The Wizard of Oz

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We fear failure.  And although we may feel as if failure is the end of the road, it can be the beginning of a new path.  Or at least it can help us continue our journey in a smarter way.  We mistakenly believe today's failure determines tomorrow's destiny.  This is categorically false.

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Some of history's greatest men and women have overcome failure to create great things.  Take, for instance:

• Socrates - Labeled "an immoral corrupter of youth."
• Sir Isaac Newton - Failed miserably at running the family farm.
• Winston Churchill - Struggled in school and failed 6th grade.
• Abraham Lincoln - Went to war as a captain and returned a private, failed at numerous business ventures and was defeated numerous times while running for public office.
• Walt Disney - Fired by a newspaper editor because, "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas."  He also failed at a number of business ventures and went bankrupt.
• Thomas Edison - Told by his grade school teacher that he was "too stupid to learn anything." 
• Albert Einstein - Because he didn't speak until age 4 and didn't read until age 7, his teachers and parents considered him mentally handicapped.  He was expelled from school and was refused admittance to Zurich Polytechnic.
• Vincent Van Gogh - During his lifetime, he sold only one painting... and that was to a friend (and only for a small amount of money).
• Michael Jordan - Cut from his high school basketball team.

What's the worst that can happen if you fail?  So you have to start over... so you have to admit you aren't perfect... so you are disappointed... so what?!?!  A failure is not a life sentence.  It's just a normal part of the growth process.

Failure doesn't have the ability to control our destiny unless we allow it to do so.  It is not all-powerful.  Remember the scene in The Wizard of Oz where Dorothy first discovers the true identity of the Wizard?  They find out he's really nothing but smoke and mirrors (and a deep, booming, scary voice) behind a large curtain.  The reality is an entirely different thing.

We have to remember that as long as Jesus is alive there is hope!  Most failures are neither final nor fatal.  And if we choose to learn from them, they aren't futile either.  Winston Churchill famously said, "Success is going from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm."

How do we learn from failures?  By analyzing them.  We have to train ourselves to become more self-aware.  We have to ask ourselves some hard questions:

1. What really happened? (Try to separate the emotion/drama from the event and analyze what actually occurred.)
2. Why did it happen? (Look for causes, both the obvious ones and the ones that may be harder to discover... prayer will help with this one.)
3. What was my part in the failure? (Many of the failures we experience aren't entirely our fault, although, for the most part they are self-inflicted.)
4. What did I do to make the problem worse? (How did my actions/reactions escalate the emotion/intensity of the situation.)
5. What could/should I have done differently? (This one may take some time to process.  You may need to ask someone else that knows you well to help with this.)
6. What principles can I learn from this? (If we fail to learn from the past we're doomed to repeat it.  When all is said and done, this is the step that is the difference maker.)

Now that you've analyzed everything, take a moment to pray and ask God to help you apply what you've learned through this introspection process.  You may find, like I often do, that the answers are revealed over time.  I was telling my son how I discovered a new principle about an event that happened three years ago.  He said I should let it all go.  I explained that I'm always wanting to learn from the past, so I'm thankful when God shows me something.  I'm not living in the past, just making sure I learn from it!

For further study on this subject Failing Forward by John Maxwell is an exceptional book!

What questions would you add to this list?  Join the discussion below.

What if things don't work out like you planned? (a leadership thought)

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"Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”- Jesus in Luke 7:23

Click here to read the context in Luke 7:18-23

As you'll recall, John the Baptist's God-given mission was to introduce Jesus to the masses. (see John 1:29-34)  And he had proven himself to be a healthy leader by leveraging his influence to help someone else (Jesus) succeed.  People began to follow Jesus instead of John, which was all a part of the plan. (see John 3:30)

But at this point in the story John the Baptist had been left to rot in Herod's dungeon.  He had fallen from being the famous "prophetic voice in the desert" into obscurity.  Now he was languishing in prison because of his fiery rhetoric. (see Luke 3:19-20)  And aside from a few disciples, no one seemed to care.  I can definitely understand the fact that John felt a bit abandoned and forgotten... and probably even disappointed and disillusioned.

So He sent His disciples to confirm that Jesus was who he (John) had claimed.  After all, this wasn't the way a man of God should end his days.  Maybe he thought he and Jesus would be able to hang out together.  Maybe he expected a little more respect as the first one to truly affirm who Jesus really was. It could be that he thought he would die in peace since he had fulfilled his purpose. Whatever the case may be, we find him questioning whether he had missed God's will or not. 

Notice that Jesus wasn't offended by John's question.  Isn't it encouraging to know that God's not afraid of your questions?  In fact, Jesus gave demonstrative proof (according to Isaiah 61:1-2) that He was exactly who John initially claimed He was.  Now John would be able to die in peace, knowing he'd had a part in God's Master Plan.

Pastors: Are you questioning your call?  Have things not worked out like you planned, or as you prayed they would?  Have you not seen the growth or influence you expected to have?  Does it seem that God has forgotten you?  You need to know that God is not finished with you until you are dead.

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After John's disciples left Jesus spoke to the crowd about him. (Luke 7:24-28)  Here we can see Jesus' high degree of respect for him.  He tells the crowd that John is the greatest man to live up to that time.  Why is this?  It's because John had completed the work that God had called him to do.  He'd had a part in turning a nation to repentance and connecting them to their Messiah.  I don't believe it was the scope of God's call upon John the Baptist that got Jesus' attention.  It was his absolute obedience to it, even though it meant he would fade into obscurity after his time in the spotlight was finished.  John must have felt like a failure.  But Jesus said he was a great man of God.

