Can't Afford Not To

People say I don’t have time to read. I would say you can’t afford not to read. It has a direct impact on your ability to lead, increase earning capacity, relationships etc…… It is not a neutral thing , it is having an impact on everything your life is touching, everything.

Did you know . . .?

One-third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives.

• 58% of the US adult population never reads another book after high school.
• 42% of college graduates never read another book.
• 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.
• 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
• 57% of new books are not read to completion.
• Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.
• Each day, people in the US spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines

Some one has said, that the day you stop learning you stop leading .

Now you might know why there seems to be a shortage of leaders , thinkers, creativity, spiritually mature people, the list could go on.

Reading seems like such a simple skill, but it holds back many in college . Once you can read competently , you have a chance to be educated, but not until. John McKay .

The Bible states, that Jesus grew in Wisdom, Stature and Favor with God and man…..
Wisdom ---- The mind is a terrible thing to waste …. Here are a few, well several books to Read.

• The God You can Know by Daniel DeHann
• The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
• Renovation of the Heart by Dallas Willard
• Victory over Darkness by Neil Anderson
• Emotional Healthy Spirituality – Peter Sazzero
• Spiritual Leadership by J .Oswald Sanders
• Soul Cravings by Erwin McManus
• The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn
• Driven by Eternity by John Bevere
• The Apocalypse Code by Hank Hanegraft
• Marriage on the Rock by Jimmy Evans
• Search for Significance by Robert McGee
• The Bondage Breaker by Neil Anderson
• Choosing to Cheat : Who wins when family and work collide by Andy Stanley
• Home Court Advantage by Kevin Lehman
• Money, Possessions and Eternity by Randy Alcorn
• The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christlike balance by Randy Alcorn
• Why Christian Kids Rebel by Tim Kimmel
• For Men Only : A Straightforward Guide to the Inner Lives of Women by Shaunti Feldhahn
• Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges
• Preparing for Adolescent by James Dobson
• Pivotal Praying by Tim Elmore
• For Women Only ; What You Need to know about the Inner lives of Men by Shaunti Feldhahn

If you read an hour a day you will end up reading close to 50 books in one year. You say I don’t have time. Here is a plan :

• Read 15 minutes before work
• Read 15 minutes at lunch
• Read 15 minutes before bed time
• Read 15 minutes on down times where waiting .

You will be surprised by the reward in your relationship with God, Spouse, Children, Friends, Career, Leadership etc…..

We all have 24 hours in a day. Why not invest some of that time, and not just spend it?
You say, can’t afford buying books. I rarely if ever pay full price for a book. I use the library, borrow from friends, stop by the goodwill. There are plenty of ways to develop, learn and grow if I really want to.

I know what you are thinking. I can’t believe he didn’t mention the bible. Do I have to? Should I need to?

Personal Declaration

NewPointe is responsible to create environments that encourage you to Grow in your intimacy with God, Involvement in community and influence the world.
Here is something that I have to read every now and then:

Declaration of Personal Responsibility

“I currently possess everything I’ve truly wanted and deserve. This is based on what I have headed out to date. My possessions, my savings, and my lifestyle are an exact mirror of me, my efforts, and my contribution to society. What I give. I get. If I am unhappy with what I have received, it is because, as of yet, I have not paid the required price. I have lingered too long in the quibbling stage.

I fully understand that time becomes a burden to me only when it is empty. The past is mine and at this very moment I am purchasing another twenty-four hours of it. The future quickly becomes that past at a control point called the present moment. I not only truly live at the point, but I have full responsibility for the highest and best use of the irreplaceable now.

I accept fully responsibility for both the successes and failures in my life. If I am not what I desire to be at this point, what I am is my compromise. I no longer choose to compromise with my undeveloped potential.

I am the sum total of the choices I have made and I continue to choose daily. What I now put under close scrutiny is the value of each upcoming choice. Therein lies the quality of my lifestyle.

“Will my future belong to the old me or the new me?” The answer depends upon my attitude toward personal growth at this very moment. What time is left is all that counts and I ma personally responsible for how my time is filled. With new found maturity I accept full responsibility for how good I can become at what is most important to me.

