical stance against Flash) will have to be more open because as good as Apple is at the UX, they can’t possibly meet the needs of every aspect of our lives.

Here’s what I think that first step would be. Imagine an iMac in the office, MacBook Pro in the bedroom and an iPad on the living room coffee table. Say, I’m reading a blog post in the office and want to finish it on the couch. I hit a button on the screen to send the content to the iPad, walk into the living room where’s it more comfortable and pick up right where I left off.

Now that’s a simple example, but one that simply isn’t possible today. Once it is, I will be very compelled to take a hard look at partaking of the rotten fruit. For now, it’s just a pile of expensive gadgets – as cool as they are to look at, they simply don’t justify the price and pain to convert.

I know it’s been a while since my last post – to be quite honest, it’s been a very dry summer for me personally. I don’t quite know what contributed to that, but suffice it to say, it left me with very little to write about. The below post is something that I’ve been able to think about with others at my day job. It is something that organizations all over the world are trying to solve. Some are better (Google, Apple, etc.) than others, but they all want to improve. Maybe you can see how you can make a difference culturally where you are after reading this.

I love the term used by Star Trek captains to signal a jump to warp speed. ENGAGE! No matter how many times I see it (reruns of TNG are on KARZ at 10:00 CST locally), it makes me smile each and every time. I think it must be the fact that they are about to travel faster than light and as a Physicist, that’s pretty darn cool – theoretically impossible, but cool nonetheless.

This term is also used to describe how motivated employees are to perform at their very best day after day. Engagement levels are now something that organizations around the world actively measure and care about. It’s because they now realize that engagement is directly tied to the organization’s ability to achieve it’s performance goals. In my job as part of HR, this is something we spend a lot of time thinking about and it turns out it isn’t as easy to improve as one might think.

Almost across the board, the economic conditions of the past two years have been responsible for engagement levels dropping off. As people see their peers lose their jobs and are themselves forced to take pay cuts, motivation to give 100% wanes quickly. The obvious contributor is money – employers are trying to cut costs because there isn’t as much revenue and employees are then forced to make corresponding lifestyle changes that don’t feel good.

But I don’t think engagement levels can be solely tied to money. There has been a ton of research around why people stay at a job year after year and it turns out it has very little to do with their salary. It’s the other things that contribute to something called job satisfaction. Some are tangible and easy to grasp (great benefits or perks) and some not so much (personality mesh with a leader), but regardless of what it is, to ignore them will certainly invite disaster.

The cumulative summation of all of those non-financial contributors to job satisfaction can be summed up in one word – culture. It is the “feel” of a place that permeates each and every action, which can change over time to be more positive and productive to more negative and toxic. I don’t have time to go into all of the things that make up and go into an organization’s culture, but engagement levels is one metric that can help you understand whether you have a positive or a negative one and, if you track this over time, which direction you are headed.

To that end, I’ve put together a little diagram called the “3 C’s of Culture” – the basic ingredients that I believe every member of an organization needs and wants. Here it is:

Conversation | It is my contention that employees want to be part of a dialog and not the recipient of a list of orders. To give them a voice that speaks into not just how something is done, but why it is done can communicate worth, pride, trust and perhaps love. Having an open and safe place to voice your opinion and relate your story is key to building trust, which is one of the cornerstones of a great culture.

Contribution | There’s nothing worse that giving effort to a task that is meaningless. Human nature desires to accomplish something with our labor and in business, it better be tied to the bottom line. Making sure everyone knows how their job relates to success is absolutely critical in building a winning culture.

Compensation | As the old adage says, “An honest days labor deserves and honest days wage.” Today, we talk about the equity principle – making sure that we internally feel it is worth our effort for what we get in return. What we get in return includes salary, recognition, equipment, bonuses and other things that meet core needs we all have. A thriving culture will have programs and processes in place that allow for all of these to be awarded as well as leadership committed to making sure they get used.

