Starbucks and Greyhounds

I was recently reading an online post and the writing led me to think about how to get people to say "yes"; or more importantly how marketers are placing opportunities that make it easier to say "yes". Have you ever noticed how there are no Starbucks in bus stations or in the welfare office? Ever noticed that Nordstrom's doesn't build new stores in flea market arenas? More often than not, you'll see Starbucks on the way to Nordstrom's.

Not long ago I did a very small amount of work with the homeless and noticed that there was a liquor store right across the street from the shelter. Did the liquor store guys know what they were doing or what?!?!

What are you trying to get people to say "yes" to and how are you going about it?

Relationships

Since this is my public think tank, I decided I would share something that's been on my heart the last few days - relationships. The older I get the more I am learning to appreciate true friendships. I am about to complete a bible study I'm creating for The General Youth Division and today, I'll spend about 4 hours with a friend of mine to fine tune the bible study and he'll give me his opinion. He doesn't have to, he just will. Last night I had a great phone conversation with one of my best friends, he's halfway across the country, yet he called to chat. He didn't have to, he just did.

That free will is what makes relationships so amazing; true friends act from the heart, not from obligation. Life would be just horrible without the opportunity to share it with other human beings.

Authenticity

I can't get away from the ever growing hunger for authenticity in our world. People are hungry for realness; they crave someone who is comfortable with being themselves. Rare is the person who is comfortable being themselves anymore. In The Message (Matthew 23) Eugene Peterson says some live their lives as "perpetual fashion shows". I don't want to walk the runway of life in full-fake-apparel; I want to walk "naked" before God each day, robed in authenticity. It's cliché, but I still want to live my life for an audience of One. How He measures up my garment of authenticity is the only measurement that truly matters.

Ideas

"Ideas that spread, win". That is according to Seth Godin, a marketing guru that I read from time to time. He speaks of marketing from the critical angle of getting people to "talk" about products which in turn lead people to "buy" the products. He simply says, "Ideas that spread, win".

You know where I'm going, don't you? Imagine a culture of Christianity that operated in this same manner. I'm not suggesting that we turn our churches into marketing machines, but what if we used some similar strategies? What if we got people talking and that led to people acting and that led to people being led to Jesus Christ? "Ideas that spread, win".

The Wiring & The Will

I've been thinking a lot lately about how a human being is wired together – like skill sets, personality traits, etc. We are all wired so different, yet so similar. We are all so unique, yet we are all like-creatures. In teaching a series to our college age students, I've come up with a theory. When you find the wiring, you find the will.

All of Christianity at one point or the other struggle with finding God's perfect will for their lives. His will is extremely important to us as we pursue Him, yet it seems His will is sometimes so elusive and hard to grasp. I might be wrong (I have been wrong at least 173,456,459 other times in my life), but I think once we discover our internal wiring, we are very close to discovering His will.

He won't send a country boy to NYC to plant a church. He won't send a city boy to Pinetree, Louisiana. He won't send someone with ill-fitting giftings to an environment they'll fail in. God gave us our skill sets for a reason; He gave us our personalities for a purpose. If we will be so bold as to discover ourselves, then we just might get to know His will for ourselves. When you find the wiring, you find the will.

Describing God

Have you ever tried to describe God to someone who was unfamiliar with God? Thomas Aquinas once noted something to the nature that "we describe God in terms that we are familiar with." God is love. God is cool. God is a Father. We only talk in terms we know and are familiar with – I know "love", I know "cool", I know "Father".

Have you ever noticed that the more you learn, the more ways you have to try and express / explain God? May we never stop growing, may we never stop learning. Who knows, we may be getting closer to describing this indescribable Being we serve . . . but then again, maybe we're not.

Last Lecture

My wife is a full time Religious Studies major at St. Edwards University. I play along and allow her to assume she's more intelligent that I am J . One of her favorite professors was challenged last week to give what was titled "her last lecture". The point was, if the professor knew she had 24 hours left on Earth, what would her last lecture convey?

At the mention of this, I changed my plans to attend this thought provoking scenario. Let me sum up her "last day words". She used the philosophy of Lao Tzu (who teaches an easy going, laid back mindset) versus the philosophy of Confucius (who teaches an optimist, structured mindset) to show contrast in study. Then she used the teachings of Peter (who's focus was the Jews) versus the teachings of Paul (who's focus was the Gentiles) to show a similar contrast. I'm not sure I would have chosen the same topic if I had one last lecture, but I treasure her point. I can best sum up the vibe I received from her with these words: Study both sides to gain a more focused view of the whole.

I've since thought much of what I would leave an audience with . . . if I had one last lecture.