A Job or a Calling?
About a year ago I was privileged to speak to journalists in Ukraine for the Novomedia Forum. My topic was, “Journalism: A Job or a Calling.” It is always good to define your terms. Thomas Addington and Stephen Graves, in their book,
A Case for Calling, said:
Calling is the truth that God calls us to himself so decisively that everything we are, everything we do, and everything we have is invested with a special devotion, dynamism, and direction lived out as a response to his summons and service.
Even the American Heritage Dictionary definition has an element of the spiritual in its explanation of a calling:
An inner urge or a strong impulse, especially one believed to be divinely inspired.
Maybe this old illustration will help you.
A man was walking through the city and came upon three men working with bricks and mortar on a wall. He asked the first man, “What are you doing?” The man replied, “I’m getting $15 an hour to stack these bricks up.”
He posed the same question to the second man he encountered. “What are you doing?”
The second brick layer said, “I’m building a wall. In fact, I’m building several walls. I’m quite good at building walls.”
To the third man, he asked “What are you doing?”
The third man stopped his brick work, and began to look up, gazing to the sky. He said, “I am building a great cathedral, who's spire will reach to the heavens…and this cathedral will honor and glorify God!”
A job…a career…a calling.
So with that insight, what difference would it make in your day to day job if you were to see your efforts as more than a job or a career? What does it look like to have a calling…not just a job? Compare these:
A Job: You write your story
A Calling: You write, rewrite, and rewrite your story
A Job: You show up for work at the last minute, and leave at the earliest moment
A Calling: You show up before expected and stay as long as it takes
A Job: When editing a story, you say, “That’s good enough”
A Calling: When editing a story, you work on until it is perfect…and then look at it again to see if you can make it better
A Job: You do research and read background material when you have to do it
A Calling: You continually read and research on your topic
A Job: You think of a good story as bringing an award…or a raise
A Calling: You think of a good story as making a difference in someone’s life
A Job: You think a good story should bring YOU honor
A Calling: You think a good story should bring glory to others…maybe even to God
So…are you laboring in a job, or do you have a calling from the Lord?
Healthy Tension
Good leaders want to lead by example. Good ministry leaders want to lead by spiritual example. But I have found a great tension in the Christian life. I’m not the spiritual leader that I want to be. I'm probably not the only person who has ever thought that.
The Apostle Paul, in Romans 7 (NLT), wrote to the believers in Rome of the inner struggle he dealt with in his spiritual journey. Listen to the tension in his life.
I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate…. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do
what is wrong, but I do it anyway….
Oh, what a miserable person I am!
Sometimes I feel that way about prayer. I want to pray more, but I don’t. I want to be faithful to pray for people and circumstances, but how much prayer is enough? Tension.
I’ve learned some things by observing godly people. And I always learn from God’s Word and Paul’s letters. Here are some things I have gleaned that help me. Maybe they will help you, too.
First, when I tell someone I will pray for them, I look for opportunity to pray right then. It may be in an office lobby, on the street, or at a store. I ask them if I can pray for them right there, and I have never had anyone turn me down. Then, I can go on with my day knowing I have kept my word to pray for them. If you look for those opportunities, you will be surprised at how many times God opens the door.
Second, I've learned my prayer doesn't always have to be a long prayer. Yes, we need to be willing to spend time...often extended time...with God in prayer. But there are times when a prayer breathed briefly will be appropriate. In the great story of Nehemiah, we see several types of prayer that this man of God uses. In chapter 1, upon learning of the conditions in Jerusalem, Nehemiah prayed for days. Some months later, when the King asked him what was wrong and how he could help, look at what Nehemiah did.
[blockquote author="Nehamiah 2:4 NLT" link="" target="_blank"]
The king asked, "Well, how can I help you?"
With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied...
[/blockquote]
That doesn't sound like a long prayer to me. A brief prayer born out of other extended prayer, no doubt.
Third, Paul often wrote to his Christian friends,
[blockquote author="Philippians 1:3 NLT" link="" target="_blank"]I thank my God upon every remembrance of you....[/blockquote]
That tells me that as God brought people to mind, Paul prayed for them with thanksgiving. Not every day. Not all the time. But as often as the Holy Spirit presented people to Paul’s spirit, he took that opportunity to pray.
Yes, the tensions of leadership are real. Yet they can be healthy if they drive us toward the mark, the standard that the Lord has set for us. But don’t let Satan beat you up if/when you fall short. Press on!