Ratio | I drew this diagram in equal parts because I believe there is a balance between these ideas that must be maintained for a healthy culture to exist. For example, too much emphasis on conversation will lead to a place where everyone thinks it needs to be their way and yet, there is only one way it can be.

An over emphasis on contribution might mean that the housekeeping items could get less attention as the focus shifts to more bottom-line activities. Think the Cobbler’s shoes.

And I don’t think I’ve ever seen an 0ver-emphasis on compensation, but it might look like bankruptcy if it ever got there.

At any rate, this was just one way for me to put into a visual some of the big ideas that go into creating a positive culture that promotes higher engagement. It’s not perfect and there are other components. This issue’s complexity is directly proportional to the number of employees. Then add in an international component and you have yourself a whopper of a problem to solve.

I was speaking with some friends last night and the subject of church came up and I had an opportunity to share about a paradigm shift I’ve made over the past few years that has revolutionized some real key aspects of being a Christian.

The first thing is that I believe God has given ME a ministry – to my wife, my kids, my neighborhood, my workplace, my church, etc. He desires me to live out my faith both with Him and the world around me daily – with passion, integrity and complete abandon.

Secondly, He’s given me a proper perspective on the role of my local church in that ministry. In the past, I felt like I was part of the ministry of my church – one small part of a much larger effort. This meant that I felt obligated to make sure I was operating within organizational parameters. From the curriculum I was taking my small group through, to the volunteer role I was playing on Sunday morning, to the various service activities I put my hand to – all of it was the ministry of the church and I was there to help fulfill it as I could.

That’s not how things are today. Remember, God has given me a ministry and is holding me responsible for it. It is personalized to me and takes into account who I am: my strengths, weaknesses, personality, experiences and the specific skills and talents He chose to endow me with. As such, the local church has become a resource to my ministry. Let me say that again – the local church is a resource to MY ministry; not the other way around.

This has produced a confidence of responsibility that frees me up to listen to the Author of my faith and the Designer of my ministry and move according to His plan. All of a sudden you have a new grid to filter opportunities through and it puts the power and accountability squarely on your shoulders, which can be a bit daunting if you think you are doing this on your own strength. That’s another post altogether though.

The local church’s proper role is to equip and unleash God’s people to pursue Him and His purposes in their lives. Sometimes this is easier for them to say than do, but I think we can help if we will adjust our thinking just a smidge to take responsibility for what God has given us and make that our focus.

As with other paradigm shifts I’ve talked about, there needs to be a cautionary note to prevent misinterpretation. I’m not saying that we should ignore and abstain from getting involved with what the local church is doing. Often, these events are great ways to grow relationships, meet new people and be a blessing to the world around us. The shift is in motivation. No longer do you have to do these things as an obligation to the church, but rather as a strategic choice in serving your God – and there could be no more lovely fragrance to Him than a right heart that’s passionate to serve Him and be a part of His plan for His people.

So, the question comes down to motivation. Are you abdicating the responsibility for your faith to the church or are you taking personal responsibility for your ministry and seeking His guidance about what’s next? You don’t need permission from anyone to do what God is calling you to – you only need faith expressed in courageous obedience.

I had a wonderful Father’s Day this year. It was filled with family, fun and good food. In fact, the entire weekend was one of the best in recent memory.

One of the contributing factors was the way I was touched this year about being the father to my wonderful kids. Looking back down the road that led to this moment is like stopping at a vista overlook atop a mountain and seeing the road below that you had just been on. It twists and turns and disappears into the trees and valleys just to reappear where you don’t expect it.

Memories come flooding back of the hard times when we panicked because we thought we were lost and the timid confidence when we finally found our way.

Times when the trees formed a tunnel that blocked the sky only to give way to sunshine that made us squint just to see the road.

The rest stops that let us stretch our legs, grab a snack and prepare for the next patch of road.

