TimCole.net

While watching a movie recently I was impressed by a short scene that offered some very good perspective on the qualifications for leadership.A senior officer gave a revealing assessment of someone under his command that was bright, talented, smart, courageous, and probably better than anyone else on the team.  The subordinate was anxious to step into the driver’s seat and to take the lead role, feeling they could do a better job of leading and offer a better chance at a successful mission.

The senior officer offered this important advice:  “Leadership isn’t about ability, it’s about responsibility.  You are so good at what you do, you haven’t lost anything yet.  Until you have lost, you cannot be a good leader.”

There is a lot of truth to these words.  The best leaders are often not the most talented or most accomplished people in the room.  They are people who have been willing to take the right calculated risks to benefit the team they are leading.  And, even when their actions or decisions prove to be wrong, they willingly and easily assume full responsibility for themselves and the failure of their team.

 Often, the best indication as to how well you will lead others can be seen in how well you lead yourself.  Leadership is most important and perhaps the hardest to come by during times of defeat and blame.  If you’re able to lead yourself through a bad decision, take responsibility for your actions and keep moving forward in the process, you’ve proven the greatest leadership ability of all - leading yourself.

There is a powerful event that happens when the air over a specific area is warmed by absorbing the energy coming from the sun’s rays.  The warming atmosphere creates an updraft of air called a thermal.  This dynamic event produces a vertical “lift” that acts as an elevator to the heavens.  It is truly amazing to watch eagles or other large birds enter the thermals and effortlessly climb to tremendous heights as they simply spread their wings and ride the up-draft.

What a great natural demonstration of one of the primary roles of worship in God’s relational economy.  God isn’t stuck on Himself or, worse yet, suffering from low self-esteem.  HE doesn’t need our worship; WE need to worship Him because of what it does in and through us.  Worship provides a spiritual updraft both for us singularly as individuals, and corporately as the Body of Christ. 

Worship provides lift to the human spirit.  It’s no coincidence that the language used to describe acts of worship is often something like, “they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the LORD, …” (2 Chronicles 5:13) and “To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in You;” (Psalms 25:1).  Even the object of our worship is “high and lifted up” (Isa 6:1), so as we worship Him, our worship carries us up to encounter Him. 

The impact of our individual worship is both personal and corporate.  There is no doubt that when we choose to engage God in worship, we are personally affected by the spiritual lift that He provides.  When we take the time to bask in the rays of His glory (worship), the relational energy of God warms the spiritual atmosphere around us and creates an up-draft that carries us into higher realms of His glory. 

The greatest impact, however, is seen in the corporate affects of worship.  The spiritual heights we can attain together are far greater than those we can experience apart.  In a corporate setting, our individual worship not only creates lift for us personally, but also for those around us.  This is a perfect demonstration of the relational economy God has set up within the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). When we actively worship together, the updraft is multiplied by the concert of our unity (2 Chronicles 13-15).

This brings our role as worship leaders and worship teams into real focus: Our real mandate is to lead others into an active worship experience by creating an atmosphere of Up-Draft by our own genuine worshipful encounter with God.   Our role is not one of cheerleading or choir directing, but one of creating the initial “Up-Draft” that makes it easier for the rest of the Body to encounter God.  When our first priority as a team is to worship, we’re not just leading by example, we are providing an accelerated on-ramp for everyone else to access the flow of God’s presence. 

Our focus will determine our effectiveness.  If we focus our primary attention as worship leaders on the congregation (instigating a worshipful response from them) instead of on God (directly engaging Him with our own worship), we are really “backing into God’s presence,” trying our best to pull everyone else along with us.  In this scenario, our effort is toward people, instead of toward God.  This is an extremely ineffective leadership model that often produces that all-to-familiar “tug-o-war” atmosphere between the worship team and the congregation.

But, when we stay true to our first priority and determine to go “face forward” into God’s presence by focusing on God rather that the people, our genuine worship creates enough lift in the spiritual atmosphere that people want to follow us where we are going. 

Corporate worship becomes easy and we become effective worship leaders when we realize the “thermal” dynamics of worship.  Our responsibility is to build an Up-Draft in every corporate service by our own worshipful encounters with God.  Once we succeed at our own worship, then we become true worship leaders as people will want to follow us into the spiritual thermals that will take us higher and higher into His presence.

This is going to be a year of change, transition, and access as God had mandated a Kingdom Kairos season of divine intersection, networking and alignment to position us squarely in front of “Gates of Opportunity”.

Gates had great significance in biblical days.  They had 2 primary purposes:  A place of Access and a place of Transaction.  This year will not be like last year.  This year will be a year of action, progress, transition, and return on investment.

