scottrodgers.tv

Mountains are majestic. Mole hills are a nuisance. Mountains inspire.  Mole hills discourage.  Scaling a mountain requires determination and commitment.  Ridding of a mole hill requires murdering the mole.  Getting to the top of a mountain is a victory.  Eliminating a mole hill is a relief.

Leaders need mountains to climb. Leaders of leaders need to make sure there is a mountain to climb. When the work shifts from scaling mountains to cutting down mole hills the work of leadership actually gets harder.

The Law of Inertia says that a body at rest stays at rest, and a body in motion stays in motion, unless it is acted on by an external force.  After focusing on mole hills for too long the energy required to start climbing mountains has its own challenges.

What to do when there’s only a mole hill. Embrace it (I know that sounds hypocritical).  Strengthen team relationships.  Strengthen competencies through added training.  Strengthen families and people by allowing extra rest.  Then, find a mountain as fast as you can.  If we don’t find mountains for our leaders to climb, they eventually find mountains of their own.  That’s because they’re mountain climbers.

Climb the mountains.  Murder the moles.

‘Non-words’.  I use them.  Most of you do to.  And, it’s killing me.

Let’s have some Monday fun.  Which ‘non-words’ do you use?  Which ‘non-words’ drive you crazy?

‘Um’ – Is not a conjunction. ‘Have you, um, thought about bringing your, um, iPhone in to get fixed?’  STOP IT. Um is not a conjunction.

‘Uh’ – Is not a dramatic pause. ‘Well, uh, the way I see it, uh, is that uh, we should do that first.’  STOP IT. Quit taking benadryl before coming to work.

‘Man’ – Woodstock is over. It just is.  ‘Man, let’s go there for lunch.’  Is ‘man’ an affirmation that we are no longer Cro-Magnon or a reminder that maybe we still are?  STOP IT.

‘So’ – Is not a period on the end of a sentence. ‘I think the best approach would be to look at all the options so.’  STOP IT. . ! ? - That’s how to end a sentence. 

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.  Maybe I should be the first to read UM.  Then, I’ll send everyone else a copy.  Man, that’s my Monday fun rant.  What do you, um, think?  Post your thoughts, uh, and let me know.  Love you guys, so….

I’m convinced of many things.  Here are a few.

Leaders need to.  Entrepreneurs gotta be all about the genesis.  One Prayer changes the game for the global church.  Church Online will unite the church, become a major resource for spiritual formation, and will fast replace the ‘evangelism crusade‘ as we know it.  HULU and Pandora are the starting point of how to do online content.  More and more things that we pay for will become free.  More and more of what is now free we will start paying for.  Movements will move faster than ever.  Organizations will become increasingly decentralized.  Boys are born.  Men are made.  Divorce is the result of surrendering to selfishness.  A strong marriage is the the result of conquering selfishness.  Mexican food will always be the best way to go.  This weekend while I’m at the OKC Campus of LifeChurch.tv, I will see a lot of people surrender their life to Christ.   You are now free to agree or disasgree.

For what ‘one thing’ would you do ‘whatever it takes’ to make it happen?  Now, go do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Answer that question, act on that statement, and you’ve just discovered your mission, identified your strategy, and are off to the races with its execution.  And, you sat through a half day seminar that took only two sentences.  

Enjoy the rest of your day.

Progress in life is like rock climbing.  Have you seen those little urethane knobs all over the rock climbing wall?  Those are called ‘handholds’ or ‘climbing holds’.  If you’re gonna make it to the top you’ll need to work your butt off and hold on tight.

There are segments of Scripture that have, at times, been ‘handholds’ for me.  Throughout my journey these are some of the verses that I have held on to as if my life depended on it.

Proverbs 11:14 – Seeking wise counsel is just wise.

Proverbs 18:16 – Develop the giftings God has given you and trust Him with the results.

Philippians 1:6 – God finishes what He starts.  Be confident of that.