The subtle and steady rise in the road as the mountain loomed large in the windshield that made our pulse quicken only to realize just how far away we still were.

The narrow roads with amazingly dangerous drop-offs that made me slow our pace and put both hands on the wheel.

The disbelief of the claimed summit and the view that fills our soul with God’s wonder.

This Father’s Day, my soul was filled with God’s wonder of being a dad and husband to the best family on the planet. In my wildest dreams, I never would have been able to predict just how FULL my heart is and how blessed I feel.

At the same time, there’s a twinge of sadness because I don’t have the chance to celebrate my earthly father. His death when I was a boy has left a hole in my heart that I still feel some 33 years later. But just a twinge…

Thanks are in order to my lovely wife for celebrating me, loving me, respecting me, and placing her trust in me as I place my trust in my Heavenly Father to make the road down the other side of the mountain a journey filled with strength, courage and wisdom. May we keep our eyes fixed on Him as we put one foot in front of the other on our way Home…

I’ve held my tongue for way too long on the issue of climate change. As a scientist and a default approach to life via a scientific viewpoint, this issue is so NOT about science that I can’t even believe it continues to be couched that way.

Do you know how I know? Money. If you would consider just for one second the motivational aspect behind the “debate” – you’ll soon conclude that stirring people up about climate change is just another ponzi scheme orchestrated by environmentalists that have long been frustrated about the lack of credibility they have been able to muster. That lack of credibility has resulted in very little capital investment, which has hampered their ability to advance their cause.

So, they got their heads together and got a spokesman who spent time in the White House, made a movie or two and created a script that everyone read verbatim ad nauseam everywhere from the nightly news to the cartoons on public television. I have my 4 yr. old son telling me about turning off lights to save the planet because Sid the Science kid’s Teacher Susie is preaching it every day from 7:30 – 8:00 am.

And it’s working – government subsidies for alternative energy sources have soared through the roof. We have windmill fields cropping up everywhere and driving people out of their homes due to the 80+ decibel noise each mill creates. We have electric cars that have a range suitable for a trip to the grocery store. We have solar panels that generate enough wattage to recharge your iPhone. All of which can’t make enough sense to consumers to get real funding and consequently have no real incentive to produce any tangible results.

Sorry – didn’t mean to get sidetracked by government spending and lofty goals with no accountability. Anywho – back to climate change.

Fact: the climate does change. The biggest influence on our weather is our sun and a star has a life cycle and goes through patterns of change, which are influence everything from temperature to magnetic pole strength. Do some research sometime on solar flares – fascinating stuff!

Fact: our planet has gone through both warmer and cooler seasons ever since we’ve had the capacity to keep track and, guess what, we’ve been in a warm one.

Fact: most high-profile environmental activists live very wasteful lives. Al Gore has several houses and flies on private jets all over the world. Why not sell some of those houses and give the money to solar panel or energy storage research? BECAUSE HE DOESN’T BELIEVE IT EITHER, but it sure pays well!

Fiction: mankind has the power to influence nature. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see us develop technology to control the weather like on Star Trek. Need rain for the corn crops in the midwest – no problem, I’ll just submit a request to the weather satellite. Wouldn’t that be sweet!

Simply put – human nature is fond of making itself out to be God and to think we can control the system (either destroying or fixing) He put in place is ludicrous and arrogant. It is the oldest lie we’ve ever bought and now, we’re being sold it again. Some of us are able to recognize it for what it is and deny it any place in our lives. Others…well, are buying it hook, line and sinker – even (and perhaps more poignantly) our kids.

Do we need to ramp up the development of energy alternatives to replace a finite resource like oil? Sure. That’s called being prepared. And there is a right way to do it – it’s called Capitalism and using the Free Market Economy to prove your idea has merit rather than work everyone up in a frenzy about how life on this planet is in peril unless we help those who refuse to contribute get a free ride putting up wind farms in our back yard.