Here are just a few of the things that happened at the “Gates” of the city:

1. Government:  The gates were the places where laws were written and justice was meeted out (Duet 6:9, Prov 31:23). Our enemy has been making war against us by attempting to change the laws of the kingdom and alter the purpose of the seasons. (Dan 7)  This year God is releasing His government in favor of the saints.
2. Making War:  Choices to go to war were often made with the counsel of the elders at the gate (Jud. 5:8, Ezek. 21:15). And the city gates were the inevitable focus of that war.
3. Storehouse of Provision:  Some cities had storehouses at the gates where treasure and provisions were kept for future use (Neh. 12:25, Song of Sol. 7:10-13).
4. Worship:  During important events and transitions, the gates were the focal points of renewal and worship (2 Chron. 21:2, Ps. 9:14, Ps. 100:4).
5. Intimacy & Relationship:  The gates were often the location where true relationships were validated and proven (Song of Sol. 7:10-13).
6. Access:  Everything in or out of the city was controlled by the one who controlled the gate.  Access was the most important function of the gate (Ps 24:7-10).

2008 will see God turning our “forsaken” status back into a “favored” status.  The transition, however, is in our hands, or more appropriately, our feet as we must “go through the gates” of opportunity God will bring our way.  We must seize the opportunities and walk through our gates so that we can possess the Kingdom (Dan. 7).

In a world where the only obvious constant is the inevitability of change, thank God for things that remain consistently true.  Principles never change even when everything around us does.  Here are three principles for positioning yourself for your future:

General things come to those who Want
Having a desire for something is the first step toward having it.  People without a defined sense of desire for something usually wander around in life without accomplishing anything, simply accepting whatever comes their way. People who have spent time with (mental, emotional, and spiritual energy) what they want even before they have it develop their desire so that it is defined and measurable as a goal. Those who have no sense of definition to what they desire in life will have to settle for generalities that are available to everyone.

Good things come to those who Wait
Having the character to be patient for your desire is the second step toward possessing your future. Impatient people miss divine connections and key opportunities because they demand what they want in the way they want it at the time they want it.  This lack of personal discipline actually creates delay and deferral in our lives.  Those who discipline themselves understand that timing is as important as the fulfillment of desires and have discovered the value of the process of life, not just the value of the object of their desire. Those who have a desire but can’t endure the process to possess it will most likely have to settle for the the good but average things in life.

Great things come to those who are Willing
The third step to positioning ourselves for future fulfillment is a willingness to do (and most often become) what it takes to possess what we want in life.  The best things in life are reserved for the passionate few who are willing to allow the process of desire and patience to change them into the best posture and position for the fulfillment of their dreams.  Passive people lack the ability to stand up when the process leads to an opportunity that requires courage and perseverance. Passionate people are fueled with determined desire that has been harnessed by patience and is ready to be unleashed at the right time for the right opportunity.  Those who have developed their desires, endured the shaping process of patience, and are ready to seize their opportunity don’t have to settle for anything less than the great things in life that bring fulfillment and new desires.

Dramatic healings in front of large crowds; Discovering a large fortune hidden inside your basement; Now, those are miracles!  Big furry, undeniable miracles!

That’s how we read the life of Jesus and the early church - dynamic, dramatic miracles. And there is no doubt that God is strong and mighty, working miracles of all magnitudes to show His glory in the earth.

But may I suggest that if all we are looking for is the magnanimous, over-the-top displays of God’s power, we might miss the manger size miracles that are the beginnings of the greatest kind of miracles of all - relational miracles.  Mary’s pregnancy was surely a miracle, and yet some could not, even would not recognize it because it didn’t fit their pattern for the miraculous.  Why would God do something like making a virgin pregnant?

What if the key to the miraculous wasn’t the size of the miracle itself but rather the size of the relational impact between God and man?  The manger miracle viewed only within its own context offers minimal effect on personal relationships with God to a small sphere of people.  But if we view the manger within the context of its future impact due to the altered sequence of events which gave us a Messiah and Saviour who grew up to die to redeem us back to relationship with God, then we begin to understand its magnificent beauty.

Sometimes God wants to start us out with a miracle in the mundane things of our lives.  We recently had our family van break down and were without the means to make the necessary repairs.  Through the mundane events of seeking out our options, we found out that there was a 5 year old recall by the car manufacturer on the exact part that broke down and our vehicle was eligible for a complete repair at no charge to us.  I only relay our story to say that if we weren’t willing to walk through the mundane things of our lives with an expectation that God will be meeting us along the way, we may never have had the privilege to experience His miraculous provision in that way.