Connecting the Dots
My printer has a problem. Or maybe it’s my computer. It somehow disconnects itself, so that when I want to print, the computer tells me the printer isn’t connected. After making sure all cables are in place, I disconnect the USB cable and reconnect it.
Violá!
It gets the information and the printer prints.
I’m sure an IT person could tell me what the problem is and get it fixed so that communication flows. After all, they are masters at understanding how this stuff works. But…it seems I am just too busy to do that. So I just keep unplugging and plugging in the printer cable to make it work.
I wonder if we do something like that in our attempt to communicate biblical truth. We have carefully put together what we want people to receive. We key the mic or feed the signal out, but somehow there is a disconnect. We can check the wires, the transmitter, the internet, and not find anything wrong.
To quote William Shakespear…
[blockquote author="" link="" target="_blank"]The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves…[/blockquote]
Are we relating to our audience in a way they can understand? Are we doing the little things that help us connect the dots between us and our listeners…so the information can flow?
If I were to talk of the cobblestone streets of Korçë , Albania, those living there would more likely listen. If I mentioned the gravel walkways in the gardens of the Schönbrunn Palace, the people of Vienna would feel I knew what their city was like. Little things, to be sure, but once dots are connected and links are made, then it is more likely that important information can flow.
I’ve mentioned before a disc jockey in Dallas named Ron Chapman. For 40+ years he was at the top of his game, the most popular person on radio in this fifth-largest metropolitan area in the US. If there was one important thing that he did, it was to connect with the listener. You felt he knew what the street you lived on looked like. And as a result of that connection, you listened. And kept listening.
Connecting.
Jesus did it. You remember His amazing encounter with the Samaritan woman. He connected with her from the start by talking about what was on her mind. Water. Then he was able to share the important things. Her need for a savior. And it worked. In John 4:29 we see her astonished comments about her conversation with Jesus.
“Come and see a man who told me everything I
ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?”
How can you connect the dots? How can you build a strong conduit for passing on to others the only hope we have in this world…Jesus?
Surprising Scripture
It happens from time to time. I’m reading a passage I am sure I have read before. This time, though, something catches my attention that I have never noticed. Occasionally it is because I may be reading a different translation, and the way the scripture reads brings out a thought or action I had not caught before.
Recently in my morning Bible reading time I have been reading through the Acts of the Apostles. It was the start of Acts 26 when I read a surprising passage. You remember that the Apostle Paul was in prison because the Jewish leaders were plotting against him. King Agrippa was willing to listen to Paul as he made his defense against the charges brought by the Jews.
[blockquote author="Acts 26:1 (NLT)" link="" target="_blank"]Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may speak in your defense. So Paul, gesturing with his hand, started his defense[/blockquote]
There it was… “Paul, gesturing with his hand….” My first thought? Why did God’s Spirit inspire Luke to write that?
Most commentators agree that Paul was chained by one hand to a guard. That left one arm free. One said this action showed, “…how ready he was to embrace the opportunity of pleading his own cause.” Others said it showed the boldness of his speech and to the securing of the attention of his audience. The phrase “boldness of his speech” tells me Paul spoke with passion.
Passion.
One dictionary described passion this way:
Passion is when you put more energy into something than is required to do it. It is more than just enthusiasm or excitement, passion is ambition that is materialized into action to put as much heart, mind body and soul into something as is possible.
It got me thinking about our role as ambassadors for Christ. We sometimes have those key opportunities to share the hope we have in Jesus. Most of the time we are not in “chains” as we speak, though it may be a bit uncomfortable to do so.
Paul, even in literal chains, could not help but gesture in a way that commanded attention and expressed the passion he had for his Lord Jesus. As Peter would write: “And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” (I Peter 3:15 NLT) When we express the hope we have in Christ, do we speak in a way that commands attention and shows our passion?
By the way, it may not be the gesture of your hand. It may be the intensity of your speech, the firmness of your eyes, the expression on your face. It may be the humility of understanding what God has done for us that others see. It may be the love of Christ that shines through as we speak.
Whatever it is, let’s be ready, willing, and able to share the hope we have…the only hope of this world…Jesus...and do so with passion.
Communicating? Are you sure?
Are you a communicator? I know some great ones, able to hold an audience in the palm of their hand. When they speak, we hang on their every word. But not everyone is a great communicator. Or even a good communicator.