I feel a point of clarification might be needed. I am and desire to be a good steward of the resources given to me. So, I turn off lights, use CF bulbs and turn the water off while I brush my teeth – but not because my heart breaks for a polar bear’s habitat melting. I do it because for every watt of electricity and gallon of water I’m punished financially each month when I get my bills.

Don’t be fooled and don’t drink the Kool-Aid. Remember, if you can find anyone benefiting financially from a crisis – resist the urge to call it a crisis. If it was, help would be free and clear and nothing about climate change is free and it is anything but clear…

The long-standing alliance with Israel is on shaky ground today because of one man – President Barack Obama. Let me explain:

Israel has been under the direct attack from terrorist organizations for many months. And when I say direct, rockets have been blowing up buildings (schools, hospitals, homes, etc.) – it doesn’t get much more direct than that. In an attempt to stop the attacks without just annihilating the enemy (which Israel can do), they set up roadblocks and naval blockades to facilitate inspection of humanitarian supplies.

Did you get that? Israel is looking for weapons that will be used directly against them. All other supplies are allowed to pass the blockades. Sounds reasonable to me. This has been an ongoing process for the past four years and the rules are simple. If you are asked to stop for inspection, you cut your engines and prepare to be boarded and your full cooperation is expected.

The other day, at least one supply ship didn’t follow the rules – they didn’t stop when asked to. So, the natural conclusion is that this particular ship doesn’t want to be inspected because they have something to hide. In a blockade situation, you don’t get to hide anything.

So, the Israeli navy forcibly boarded the ship and was met with active and aggressive resistance. Again, another violation of long-standing rules. In response, the Israeli solders defended themselves with lethal force. Their lives were in danger and they had a right to protect themselves. It’s easy for the media to portray this as a trigger-happy killing, but anyone with any military knowledge understands that lethal force is the last resort. You give enemy combatants every opportunity to prevent it, but there comes a time when it becomes you or them. Those are the rules.

So, we have a ship that didn’t stop when told to – STRIKE ONE.
We have a crew that didn’t cooperate with the inspectors – STRIKE TWO.
We have active resistance with weapons designed to prevent the inspection – STRIKE THREE.

Israel’s response was done by the book and in accordance with the PUBLIC rules of engagement for the blockade. The supply ship’s crew decided to disregard those rules and they paid the price. It is no different from my son choosing to disobey – he knows the cost, but does it any way and he has to suffer the consequences because of it. There’s a chain of events set into motion because of one choice.

Change the location of this conflict to NY harbor. The blockade is managed by the US coast guard and a supply ship from a known enemy sympathizer doesn’t stop for inspection. What would you expect to be the Coast Guard’s reaction? Do they use all necessary force to ensure a potential deadly cargo doesn’t get into the hands of people meaning to do you and me harm or do they allow the ship to go by. We stop them and we enforce the rules.

The latter invalidates the entire blockade and shows the rest of the world that it is a farce. I guarantee you that any other ship captains that are considering running the Israeli blockade are thinking twice about it right now.

And here comes the betrayal part of my story – President Barack Obama doesn’t tell the world that the US stands behind its ally Israel and reinforces the reason for the blockade. Nope – he condemns the action and hangs the only ally in that part of the world out to dry.

If you have any questions about the makeup of Obama’s character, look no further than this one incident. It isn’t complicated and doesn’t require a PhD in political science. An ally is someone you support – even in the face of unpopular opinion – especially when you know they are justified in their actions, which any reasonable American should be able to see.

UPDATE: Just saw this video of Sec. of State Clinton clearly condemning what happened.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

The title for this post actually came to me in a dream and I was describing to someone in a heated debate how their version of organizational effectiveness was like throwing dice in the dark: gambling and guessing about success.

This post (and the dream) come in the wake of years of passionate thought around what it takes for organizations to realize their potential and prevent the loss of toes at their own hands.