Sometimes we need the mundane miracles to prepare us for the spectacular miracles.  Either one you are looking for or have received, a miracle is a miracle is a miracle, and its real purpose is to draw you and those around you closer in relationship with Him.

Just for fun (and ideas for the future) I like to watch cable TV shows or read magazine articles that reveal the most sought after new toys, gadgets and gifts for the person who already has everything.  It is always remarkable to see what the minds of men can dream up and manufacture.

But have you ever stopped to think about what God, the creator of all things, would want as a gift?  Talk about the guy who has it all and might be hard to buy for.  There’s not even a magazine list or catalog for his niche market to scarf ideas from.

One of the things I love so much about God is that His is committed to self-disclosure.  God actually wants us to know as much about who He is and what is important to Him as we want to know.  That is why has been willing since the creation of Adam to come “down” and walk with each of us on a daily basis.

Perhaps the pinnacle of His self-disclosure can be seen when God had the opportunity for anything He wanted (and He actually did have that opportunity) He chose relationship with man as the top of “wish list”.  From Eden to Bethlehem, God has consistently displayed His genuine desire to relate to man. 

Even on that very first Christmas night when Jesus was born in a manger, the message was clear for all to see - “All [He] wants for Christmas is” a real relationship with you and I.  He came in that inauspicious, non-threatening, personal way not as some cheap political stunt to grab the spotlight or to be received as the King of the earth (which He really is), but came in a manger in Bethlehem as a personal invitation to all mankind to come back to relationship with Him.

During this Christmas 2007, it would be so cool for you and I to be able to give God the gift that He has always wanted, the one that is really on the top of His list - give God a chance to real relationship with you!  And, let’s take a cue from the divine wish list and reset our gift meters to recognize that the best gift we could give and receive this Christmas is genuine relationship with those who God has placed in our lives - family, friends, even the clerks who are checking us out as we brave the traffic and long department store lines for those last few gifts on our Christmas list.

In November I began to hear the voice of the Lord stirring my spirit about a 3 month season of open doors and destiny opportunities, not just for me, a single church or region, or even the Church at large, but this Word was for the earth!

From the middle of November 2007 to the middle of February 2008, God is releasing divine opportunities into our paths, even into the earth, that will literally change to course of your life, and the course of history in the earth. 

First, this is a season when we need to go back and try it again!  There are things that we thought we had the Word of the Lord on, but when we tried them out they didn’t quite work.  This is the season to get actively pursuing the very things that seems to point to our failure to hear God’s voice clearly and try it again.  The results this time around (during this amazing Kairos season) will be different - fruitfulness, success, abundance and open doors that lead to more open doors!

Second, we must prepare ourselves for new directions and new doors of opportunity.  There are new things that God will be sending our way to promote, update, transition and establish us long into our future if we are but able to dream His dream for our lives again.  Hope deferred because of seemingly failed or missed opportunities in the past has made us wounded in our souls.  We must hear the clarion call of God’s voice to arise from the ashes of defeat and dare to dream big dreams again.  If we prepare ourselves by daring to dream again, we’ll be able and ready to take advantage of every new opportunity God brings our way.

Lastly, I believe this is not just for believers or the Church, but it is a season of new opportunities for the earth.  God is going to bring the earth and the nations in it to a new status, from self destructive pessimism to God initiated optimism and we are about to see some incredible turnarounds in nations and situations that the conventional wisdom has written off as too far gone.  Nothing is too far gone for OUR GOD!

What are you dreaming about?  Every morning when you wake up, every time you step out your front door, let a new expectancy arise in your heart as you anticipate the manifestation of your new beginnings in 2008!

Against the backdrop of twinkling lights and a big red donation kettle outside your favorite store, one would have to be Lost in Space to miss the signs that Christmas is in full swing.  Let me take this moment to hope with you that the perfect gift on your list has either already been wrapped and tagged with your name on it, or at least is still can be had on your behalf.

All things being equal, though, those perfect gifts under our Christmas trees pale in comparison to the most valuable things God has given us, which are the relationships that cannot be replaced.  My wife, Dawn, and my two amazing sons, Zach and Alex, are undeniably the most valuable thing I’ll enjoy this Christmas season. 

Let’s be careful to keep our eyes on the most valuable gifts we have to enjoy this Christmas!

This is one of my great new adventures; to begin to establish a place to post some of my key thoughts about a variety of subjects regarding the Church, the Kingdom of God, and the world around us.

There is much to be said about releasing what is inside so that more can be added.  My purpose is to release what has been downloaded inside of me so that, while it may be a challenge and investment in you, in its offering to you it will in a sense be offloaded in me, freeing up internal room for more downloads to share.

Browse around and take a look.  And don’t forget to leave me a comment.