With personal growth comes a fear of the unknown and new problems. Those problems are nothing more than the lengthening shadow of my personal growth. I now turn my very real fear, with God’s help, into a very real adventure.

My life now expands to meet my new found destiny. Old me, meet the new me!”
Author Unknown.

Expectations Revisited

We all have expectation. They lead us down many different paths in life, and often are accompanied by a set of matching feelings.

One set of expectations is of “The Church”.

You see I believe that your expectations determine whether you are frustrated or fulfilled in much of life, as well with the ‘The Church’.

I have had friends who had expectations of me, that I could never fulfill, so they were always frustrated, disappointed and even mad at me. But the fact of the matter is that I couldn’t give them what they wanted or expected from me. Sad to say, I don’t have a healthy relationship with them today.

We have adopted a saying here at NewPointe : Our ultimate Goal is not to meet your needs, but to help you take your next step in your walk with Christ. This doesn’t sit well with people because it doesn’t meet their expectation of “The Church”. I thought the church was supposed to meet all my needs. NO THAT WOULD BE CHRIST. That is why we are to help you take your next step in your relationship with Christ.

Here is something that is very interesting I came across on Tim Stevens blog.

He writes about Bill Hybles’ new book “Revealed”. It is all about the results of a 3-year survey they conducted at Willow, plus the results from six additional churches surveyed over the past eight months.

Some notable quotes...

“[This] is causing me to see clearly that the church and its myriad of programs have taken on too much of the responsibility for people’s spiritual growth.”

“We discovered that higher levels of church activity did not predict increasing love for God or increasing love for other people.”

“Church activity alone made no direct impact on growing the heart…it was a flat line, and a stunning discovery for us.”

“God wired us first and foremost to be in a growing relationship with him—not with the church.”

“The church is most important in the early stages of spiritual growth. Its role then shifts from being the primary influence to a secondary influence.”

“The church is extremely important in the early stages of [spiritual development], but its main activities—like weekend services and small groups—decline in importance as people [grow closer to Christ]. The church becomes less of a place to go for spiritual development and to find spiritual relationships, and more of a platform that provides serving opportunities.”

Those who were dissatisfied: “At the heart of their unhappiness may be the fact that [they did not] realize that much of the responsibility for their spiritual growth belongs to them. This is the big ‘aha’.”

“Our analysis paints the picture of the church being too preoccupied with the early growing years, leaving the spiritual adolescents to find their own way—without preparing them for the journey.”

“In many cases, we have created an unhealthy dependence and inappropriate levels of expectation among those who call Willow home.”

“We have to let people know early on in their journey that they need to look beyond the church to grow…Our people need to learn to feed themselves through personal spiritual practices that allow them to deepen their relationship with Christ.”

This is some amazing stuff that the church needs to spend more time talking about.

Here is some food for thought for Pointe Blank readers.

Jesus says in John 15 - I am the vine; you are the branches, if a man remains in me and I him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing… ( WOW ) If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given to you .” (WOW)

I can’t do that for you and you can’t do that for me. You and I can only encourage one another to take the next step to make sure this is happening consistently in our lives.

You see NewPointe is responsible to you not for you. You are responsible for you.

“So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” Romans 14:12.

Check out my next post for a personal declaration, that I believe should be a part of all of our lives.

Hall of Faith

Three Huge Milestones were accomplished in MLB recently. Each ensured a ticket (on the first ballot) straight to the Hall Fame for these feats.

Barry Bonds – tied Henry Aaron’s all-time home runs record by blasting 755. He broke it a few days later, and is still hitting bombs.

A-Rod --- Alex Rodriquez hit his 500th homerun. He is the youngest player to reach that milestone. And if healthy, he should surpass Barry’s record.

Tom Glavine – won his 300th game. He is only the 24th player to do that in the history of baseball.

Hebrews 11 talks about another Hall of Fame. A more significant Hall of Fame. It is a hall of faith filled with people who dared to trust God for the impossible. It is a great read that I encourage you to read.

Today, we have young people dreaming about making it in the sports world, making it even to the Hall of Fame of their favorite sport. Just up the road on 77 is the Football Hall of Fame and thousands of people come to congratulate and celebrate the accomplishments of the inductees.