To me, it comes down to just one thing: metrics. Every action can be measured in some form or fashion. Consequently, that measurement can be evaluated against a standard and determined to either exceed or fall below that standard. The difference (or delta for any math majors) between the standard and the measurement will help determine next steps to either help maintain an exceptional result or correct a sub-standard one.

The real money is in answering some very key questions:

1. What’s the question? Most want to ask a different question first – what to measure? But, before you determine what you are going to measure, you must first know what question you are trying to answer. Of course, there is an endless number of questions, so you have to be willing to ask the best and most important questions. How do you determine that? The mission statement of the organization should be your guide.

   For example: If the question is how to determine sermon effectiveness on a given Sunday, someone might suggest you measure attendance. Is the question a good one? Sure it is because spiritual growth is most likely part of any church’s mission statement. Can you measure attendance? Sure, just count the people in the seats mid-way though the service. Does that number correlate to effectiveness of a sermon? Unless you’re sole reason for preaching is to fill seats, then the answer is no. Silly example? You would be surprised how often this metric is used to answer all kinds of questions.

2. What to measure? Now that we have our question, we can now get down to defining the measurements we need to make. Even still, a deep understanding of what success looks like must shape our thoughts in this regard. To be truly beneficial, success must be defined AND agreed upon before we can measure and draw conclusions from the data we collect.
3. What to conclude? Ever heard of a police detective determining the suspect before any evidence has been processed? That’s called predetermination and just as in police work, making the data fit a predetermined conclusion is – simply put – wrong. Why go through the exercise of asking good questions and putting together meaningful metrics only to get the answer you wanted anyway?The truth is rarely easy to uncover and  sometimes less easy to swallow. It’s our nature to want to shortcut the process and our brains automatically make connections that aren’t based totally in factual evidence. That’s why we must resist these urges and maintain the integrity of the process. The only way to move forward toward a better tomorrow is to let the unfettered truth come to light and allow it to dictate next steps.

Like I said in the beginning, I believe this is the crux to discovering the potential for an organization’s effectiveness, but it is by no means the only piece of the puzzle. The process of examining decisions for success takes time, resources and energy – all of which are in short supply in America and especially in our churches.

It is my assertion that until we are able to ask the BEST questions, measure the RIGHT criteria and conclude HONESTLY the truth of a situation, we won’t BE better tomorrow than we are today. Until then, we are just throwing dice in the dark.

I tend to look at things with more positivity than not – I’ve always been that way. For some reason, I generally believe things will (eventually) work out. But I know that I am not in the mainstream when it comes to this attitude.

Culturally, Americans focus on the negative and the proof is all over the place from report cards (what do you focus on?) to performance evaluations (where do you need most improvement?) to self-esteem (what areas of me need some work).

We are so obsessed with deficiency that we fail to understand what produces success. Take the examples above:

• What areas of a report card are best? Let’s explore why and do more of that – perhaps even apply some of that knowledge to the other areas.
• In what areas are we finding energy at work? Let’s get involved in more of that and see our job satisfactions go up.
• What part of me do I love? Keeping a list of those qualities about myself that are awesome handy when those old tapes play.

Knowing how to shift our thinking to focus on the positives and strengths around and in us takes some serious work up front, but the payoff is phenomenal. Take another example: spirituality.

Christians often want to focus on how depraved (opposite from God) we are and it comes out in the way we talk about ourselves. We call ourselves sinners and unworthy and undeserving when the facts of Scripture, when understood fully, paint a much different picture.

Sinner vs. Saint: In most of the apostle Paul’s opening remarks to the Church in his letters, he refers to the Christians there as “saints” – not saved sinners. Do you see the difference? It might appear subtle at first, but it isn’t – it is very profound!

Let me explain. When Christ enters our life and saves us from an eternal separation from our Heavenly Father, He must to do something with what separated us to begin with – our sin.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. ~ Psalm 103:11-12

The idea is that although we deserve to be judged and sentenced to eternal separation from God, He moved toward us and forgave that transgression and placed them as far away from us as the east is from the west (infinity). The picture the Psamlist wants us to put in our mind is one of a new identity – one of sainthood. We are no longer identified by our sin because it has been removed from us.