Just because we speak doesn’t mean we are communicating. And just because we put a program on the air or on the internet doesn’t mean the communication process has been successful. Remember the old question, “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”
Aristotle (384-322 B.C) was a Greek philosopher from Northern Greece. He was also the teacher of Alexander the Great. While exploring the human nature scientifically, Aristotle developed a linear model of communication for oral communication known as Aristotle's Model of Communication. To simplify, there needed to be a speaker, a speech, an audience, and an effect. In other words, what you say has to be understood in order to bring about an effect.
Aristotle also talked of the three important elements of the communicator.
- Ethos- your credibility…the reason the listener should believe what you are saying.
- Pathos-the emotional connection…the reason the audience believes what you are saying will matter to them.
- Logos-your ability to appeal to the listener’s sense of reason. In other words, logic.
All the authority and empathy in the world won’t help you if the audience doesn’t understand what you are talking about, or how you arrived at your conclusion.
Those of us who hope to communicate biblical truth, must first receive that truth from God, His Spirit, and His Word. In his famous prayer, St. Francis of Assisi asked God to help him to “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” This is still true in our communication process today.
And, we need to be sure we use the language and words that are easily grasped by our audience. Again, Aristotle had instructions on this important element.
“Think as wise men do,
but speak as the common people do.”
George Bernard Shaw once said, “The greatest problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” Don’t fall into that trap. The public speaker has the audience to look at to determine if his or her message is getting through. How are you evaluating your communication…your programming?
Ultimately, our communication process should seek to please the Lord. The Psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, gave us this guideline as a prayer.
[blockquote author=" Psalm 19:14 (NLT)" link="" target="_blank"]May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. [/blockquote]
What’s so special about Monday?
We call this weekly blog the Monday MEMO. Ever wonder why? Yes, it comes out on Monday. But is it just a nice alliteration. What is so special about Monday?
I was at a high school football game (American
football) on a recent Friday night. There was a bit of rivalry between our hometown team and the one from the next city. The visiting team had beaten our boys three out of the past four years. This year…our hometown team won the game dramatically…55 to 7.
Wow! What happened?
After watching that game, I have a theory. The visiting team had the ball first. On about the second play of the game…in the opening seconds…the ball was snapped over the quarterback’s head resulting in a big loss. One pay later it happened again, and this time it costed points. And that seemed to set the course of the whole game. Early mistakes, early negative yardage, and a whopping loss.
What is so special about Monday?
In management, I’ve found that what happens at the start of the day sets the pattern for the whole day and many times for the whole week. I often told my staff to accomplish one productive thing in the first thirty-minutes of the day. That will set the pattern for the whole day, and often for the whole week.
My hope is that the Monday MEMO helps you start your important week and your important responsibility on a positive note. I pray that the communication and leadership tips, as well as the biblical Truth we share, will help you have a winning week. No fumble or stumble at the start.
And, of course, this isn’t simply to win a game, but to see the Holy Spirit win souls…because an effective ministry team is executing their tasks well, and spreading His Truth.
If Dreams Don’t Come True
One of the hardest things in leadership…indeed, in life…is when our hopes and dreams don’t become reality. That promotion we had hoped to get. That station we wanted to buy. That major financial support that we needed to reach our goal. What do you do then?
These things are disappointments, for sure. But it isn’t the end of the story. My mind quickly goes to Jesus’ disciples who watched their leader die on the cross. Was that what they were hoping would happen? Did they comprehend all that God was doing at that time with those circumstances? Not really.
Matthew Henry is quoted by Chuck Swindoll as writing:
"Where the Providence of God casts us, we should desire and endeavor to be useful; and, when we cannot do the good we would, we must be ready to do the good we can. And he that is faithful in the little shall be entrusted with more.”
That is not an easy lesson to learn. With a godly vision and a pure heart, we set a goal for an event, an activity, an acquisition, and see that goal dissolve before our eyes. Not easy.
I remember a year in church media when we had proposed a big budget increase to grow the impact of the ministry and improve the quality of excellence we felt would honor God and attract people to His message. The authorities over the church budget didn’t see it that way. The proposed budget was not approved. Hope for that important growth dissolved before my eyes.
After dealing with the disappointment, I was led by the Lord to another thought. We had been moving fast in the ministry, doing a lot. And in the process, some basic organizational needs were being overlooked. With my secretary and some volunteers, we determined to use the next year to get better organized. Important files were put in order. Training material and schedules were updated and expanded. We looked for ways to increase the impact of the ministry without spending money.
The following year we saw the church increase our budget. And we saw new opportunities come for us to grow and expand in amazing ways. We needed that prior year. We needed to make sure the foundation of the ministry was strong, and the structure of the organization was solid. Then we could fully utilize the new opportunities God was bringing us.
