Toxic to Transformation

One of my recent assignments was to write a paper on toxic leadership and pose a question, then do a mini-analysis.  Wow, really?  I haven't been in school for years, and now I need to do a research paper (although I was relieved that it was only a "mini," of 5 pages minimum - which does not include the cover and reference pages, folks!).

It took lots of prayer and writer's block before coming to a decision: "From Saul to Paul: The Journey from Toxic to Transformational Leader." (Impressive, huh?).

Think of it - one of the most toxic enemies of Christ-followers - hunted them down and endorsed killing them to defend society from blasphemers like Stephen. He was well-known in his circle for being ruthless, tortureous, and going on house-to-house searches, dragging believers from their homes and throwing them in prison, or worse (Acts 8:3).

The Paul we know (he changed his name to the Greek version of Saul) is a result of a personal encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. See, Saul was on his way to Damascus to gain government support to have more Christ-followers persecuted, arrested, beaten, and taken back to Jerusalem.

Jesus had another idea - an idea that would not only change Saul, but the Church. The rest of the story (as Paul Harvey would say) is filled with skepticism of Paul's intentions, followed by amazing, Spirit-filled growth, encouragement, adventure (prison, beatings, starvation, travels, shipwrecks, etc.).

While our own story may not be this glamorous, our stories are not insignificant - they are eternally etched in time forever.

Remember your story.  What was life like before you recognized Jesus as your Lord?
What's life like since? What adventures are you on?
How are you helping encourage growth in the Church?
How are your spiritual gifts being used to build the Church?  (Or do these still need to be unpacked?)

To view the full paper on Paul, click this link:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1EUNUp4iEw5MjlhZ3JPbUlHUHc/edit?usp=sharing

A Day Like No Other

Biking on a dirt path along Lake Vadnais.
Surrounded by a gust,
A surreal vortex of color and of scent; dry pine, birch, oak.
A quick gaze at the whitecaps in the middle of the lake,
Met suddenly, calmly, by still, cold, blue water.

Could it be that The Author, The Artist, The Groom put this in front of us, His love of loves - us - for us as a gift?

It's amazing what kind of legacy a parent leaves, and my dad had a lasting impression on my mom, sister, and I.

One August day while on a family vacation along the North Shore, three of the four of us were sick of the foggy, muggy, cool weather while stopped at in the Cascade area.  It was rather windy and the waves on Lake Superior displayed a respectable anger as they crashed onto the rocky shoreline.

"Our whole vacation is ruined!  We didn't have a single sunny day!" we lamented.  "What is this?  Summer?" I said, feeding into the attitude of doom.

Dad took a very different approach, saying, "You know, this is the only day we have.  We'll never see it again.  There won't be another one like it.  Ever."

As he paused and looked at each one of us, we all knew exactly what he was saying.  This is the one and only day we have today.  It could be gone tomorrow.  This is it.  The present.  This moment.

Dad walked toward an area of rock where the crashing waves made a blowhole, making an amazing geyser of water every so often.  As I followed, we discovered that we could time the geyser just right to "dare" the water to drench us.

As time went on, we waited a bit longer for the water, seeing how close we could get without getting soaked.

We must have done this 20 or so times without getting more than a little damp, when one of the waves was off.  Right when we took our positions over the hole to wait, the wave showered us with so much power, we were almost knocked off our feet.

All I could see as I looked at Dad were his eyes as big as golfballs and a smile I never again saw so huge.  I saw a boy.

We ran all the way to the road laughing until our throats were sore, looking like we jumped into the lake rather than sprinkled by it.

We were cold and soaked, but had the time of our lives.  Those of us who are left remember and speak of that day often.

"This is the day that the Lord has made!  I will rejoice and be glad in it!"  Psalm 118:24