But what sin – just that which has been up to the point of salvation? Surely not – that wouldn’t be a long-term relationship since we seem to do something stupid that can be considered sin every day. Read Romans 8:37:

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A basic tenant of the Christian faith is that God forgave all of our sins – past, present and future - through the blood of Christ and there is nothing that can come between us and our Father ever again, which includes us. So, if God doesn’t count our sins against us, why are so hell-bent on identifying with them?

There are a ton of real unhealthy answers and most have to do with our inability to accept anything good about ourselves and this comes from our culture, our parents, our teachers, and even our church. This has to stop!

When God looks at a Christian, He sees His Son – not sin. He sees His adopted child, not an enemy. He sees an eternal relationship, not a fling. And that is called Grace – the umerited favor of a Holy God applied to a wretch headed to Hell made possible through the willing sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Here’s the point. If you believe in Christ and have accepted His death as payment for your sin, you are a saint; an heir to the Kingdom of God; eternally destined to be with Him who saved you. Your sinner status has been revoked…FOREVER!

Do we still sin – sure we do, but that has more to do with us than Him. Hear me carefully – our unwillingness to admit our mistakes openly and honestly and quickly is what taints our relationship with God – not the mistakes themselves. The power of those mistakes has been removed, but we hide from God when we screw up – we cover our nakedness and live ashamed. WE DO THAT!

We have been made great – not because of who we are, but because of He who lives in us. The first 18 verses of Romans 6 add the boundary needed to keep this new mindset in check:

Romans 6
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?3 Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin;

7 for he who has died is freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

11 Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,13 and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

14 For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it never be!16 Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed,18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

You see, just because there is no power in our sin, we need to continue to take sin seriously because those mistakes keep us from experiencing God fully and we miss the blessing He wants us to experience (“members as instruments of righteousness to God – v. 13.”)

So, the next time you want to dwell on your depravity, do so as a way to remember how great the gift of Grace is, not how horrible and undeserving you are to be called saint. You are now a noble in God’s Kingdom – act like it!

I love the use of light as an analogy – I mean LOVE it! As a physicist, light is one of the most fascinating elements of our world. But never fear, I’ll keep it light (pun intended)…this time.

I was in Russia for six weeks and we took a trip to the Black Sea one weekend. As night fell, I could see a huge light scanning the water back and forth. As I went to investigate, the search light became bigger and bigger – it must have been ten feet in diameter when I finally saw it up close. The purpose of that light was to search the open water for smugglers from Turkey trying to enter the country under the cover of night and I would say it was effective at lighting up the night for several miles.

The third and final installment of the banner series: Love Much, Live Well and Light Your World – moves us into the realm of influencing those around us. Like I said, I love the use of light in this last piece for two main reasons:

1. Light overcomes darkness. In all cases (even black holes are defined by the light being captured around them), when light is shone into a dark area, that area is lit up. You never see the darkness able to prevail in that engagement.
2. Light behaves as both a wave and a particle. Hang with me for a second. As a wave, light can travel vast distances and not be affected by gravity and other external forces. As a particle, light influences and impacts the physical world in real and tangible ways. The coolest thing is that light is neither a wave nor a particle – IT’S BOTH…AT THE SAME TIME. This means it has vast reach and real impact.