So if you can’t do all you could or would…do what you can. The Lord may be preparing new things for you IF you are faithful in the “small” things right before you. And besides, someone may be in need of what you can do today. Solomon put it this way.
[blockquote author="Proverbs 3:27 (NLT) " link="" target="_blank"]Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it’s in your power to help them.[/blockquote]
What is it…really?
Leadership. If you didn’t have that many books on the subject, the seminars to attend, and the dictionary definition, how would you describe leadership? What would be the key traits? How can you explain the people who ascend into leadership who have greatly differing styles?
I have observed great leaders who were “do-ers.” They did stuff. They led by action and example. I have seen others who were quiet and contemplative, while their team was busy accomplishing the shared vision. And, I have noticed there are others that, humanly speaking, shouldn’t be leaders. Yet they rise to the occasion, bumping and stumbling along the way, for sure. But they do lead.
I don’t obsess over the elements of leadership. I probably fall into the third category. My high school annual doesn’t have the phrase, “Most likely to succeed,” next to my picture. (Wait…is that how I looked back then?) But I have thought enough, read enough, and observed enough through my 70+ years to come up with some ideas.
My Dad was, for most of his life, blue collar. Though he started as an accountant, for much of Dad’s life he owned a radio and TV repair shop. Blue collar? Yes…because as a kid I often went with Dad as he hauled big TV’s into homes and climbed on top of roofs to install TV antennas. My job was to go into the crawl space under the floor…where spiders, varmints of various types, and probably monsters lived…and pull the cable that connected the antenna to the television. Fun. Dad was a hard worker.
At the same time, each Thursday at noon he would take off the dirty work clothes, put on a suit, fresh shirt, tie, and shined shoes, and go to the most active and prestigious service club in Fort Worth, and lead several hundred men, many of them the movers and shakers of the city, to accomplish many good civic deeds for children and the underprivileged. Because of Dad’s effective leadership, he would be named the regional president, over the clubs from four of five states. A leader.
Let me tell you what I saw in my Dad, and what I see in most of the effective leaders I have known. Two traits, two overwhelming guiding principles.
- Love God.
- Love people.
Wait, you say…what about casting vision and delegating, and the many other things that leaders do? I actually think these things flow out of the two traits above. Where do we get our vision? How do we acquire the needed skills to lead? (Most are found in a study of God’s Word.)
Jesus was quizzed by one of the religious leaders one day. Which is the greatest commandment?
Jesus’ answer was immediate and concise.
[blockquote author="Mark 12:29-31 (NLT)" link="" target="_blank"]The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.[/blockquote]
You can probably make the application yourself. Love God with all your heart, and He will direct your paths as a leader. Love people…your “neighbors” …and you will want the best for them, and want to use them in a way that accomplishes God’s tasks and builds up those around you personally, professionally, and spiritually.
Of course, we can improve our skills. We can learn techniques to be more effective. And we should. But this is secondary to these two key elements if we are to be godly leaders.
God's Direction...Global Impact
I never would have imagined. Fifty years ago when I began my broadcast career, or even 10 years ago when we moved toward international media work. I never would have imagined what God would have in store for me. There is a personal reward of serving in the unique role God has designed for you…and designed you for. There is the blessing of ministry partners…dear friends…whom we can assist and whom we can encourage in the good work they are doing to spread the Gospel in hard places. And there are the people like you who pray for and support this effort so that, like Paul, I can go to serve in other places and not be a burden on God’s dear servants.
Now, the Lord is directing us with a new initiative to complement what we do through MEDIAlliance International. And it came about in as clear a direction from God’s Spirit as I have experienced.
It happened last fall. I was on the campus of Dallas Baptist University touring the new Nation Hall, a building patterned after Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello. It houses the Gary Cook School of Leadership. As I stepped into the beautiful, large conference room, the vision came to me. Bring key Christian media leaders from around the world to a special conference on leadership, media, and spiritual growth. And in just days, the International Media Leadership Summit was born. It will become reality October 8-13, 2016.
The Summit will be hosted by Dallas Baptist University, and held in the very building where God gave me the vision…Nation Hall.
Worldwide Influence
As of this writing, we are nearing our goal of 35 key media leaders registered for this invitation only event. Registrations have been received from all over the world: Turkey, Ukraine, Indonesia, Haiti, Albania, Romania, South Africa, Finland, Sweden, Ghana, India, Serbia, Cyprus, and other countries. The vision is becoming a reality.