Let me encourage you today: Don't throw in the towel.  Keep moving forward.  God has a HUGE plan for you.  And as long as you're breathing He's not finished with you yet.  Unfortunately here on this earth we can't see from God's eternal perspective.  But when we get to heaven it will have all been worth it - every moment of sacrifice, every sleepless night of prayer, every time we kept going when we wanted to quit.  God revealed Himself to a runaway slave as "the God who sees." (see Genesis 16:13)  He hasn't changed!

What words would you have to spiritual leaders that are thinking of quitting?  Join the discussion below.

Things are not always what they seem

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Have you ever felt as if no matter how much you prayed, hoped or trusted in God, He wasn't listening; or even worse - He wasn't going to get involved? It's frustrating when you pray and are doing your best to believe in God's willingness (and ability) to change your situation, but still see no changes taking place.

According to the Reuters News Service, in September 2004, David Page of Norfolk, England held onto a rusty piece of metal that he thought was a bomb for four hours. He was convinced that it was unexploded ordnance from WWII and would detonate if he let it go. He was working when he dug up the device. He immediately called the emergency operator on his mobile phone. She immediately dispatched fire, police and ambulance crews.

“The woman police operator kept saying it would be OK but he kept saying to her, ‘You’re not the one holding the bomb’." The father of five cried as he told her: “Tell my parents and the children that I love them if anything goes wrong.”

When the bomb disposal crew arrived, they told him his “bomb” was nothing more than part of the hydraulic suspension system of a Citroen car. Things are not always what they seem!

In Exodus 14, we find Pharaoh looking down on the Israelites. He had allowed them to leave because of the plagues, but now he was just plain mad! He thought he had them cornered, with their backs against the Red Sea… but things are not always what they seem!

In 1 Samuel 17, we see David facing off against Goliath. As Goliath looked down on this teenager, he mocked him. He thought he would quickly crush David… but things are not always what they seem!

In Luke 24, Satan thought he had Jesus conquered. He thought He had succeeded and God’s Messiah had failed… but things are not always what they seem!

In each of these stories, we find that people overestimated themselves and underestimated God. They weren’t smart enough to realize that God was working behind the scenes.

Perhaps you feel forgotten or overlooked. In 1 Samuel 16, David’s own father overlooked him. He thought David didn’t have the makings of a king, or seemingly of anything important, for that matter… but things are not always what they seem.

I’m sure the Israelites felt abandoned by God on the very night Jesus was born. That same night you could probably hear people singing songs of lament, hoping that God would remember His people. But things are not always what they seem. The Bible says,

“But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman…” – Galatians 4:4 (emphasis mine)

In January 2001 the small handful of teens at Rhema Bibel Gemeinde in Bonn, Germany prayed for a youth pastor. They asked God to send them someone. Since this was a new church plant, there wasn’t yet anyone to work with the youth. The teens later told me that many of them felt as if nothing happened when they prayed… but things aren’t always what they seem. One month later God told Robin & I to move to Germany to be the youth pastors at RBG Bonn.

God is not only willing, He is also well able to coordinate events and move people to bring His plan to pass. Let me encourage you not to give up on your prayers or your dreams. God is alive and well… and He is working behind the scenes. He is faithful. He can be trusted. We need to remember that just because we don’t see Him doing something doesn’t mean He is apathetic or uninvolved.

Tweet This: God is alive and well. He is working behind the scenes. #faithful #trustworthy 

But what if it takes awhile to see the answer to your prayers or the fulfillment of your dreams? If you give up, you’ll never see them. It took Joseph 22 years to see his dreams come true (See Genesis chapters 37-46), but it was well worth it. And Abraham had to wait 25 years to see God's promise come to pass (see Genesis 12). So don’t give up… keep praying, keep serving, keep dreaming. God rewards those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6)! And remember: Things are not always what they seem!

Dear Church Diva...

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I was reminded today of a bad experience I had while visiting a church a few months ago.  And probably because I didn't get enough sleep last night, I felt compelled to write this.  I do have a favor to ask of my readers: Please don't passive-aggressively post this on someone else's wall in the hopes that they will read it and change.  That's not the point.  If you want someone in your circle of relationships to read it, the best way to accomplish this without being rude it to share it on YOUR Facebook page.

After visiting a church recently I have some advice for the "Church Diva" that sat behind me.  You know the type... they want everyone to notice them, whether it's because of their clothes, their actions or their attitude.  Well this guy must have thought the Sunday morning service was his chance to audition for American Idol, and that I was one of the judges.  Now God has blessed me with a powerful set of lungs (read: I'm loud), but I almost couldn't hear myself sing over the sound of his voice.  To be fair, he did have a decent voice.  But to be honest, I don't think anyone around him was as impressed with his voice as he was.

Facing Reality

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Reality - what a painful word for leaders.  It refers to the status quo we live in.  It speaks of the circumstances we are currently experiencing - the inconvenient truth we probably aren't happy with.

A good friend of mine worked at a large church in the Midwest a number of years ago.  This church had been plateaued for awhile, and was starting to head into decline.  So they made a smart decision: they brought in an outside church consultant.  This brings in a fresh set of eyes and removes the emotion from decision-making.  A consultant has nothing to lose by being honest.  He/she can talk about "the elephant in the room" without fear of consequences.

This church hired a very well-known church consultant to identify problem areas so they could make the appropriate adjustments.  They paid a good sum of money for him to analyze everything they did and define their current reality.