It would be my desire that we would have a generation of people whose ambition is to be inducted in the Hall of Fame, not in the sports arena, but in the faith arena….

Luke 12 gives us a snap shot of the kind of faith that puts one in the Hall of Faith. (Luke 12:1-10)

Scripture tells us that Jesus marveled ( stunned, amazed , astonished ) at the soldier’s faith. He said this is the great faith he had found anywhere…

Has your faith ever amazed or blown away God? Luke 12 shows us it is possible.

What is it that you are needing to Trust God for?

You see it is not more knowledge that ultimately pleases God

It is not even obedience that necessarily pleases God the most, though important.

It is when we trust Him unreservedly with our lives …. Believing that He knows what is best and that He is ultimately in control and has the power to do whatever He desires.

It is that kind of faith that will ensure you a spot in the Hall of Faith!

“Without faith( trust ) it is impossible to please God .” Hebrew 11:6

The Talk

I had a talk with my father who is 86. Now that I think about it, I should say - or should I say, he had a talk with me . You see it was a meeting that he called. He phoned me and asked me to stop by his place because he needed to talk to me.

So, I went.

He told me Dwight, I believe that God has shared with me that I need to stop driving. Because of this I need to give up the Visitation Ministry. He went on to say how much he loved what he did through NewPointe for God .

You see, if you were in the hospital and it was known by our office, Jim Mason would be there to see you no matter what hospital or what time your surgery was. You would then be put on his prayer list and prayed for faithfully until you recovered.

He’s shared with me over and over again how much he enjoyed this, and that it has been the greatest part of his 60+ years in ministry. You see my Dad was able to do the thing he loved, what he was gifted for. He has a shepherd’s calling, heart and gifts. He loves people. No one is better at it than him.

Thanks Dad!

But for me here is the best part. In churches where people find their identity in what they do instead of who they are, it is hard for people to have an open hand with their ministry. Many times people become possessive with “Their Ministry” because they have allowed it to define them and who they are.

Dad, though he loved what he did and had a sense of great responsibility, never felt it belonged to him but rather knew that it was entrusted to him to steward. So he always held it loosely.

I have always been proud of my Dad. He just reminded me once again why I feel this way about him.

Vision

Just read “ Making Vision Stick “ by Andy Stanley

He talks about the importance of repeating the vision over and over and over again. ….. He says that Vision is hard to stick … Vision is about what Could be and Should be , but life is about right his minute ….

So just about everything works against you. …..

He mentions that one of the ways to find out if the vision is sticking is to listen to what people complain about. Because what they complain about communicates their understanding of the vision.

The other way is to listen to prayer requests: He says if your ministry vision centers on engaging unbelieving people with the message of Christ, but 90 % of the prayer requests are for other things, your vision is slipping. We pray for what we are most burden for.

Two questions for Pointe Blank readers:

• What ‘cha been complaining about ?
• What’ cha been praying for ?

It will give you good idea if NewPointe’s vision is your vision…. Or if the church you belong to’s vision is your vision.

Complaints communicate what we value ….. they reveal a great deal about what is going on in our minds and hearts .

Prayer requests reveal what we are really burdened for.

He closes with this “it will always be difficult to make vision stick. After all, vision is about creating something new – something that should be, but won’t be without someone’s dogged determination to see it through to the end. If God has given you a picture of what could be and should be, embrace it fully and refuse to allow busyness and urgency of life to distract you.”

Thoughts on our Food Drive - Again!

Some one has said, “It is amazing what can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”
That is so true. What we can not do individually we are able to do collectively. Because of the generosity of the people of NewPointe we were able to surpass the GO O7 of 1000 boxes of food. I believe that the final count is a little over 1350!

NewPointe Community is one of the most generous groups of people I know. You continually rise to the occasion when needs are presented to you to expand and fulfill God’s Kingdom and His purpose.

I am Proud and Thankful for each and every one of you.

“When you have done it unto the less of these, you have done it unto me “ Jesus

The Church?

Church. When you hear that word what goes through your mind? A building with a high pitched roof, with a large white steeple that has stained glass windows with crosses placed strategically inside the building and a very large one outside? Maybe a place that is filled with paddled pews, where things are solemn, quiet and reserved?