So when we talk about lighting our world, what we’re basically saying is that we (you and I) are to be sources of light shining into the dark world. Some questions immediately come to mind:

• How bright is my light (effectiveness)? If you’ve ever lost power at night and your flashlight needed new batteries, you quickly realize just how ineffective a dim light can be when you need to find your way. I think a Christian’s effectiveness in being a light to this world is how connected you are to the Father. To put it simply, moving toward God means a brighter light and moving away from Him produces dimmer and dimmer light.
• Where do I shine (intentionality)? Ever needed a buddy to hold a light when you’re working on your car or the kitchen sink? He can never shine the light exactly where you need it because he can’t see what you see. I think at times, Christians point their lights in the wrong direction and waste the lumen lighting up dead ends. Just like a third hand would ensure you get the light in exactly the right spot, I think God desires to use us in the same way. He knows where light is needed and desires to shine us right where light is needed most.
• To what end? Lighting your world can take a variety of expressions. It could be seeing a need and responding out of love. It could be telling a friend about your faith and life eternal. It could be having hard conversations with your kids about morality. It really is about responding to the world around you based on loving much and living well.

One final point about light – multiple light sources produce a brighter overall illumination. Back in the day, as more and more candles were grouped together, their combined light was more effective in overcoming a greater amount of darkness – thus the term “candlepower” came to be. This speaks directly to making sure we are moving together, in one accord with purpose.

Putting it all together:

• Be sure you are moving toward God so your light is a bright as possible
• Ask Him and courageously move where and do what He instructs
• Seek out and embrace community so we may increase our candlepower

PARADIGM CHECK: If you find yourself frustrated about the lack of response you are getting from efforts to influence those around you, examine how much you are loving and how well you are living. If you focus on step three and neglect steps 1 & 2, you may be shining your light into empty corners.

We’ve come full circle and as I consider the progression of Love Much, Live Well and Light Your World, it doesn’t seem like a linear progression any longer, but a circular one. Each step reinforces and deepens the next, but it all starts with love – may we never start anywhere else and may we never stop doing all three more and more.

I was asked by a friend who’s life was falling apart why he should live according to God’s Word. After all, good behavior had gotten him nowhere; in fact, he considered himself worse off because of it.

The second part of our banner is Live Well. We covered Love Much in a previous post and Light Your World is coming up. What used to come to mind for me when I heard the term “live well” was keeping my nose clean and staying out of trouble, but I’ve come to learn it’s much more than that.

Just like loving much involves more than taking someone some chicken spaghetti when they break a leg, living well is much more than staying out of jail. Evidence of this is found in the Gospels (first 4 books of the New Testament of the Bible) in the way Jesus talked to those He met. The call was (and is today) to go and sin no more.

That’s it.
Very simple command.
Very difficult implementation plan.
And He knew that!

You see, you can’t go very far down the Live Well road before you understand that you must Love (Him) Much first. Living a life well is a response to His Love and must be rooted in some very weighty beliefs.

First, you must believe that God desires the very best for you. When Jesus talked about the abundant life, he wasn’t talking about a life free of pain and struggle. He was talking about a life that is used to it’s fullest potential to impact His Kingdom. He was talking about life lived with His perspective, not ours. With His priorities, not ours. With His values, not ours.

Second, you must believe that God has a purpose for your life. He uniquely crafted you with abilities, skills and experiences for His purposes. Exploring what those things are, with an eye purpose, is a fantastic way to understand why you are still sucking wind behind your keyboard. Assessments, other people and some good ole soul searching are great tools to uncover this information.

Finally, you must understand that a life lived well typically will mean hard times become the norm. There’s an Enemy lurking for anyone who starts making waves for God. For some, that will be enough to return to status quo, but for those resolute few who really desire to live well, it merely strengthens their resolve. Additionally, there is still Joy to be had when hard times come because we now have a perspective that we’re being used to make a difference.

So, the question about why we should live life well goes all the way back to a response to His Love and moves out from there to being effective in Lighting the world around you. Hmmm…that seems to be the next topic.

*PARADIGM CHECK: Are people asking you about how or why you live life the way you do? A life lived well is different from the world – different decision grids, different actions and certainly different values. If you look, act and smell just like everyone else, perhaps it’s time to examine your life from His perspective and ask some overdue questions…on your knees.