The Adventure Begins... Not Yet!

It's Saturday morning, February 28th, and I'm sitting in the JFK airport in New York. My flight out of Baltimore was delayed on Friday evening because of high winds in New York, and when we finally landed, I watched my Emirates connecting flight lifting off!

The next flight for me leaves sometime after 11:00 am on Saturday (that one is delayed also - I'm looking out the window at it right now.). With the help of Gina Emmanuel, calling her and bothering her after 11:30 pm on Friday, I was able to contact Pastor Daniel's son Jesher to notify him of my delay. (Many thanks to Gina!)

But, now worries from me! Other than a long night on a bench at JFK, I'm no worse for wear and enjoying the time alone reading and studying (and a new song may be brewing in my heart). The only downside is that I was supposed to preach at Pastor Daniel's church on Sunday morning but that won't happen because I don't arrive in India until Sunday night.

Well, the adventure has already started... and it hasn't even started! Stay tuned...

A Message Of Hope... In Difficult Times

This Friday it's "wheels up" as I leave for India. I will be arriving in Hyderabad early on Sunday morning, and after a 2 1/2 hour drive to Kazipet, I will be partnering with Pastor Daniel Kalyanapu at the Immanuel's School of the Bible in India. My senior pastor, Charles Schmitt, will arrive on Monday from Israel, and together we will minister to the Bible School graduates, to the church at Kazipet, and at a crusade in the city.

Once again the opportunity was offered to me to come and minister to a people much like you and me, but who live in a different culture and have a different understanding of life. Neither ours nor theirs is wrong, better than the other, or worse than the other. Simply different.

Here in America, the people of our country are reeling under the pressures of a recessionairy economy. Many people's retirement funds have lost upwards of 30%. Layoffs have numbered in the hundreds of thousands. People are not able to take the expensive vacations they had planned, but must settle for recreation and entertainment closer to home.

In India, the vast majority of people for generations are simply seeking to feed their families the next meal, to accumulate enough rupees to take the hugely overcrowded bus to visit their relatives two hours away, and wait for the power to come back on during the daily blackouts so they can continue to cook supper.

Not better, not worse, simply different.

And so I go to India, equipped with the message of hope in Jesus. It's the same message that Americans need to hear: not because of the economy, nor because of the difficult times we are facing. But rather because hope is a universal need.

Differing cultures describe difficult times in different terms. But, all peoples need to hear the message of hope in Jesus because simply stated, all people are in need of hope.

Coming Soon... India 2009!

In less than two weeks I will be leaving once again for India for a couple of weeks of ministry. I will be joining up with my Senior Pastor, Charles Schmitt, who will be traveling to Israel for a week and then on to India.

Please visit this Blog often for regular updates of our trip. Our first day of ministry will be Sunday, March 1st.

Also, visit the Immanuel's Church website beginning next week for a special devotional tracing the journey of Pastor Charles and his team as they "walk where Jesus walked".

India is in my heart. Allow me to share my heart with you through this Blog.

Job Satisfaction And The Large Paycheck

This article caught my eye this week:

So much for the notion that workers prize career growth more than cold, hard cash. Half of new college graduates say they would rather have high-paying jobs, even if it means less satisfying careers, according to an Experience Inc. survey. More than one quarter cite student loans as a big factor. (Workforce Management 12.23.08)

Well this could make for some interesting conversations. "Hey Steve-o. I heard you landed a killer job at Intercorp." "Not really, but the pay is great! I'll survive."

Perhaps we could turn our attention towards another point of focus. Could today's college graduates be seeking high-paying jobs simply because they are looking for high pay? Is the desire to become rich overshadowing all other motivations?

Maybe they think that satisfaction on the job is over-rated. Get the bucks, buy what you want, who cares if you are happy.

But what about those who have chosen not-so-lucrative jobs and careers and yet they find a certain contentment in doing what they do. Most of these jobs/careers have to do with investing into the lives of others. Those who follow this path understand that their satisfaction isn't found in the size of their paycheck, but rather in the size of their hearts.

I would say that doing something that helps others, although it may not be on the high end of the pay scale, can prove to be incredibly satisfying. Sure you may not be able to afford all that you want to buy, live where you want to live, and drive what you want to drive, but you feel good about yourself and hopefully lives are being changed.

Solitary Ideas?

Today in a staff meeting two of my co-workers reported that they had attended a conference over the weekend. While highlighting the conference, one of them stated that the most valuable time was when the two of them met over lunch and having been stimulated by the morning seminars, they began to exchange ideas and create plans for their own ministries.

I have always felt that some of my best ideas come during or immediately after conversations, lectures or activities with others that stimulate my thinking and creativity.

Just after that staff meeting I read this report published in the New York Times on January 21, 2009: The census Bureau, based on data collected in 2007, estimates that 31.1 million people in the United States live alone, which is 27% of all households, a significant increase from 17% in 1970.

Standing alone, this information from my co-workers and this report from the Census Bureau may seem unrelated. But as I look at it, they are highly intertwined.

I would agree that creativity can emerge from solitude. But I would lean toward the idea that more creativity emerges from conversation, collaboration and cooperation.

My input: don't isolate yourself. Be in relationship with others, especially with those who stimulate your thinking, inspire your heart, and challenge you to grow. Be creative... with others!

Technology And The Inauguration

Paul Katz , Senior Editor of Media/Entertainment/Technology for Iconwatch writes:

More than a million citizens packed into every nook and cranny of the National Mall last week to watch now-President Obama take the oath — but also groundbreaking was the throng of proud Americans who enjoyed the event via technology.