Key speakers in leadership, media, and spiritual growth have been assembled for the three-day conference sessions. Other activities and cultural events are planned so that those coming can get to know each other better, and see how God might further use all of us to spread His Truth…the Gospel…to the dark reaches of our globe.
This may well be the most significant event MEDIAlliance Internation has launched...and a very significant gathering of those who, collectively, spread the hope of Christ to millions. They make the Gospel accessible to hundreds of millions within the impact area of their media ministries.
Prayer Needed
May I ask you to pray for this conference and the attendees as they prepare to come? Some are in the process of getting visas to the US. A few have already been denied due to the current climate of our world. I don’t doubt Satan would like to keep all of these people away from anything that could help them be more effective in sharing biblical Truth, and anything that would encourage them to stand strong in the face of opposition.
These past weeks we have seen major changes that will impact Christian broadcasters, some of whom will be at the Summit. One of the Balkan countries is trying to diminish the impact and reach of Christian broadcasters in that Eastern European region. Turkey, after the attempted coup, has closed almost 100 media outlets. The future of Christian broadcasting there is uncertain. Russia’s new law, just enacted days ago, is greatly limiting any evangelical witness. A part of the International Media Leadership Summit will be to discuss how to keep the Gospel’s message of hope alive through today’s powerful technology tools in spite of these new threats to religious freedom.
Your prayers will be a key part in this event. Pray for God to accomplish all He wants to in order to build up and encourage these faithful servants.
Covering the Cost
MEDIAlliance International is covering the cost for the Summit through the generous gifts of people with a heart for the Gospel and for the world. The Summit is not yet fully funded. As of this writing, we need $25,000 to completely cover the budgeted costs of this important event. If you would like to make a contribution to the Summit, you can CLICK HERE to go to a secure site for donations.
Biblical Foundation for Media
I am excited to see what God’s vision is for the use of media to impact our world in these critical days. There is an urgent need for the Gospel. Media is an effective tool to take the seed of God’s Word to people. Think of Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed found in the Gospels (Mark 4, Luke 8). The farmer needed to get the seed out across a broad area of land. The best way to do this in that day was to take a handful of seed and cast it over the land as he walked. He cast the seed over a broad area.
Broadcasting!
The same is true today. To get the seed…God’s Truth…out over a vast area, we send it by electronic means, casting it into the air or down the internet. And even though the seed in the parable didn’t all fall on fertile ground, God didn’t condemn the process. He talked of the amazing harvest that was reaped because the seed was broadcast.
- Pray for those casting seed over broad areas where the Gospel is challenged today.
- Pray for an amazing harvest in the Lord’s timing.
- And pray for the International Media Leadership Summit.
Again, if you would help us help those spreading the Seed, go our Donations page to donate to MEDIAlliance International.
Thank you so much for your prayers and any support you can give.
Thoughts on Excellence
A couple of weeks ago we shared some thoughts on leadership. Today…the topic deals with excellence and with life, taken from a little book by Derric Johnson. My hope is that something here will help you as you lead others and strive for excellence. Dr. D. James Kennedy used to say, “Excellence in all things, and all things to God’s glory.” It is a great philosophy.
[blockquote author="Oliver Wendell Holmes" link="" target="_blank"]Man’s mind once stretched by a new idea…never regains its original dimension.[/blockquote]
To see things in a seed…that is vision.
[blockquote author="Sam Walton" link="" target="_blank"]High expectations are the key to everything.[/blockquote]
The man on top of the mountain didn’t fall there. One of the greatest enemies that we can ever face in life...is the illusion that there will be more time tomorrow than there is today.
To understand the mind of a person, look at what he has already achieved. To understand the heart of a person, look at what he aspires yet to do.
[blockquote author="Dr. Albert Schweitzer" link="" target="_blank"]I don’t know what your destiny will be…but one thing I know...the only ones among you who will be really happy…are those who will have sought and found how to serve.[/blockquote]
Success can be another form of failure…if we forget what our priorities are.
Excellence can be attained if you…risk more than others think is safe, care more than others is wise, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible.
[blockquote author="Walt Disney" link="" target="_blank"]People often ask me if I know the secret of success and if I could tell others how to make their dreams come true. My answer is…you do it by working.[/blockquote]
Don’t be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated…you can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.
Never confuse motion with action…and never confuse action with accomplishment.
There is a big difference between nearly right and exactly right.
Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing right things. Excellence is doing right things right.
And from God’s Word:
[blockquote author="Philippians 4:8" link="" target="_blank"]“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” [/blockquote]
[blockquote author="" link="" target="_blank"][/blockquote]