That is a cultural picture of the church.

The bible has a completely different picture of the church.

“The Most High God does not dwell in temples made with hands.” Acts 7:48

Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? I Corinthians 3:16. The meaning of this passage is literal.

The Bible is very clear that you and I are the temple. That means that those who have accepted Christ as the forgiver of their sins and leader of their lives are the church.

We are the body of Christ ( I Corinthians 12 ) ….

You see, where you and I go to meet on Sunday is not really the church. It would probably be better named our “ministry outpost.”

I’ve heard people say, “you can’t do that in Church.” That is the right answer but for the wrong reason.

Many times we have more reverence for a mere building than we do for the true temple which God dwells, which is our body. We get more upset at what happens in a “building than we do with what happens in the real ‘temple’ that God dwells in - our body “

Let me explain this further. Well, my sister who pastors a great church in Akron Ohio, www.cornerstonefmc.org lived this truth out (of being the church) in the fullest way ….. This past Sunday, they didn’t have a “ church service.” They canceled it with a little bit of resistance (we can’t do that, what would God think?) … Well read the article http://www.ohio.com/news/top_stories/9028742.html and see what conclusion you think God came to.

They shut down everything that would benefit them personally, including Bible Studies and worship services for one week, to focus all of our energies on putting into practice what we already know.

Here is the result:

• They gave school supplies, backpacks, and clothes to over 600 people.
• They donated 34 pints of blood through Red Cross
• They had 16 barbers and stylists (some not even believers yet themselves!) donate their day, and give more than 300 haircuts!
• They registered voters for the upcoming election.
• They serviced more than 50 cars .
• They had 14 nurses served many with blood pressure checks, etc.
• They held Services in 5 nursing homes for residents.
• Prayer walks and drives were held for their community for a solid week!

Thanks Cornerstone for reminding us what it really is all about. May it become not only a pattern for you, but for all of us who name the name of Christ.

James tells us “ If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:26-27

Wrong

I was on my way to a lunch appointment and was listening to sports radio - The HERD with Collin Cowherd He was talking about the turmoil the three major sports are in. He said that it all basically goes back to the dollars. It is easy to take chances on making more money even if there is a risk.

His point was that we choose money all the time, even though we live in a society where the best things in life are always free. He went on to talk about things that are free - walking by the beach, watching your kids laugh, he said there is nothing better than that….

I thought wow, that is pretty good….

Then the next segment the conversation turned to Matt Lienart and his former girl who had his baby. She is asking for $30,000 instead of the $6,000 she is getting per month for child support. This launched a debate on whether or not she should get more because they never married, and it was a short term relationship and that it is going to get nasty probably.

Cowherd said that it was wrong, that she basically had no right to ask for more money …. In the middle of all of this he shares about his recent divorce with his wife of 11 years, Kim. He said when it was all done, it was amicable. That he won, the wife won and the kids won…

Say What ? He just said that the best things in life were free like watching your kids laugh …. Yet from what I understand his career of moving up the ladder was a factor in the divorce. I wanted to call and say that if one of the best things in life is seeing and hearing your kids laugh, one of the toughest things in life is your kids experiencing their parents getting a divorce. Just what for ultimate $$$$$$$$$.

It amazing me how our values are so incongruent. We like to say the right thing and then do what we want….

Coming back ….. I continued to listen to the same station, different host though. They were talking about gambling and money - that people will do almost anything to get more money. The host mentioned that money is the root of all evil.

Again – I wanted to say WRONG………

Scripture tells us “it is the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil.”

Money is neutral . neither good or evil.

The Bible talks more about money than any other subject in the New Testament. It is overwhelmingly more than any subject. More than heaven, hell, love etc…….

Why? Well we see the reasons in the Sports Headlines today.

The sad truth is that Christians view money pretty much the way the rest of the world does.

George Barna reports that only 9% of all Christians tithe. WOW !

The bible says, “ keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake.” Heb. 13:5

Wow ! What a promise

There are many ways to know if your life is free from the love of money, but the simplest and easiest way is to ask yourself if you are a Christ follower , Do I tithe consistently?

If not , it points that you just might be a lover of money.