Internet video supplier Akamai Technologies reported a record 7.7 million viewers who watched the event via live streaming; CNN.com posted Facebook status updates, earning 27 million pairs of eyeballs; and Twitter messages were flying at a rate of five times the norm per second (AP 1.21.09).

Still, the online experience was not unlike Chief Justice Roberts' version of the oath: a bit rocky. Viewers on streaming websites like Hulu and CBS were bogged down by stuttering pictures and long login delays. At the root of the tech hiccups was the overwhelming surge of netizens heading online in unison. And the en masse infusion illustrates that the desire of consumers to engage in a digital setting is universal.

President Obama has earned the moniker of the first "Digital President," thanks to an administration that burst onto the social media scene (YouTube, dedicated websites, Facebook). Some say the key to his election success was communication via multiple tech platforms. The People have spoken. Are you listening? (Iconwatch, January 27, 2009)

After reading this article, I was challenged about how we, and more specifically I, am effectively communicating. Are we successfully reaching our culture with the redemptive message that many of us hold so dearly?

Although our message does not change, how we assimilate this message into our culture needs to keep pace with, and in many instances anticipate, the technological experience of those with whom we are seeking to communicate with and influence.

Let's seek to be proactive, effective and influential. Are we listening?

It's Five O'clock Somewhere

Some people can't wait for the weekend. Some can't wait for their vacation. Others can't wait for the next sports season to begin. A growing number can't wait for retirement. I am sure there are some who can't wait for 5:00.

It seems that many people in our society find great dissatisfaction in what they are currently doing (as in their job or station in life). And so they look forward to (or can't wait for) some type of reprieve.

I believe that everyone can find vision and satisfaction in what they are doing right now. You may play a small part in the overall function of your company with the task that you do. But, if you saw the bigger picture you would understand that there was a greater cause that you were a part of.

But beyond your "job", I feel that everyone has an area of significance outside of your "tasks" that minister to, influence, lead and/or impacts those around you. The key is determining what kind of an influence you want to be and purposefully going about being that influence.

So I encourage you to enlarge your vision beyond what you do, to what you can be. Think beyond the what is and look at the what could be. Be an influencer, a leader, a world-changer.

Country singer Alan Jackson sings It's Five O'clock Somewhere, reflecting a large segment of the U.S. workforce's sentiment about their jobs, bosses and slow moving work days. I hope I never get to the place in my life where I can't wait for... is my driving ambition.

How about you?

I Want What I Want, When I Want It!

"I may be unemployed, but I'm not giving up dessert."
(Overheard at a nearby table of young adults during a recent evening out, SFGATE.com)

Draw your own conclusions...

Transparent Coverings

We had what the meteoroligists call a freezing rain event overnight, and this morning all of the trees were covered with a beautiful glaze of percipitation. As I was running, I thought about the trees and the frozen rain clinging to the twigs and branches. A series of thoughts occured to me concerning coverings, and what is underneath.

The branches on the trees, while retaining their basic structure, had a transparent covering that allowed the observer to see the branches as they were. Sometimes people will cover plants with blankets or such to protect them from frozen perciptation. When this happens, the observer sees the covering, rather than the plant.

In many ways, our lives are like trees. Among other things, we grow, are dependent on our root system, spread our branches and produce fruit. And just like the freezing rain was covering the branches I observed, we too cover ourselves.

Oftentimes we cover ourselves with things, dressings and costumes, that draw the attention of those who observe us or divert the attention away from us.

Remember: what is on the inside affects what is on the outside, and what is on the outside affects only the perception of what is on the inside.

Allow me to make two statements: Our covering declares what we are. Our character defines who we are.

What do you cover yourself with? What do you put on and wear that identifies what you are?

Allow your covering to be transparent so as to allow your character to be seen. That is who you really are.

New Year's Resolutions And Biting My Nails

Well it's that time of year again: a new year is here and with it comes new beginnings, new ideas and the standard New Year Resolutions. According to one poll, 45% of Americans make them. The same poll indicated that after one month only 64% are still at it. After six months the number drops to 46%.

There are websites dedicated to New Year's Resolutions. Top Ten Resolutions, How To achieve Your Resolution, Funny New Year's Resolutions, Business New Year's Resolutions and even Brittany Spears' New Years Resolution (not to bite her nails).

We've been told to choose a goal that's achievable. Next we're to plan a strategy for attaining that goal. Next, work the plan consistently. Finally, have some accountability.

I'd like to propose that we choose this one, single, "wide-reaching" New Year's Resolution: to be a better spouse/parent/child/grand-parent/friend (whatever relationship we have to others). By focusing on that one "bigger picture", we can accomplish many "smaller" resolutions.

If I want to be a better parent, one way of expressing that is the desire to be around for a long time for my kids and their children. So I will make sure I am eating healthy and exercising regularly.

If I want to be a better son, one way of expressing that will be to make sure I call my Mom more often.

If I want to be a better friend, I can express it by spending time encouraging my friends.

If I want to be a better husband, I can communicate honestly with my wife.

By seeking to become better in my relationships, I am ultimately doing many smaller things (many of which made to the "Top-Ten New Year's Resolutions" list).

(By the way I quit biting my nails during my freshman year of college.)

Merry Christmas Traditions

There is a radio commercial playing on secular stations in our local market talking about the Christmas Traditions many people observe such as driving around the parking lot of the mall looking for a space the same way that the wise men traveled around looking for the star.

The ad ends by encouraging families to begin a new Christmas tradition: that of seeking Christ, the real meaning of Christmas. Cute, catchy and convincing.

So in my desire to be brief (I must run out to the mall and look for a parking space) yet profound, I encourage you to seek after Christ, who is the true meaning of Christmas.