Philippians 4:19 – God provides when we do things His way.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 – Generosity is a win-win.

John 1:12 – True life is a gift, receive it.

God’s promises can elude the passive.  What are the ‘handholds’ you need right now?  Find them.  Grab hold and hang on.

‘Broken by God’, that’s a statement I’m hearing a lot of lately.  What does it mean to be ‘broken by God’? I’m not so sure that it’s something that God ‘does’ as much as it is a ‘place’ we find ourselves in.

I think there are two primary ‘places’ of brokeness.  First, brokeness can be the result of sin.  We’ve messed everything up and now, life is just broken.  Second, brokeness can be the result of surrender.  We’ve submitted ourselves to the purposes of God so much that we are experiencing pain; the pain of selflessness, submission, being misunderstood, etc.

It’s critical we don’t confuse the two.  Stop saying, ‘God is breaking me’ when you’re really just breaking yourself by repeating destructive, sinful behavior.  And, if you’re experiencing brokeness as the result of surrender, lean into it; you’re going through a process of transformation.

Help.  I’m broken and I can’t get up. I’m flat on my back.  My sin is great. Lord, please forgive me and restore me.

Help.  I’m broken and I can’t get up.  I’m on my knees.  My surrender is great. Lord, please give me the strength to stay the course.

‘Jesus doesn’t need Mick Jagger.  Mick Jagger needs Jesus.’ That’s what Todd Hooper said to me as we were sitting in a hotel room in Grand Junction, CO, drinking beer, and watching MTV.  I think that’s good theology.

Often we hear that Jesus ‘needs us…’  He needs us to ‘don’t do this’ and ‘go do that’.  I think that’s backwards theology.  Once we see how much we need Him, anything else is simply our reasonable response.  When we  experience His love and forgiveness our desires change.  Our ‘don’t do’s’ turn into ‘don’t want to’s’.  Our ‘go do’s’ turn into ‘get to’s’.  

Jesus doesn’t need Scott Rodgers.  Scott Rodgers needs Jesus. Five-hundred and seven miles later, driving from Grand Junction into Las Vegas, I was ready to surrender my life to this Jesus Christ that Todd was telling me about.  Years later, I have no regrets.  Years later, I ‘don’t want to’ do some things.  Years later, I’m living the ‘get to’s’.   How about you?

By the way, Jesus loves Mick Jagger too.

Risk in the name of faith, that’s stupid.  Risk that requires faith, that’s essential.

Risk in the name of faith. Taking a huge risk without patiently gathering the facts, seeking wise counsel, keeping in alignment with your life’s purpose, and lots of prayer is simply stupid.  Faith is not an excuse to be lazy and irresponsible.

Risk that requires faith. After patiently gathering as many facts as you can, seeking wise counsel, striving to keep in alignment with your life’s purpose, and lots of prayer, big risks still require faith.  There remains that ’stepping into the unknown’, ‘jumping off the ledge’, ‘entering the point of no return’, that requires faith.

Some of you may need to stand down and not take that risk in the name of faith.  Some of you may need to step out and take that risk because God has prepared you and the time has come.

Fans believe.  They go public.  They wear the t-shirt.  Regardless.  Spectators wear the t-shirt when its a winning season.  They go public once its popular.

Fans sacrifice.  They wait in long lines, pay money, sit in the cold, and do whatever it takes to be a part.  Spectators want convenience.  They wait for the free tickets, with parking passes.

Fans commune.  They’re like a band of brothers.  Fans embrace the story.  They know the history, the ins and outs, the stats; they follow the drama.  Spectators don’t.

Fans engage.  Spectators observe.  

Will all the fans please stand up and say, ‘YEAH!’.  Spectators, join us.  It’s fun.

Why not be the best in the world at what you do?  Why not find a cause that’s worth living for?  Why not put fear aside and give it a shot?  Why not forgive that person who made a mess of things?  Why not step out of someone else’s shadow and do you?  Why not surrender more of your life to Jesus Christ?  Why not?