Under-Rated Talent

Talent. Everybody has it. Everybody wants it. Everybody wishes they had more of it. I find it a most disastrous outcome that many of the talents people desire most are only sought after to increase one’s own vanity and to strengthen self-identity. Would I be so foolish to state that a great athlete or a celebrated actor or a distinguished musician holds no comparable talent to that of a doctor, physician, teacher, counselor or research scientist. Hardly. As a musician who has been inspired by the supremely talented artists and athletes of both past and present I have observed with my very own eyes the handiwork of a Creator God dispensing enormous portions of talents on these certain individuals. What we all must be careful to pursue is the talent we have been individually given since our very own creation. Each of us can be tempted to either chase after a talent that we have not been given or to use our own given talent to pursue our own fleeting fame and fortune at the expense of the good of humanity.

Too many dear friends of mine have been told they have talent in specific areas only to waste their dreams and pursuits at the very cost of the dormant talents that lay deep inside them, unexposed and atrophied from neglect and malnourish. Other close friends have foolishly used their talent for only their own self-gain leading them to lives of isolation, loneliness and despair.

Dear friends, we all have talent and have been given accordingly to fulfill the plans and purposes that we were destined for. Don’t waste time wishing for more or worse, for others. Use the time you have to develop your given talent into a skill that will better humanity and give you the joy and fulfillment of being a part of a community’s growth and success.

In my insatiably crazy life I find little time for TV and what little time I do have for this pleasant recreational activity I owe completely to the technology of the DVR. This past year I enjoyed the new show on Fox called “Lie to Me” starring Tim Roth of whom I am a bit of a fan. During the final episode Roth’s character was speaking to his young protégé about her unique skill set with these clever few lines:

“You have talent…it comes with sacrifice.

That talent? It doesn’t belong to just you anymore.”

You see, it’s easy for us to use our talent for our own gain, even if we pursue noble purposes with it. Does becoming a doctor, teacher or counselor protect a person from the temptations of pride, arrogance and greed anymore than becoming an internationally known artist or athlete? Temptation for one’s own glory creeps around every corner of our lives no matter what circles you run in or what size ponds you swim in.

What history shows us is that the great men and women of our past had enormous talents. Some of them used these for themselves to their own demise. Some of them used them with the mindset that they belonged not to them but to the world and its future development. All of them would agree that with them came enormous sacrifices.

The question for you is what are your talents and what are you doing with them to better your community today?

Vision - Mission - Values

I was fortunate to spend a few days last week in the ever-popular town of Leavenworth located in the center of Washington State.  Unlike most conferences/retreats I attend for work I was able to have Rachel (my wife) attend with me which made it a lot of fun.  This retreat was for the Worship Pastors of the Northwest Ministry Network (of which the church I serve at is a part) to get together and basically hang out and get to know each other.  Worship Pastors are usually called upon to work at everyone else's retreat/conference because I guess God doesn't show up to Christian conferences without someone leading in some singing (a blog for another time) but our retreat tried to prove them wrong as a number of multi-talented musicians gathered together for two entire days without an acoustic guitar, keyboard or even an a cappella inspired song session.  Overall, it was a great time to meet new friends who serve as dear brothers and sisters in the work of the Gospel.  

Now on to the real reason for this post.  I was able to seclude myself for a few hours near the pool (in the shade of course - I sunburn in .076 seconds) and finish the book "Killing Cockroaches" by Tony Morgan which threw me into a mind spin about visioning which is something I love to do.  Therefore, I'd like to throw out the new vision statement I've started working on for our Worship Department at ECC and let you chew on it and give me the much needed feedback it needs to make it not only better but effective.

Vision: To taste, see, feel and hear the unified body of Evergreen Christian Community proclaim the ultimate worth of Jesus Christ.

Mission: To stimulate people's knowledge and affections toward the praise and adoration of Jesus Christ.

Governing Values:

#1: Spiritual Growth: We desire our lives to reflect the on-going sanctification process in order to lead out of authenticity, not perfection.

#2: Musical Growth: We recognize that our team is made up of various musically gifted and skilled people who are all at different levels of their musicianship, yet we all constantly strive to push our own selves, as well as each other, further on in our musical development, not being satisfied with where we are but constantly seeking to improve in all ways possible.

#3: Musical Variety: We understand that our chief purpose is engagement from the body of believers, not musical performance, so we strive to expand our musical styles and influences in order to be as effective to the entire body as possible.

#4: Relationships: We desire to be a visual evidence of healthy relationships for ECC by supporting each other spiritually and artistically.  We also seek relationships outside of our spiritual community in order to keep the Great Commission as a cornerstone of our lives.

Please leave comments as I'd love to hear your inspiring feedback!

Book Review Catchup

In my desire to have my book reviews up to date I'm going to list the books I have yet to list with a short blurb about each.  Longer book reviews may be to come on these since some of them are true gems and must reads.

Vintage Church by Mark Driscoll & Gary Beshears

A must read for all pastors, elders, leaders, etc.  (Further review to come)

Jesus Among Other Gods by Ravi Zacharias

A good book to see how Christianity lines up with the other major world religions.

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

A very short read but well worth your time.  A focus on the 'Prodigal Son' parable in a compelling view focusing more on the older brother and our extravagant God.

Conversations with Boulez by Jean Vermeil

An interview with famed French conductor Pierre Boulez detailing his musical journey and thoughts on the classical music world.  The end of the book details his concert programming for the majority of his life which I found very interesting.

Music Through the Eyes of Faith by Harold Best

This should be a must read for all Music Pastors of all denominations/affiliations.  An insightful look into the what and how of our role as musicians of the church and our communities.

Getting the Blues by Stephen J. Nichols

A clever look into both the history of the Blues music genre and human suffering and how the Blues genre was born out of this human experience.  

Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris

A plea that is backed up by Scripture for Christians to stop with flaky church attendance and hopping around.  Joshua goes into reason and detail about why believers should plug into a church and the benefits that will come of this.

Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges

It is all to easy for Christians to get comfortable with their spiritual lives and forget that their journey of sanctification is a never ending process this side of eternity.  It's easy to only look at "big/major" sins that the people around us commit and serve that as the excuse to not look into our lives to root out the pride, arrogance, lusts, etc.  

What is Reformed Theology by R.C. Sproul

Sproul writes a masterpiece on breaking down reformed theology that is deep but not complicated.  In a book this size dealing with an academic subject I give major kudos to R.C. for making this book very readable to the average audience.  I encourage all believers to buy this book and take some time soaking it in and letting its insightful look into scripture soak in.  A further review to come.

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

The second installment of Lewis' science fiction space series, this book has the main character on a journey to another planet that finds itself as another 'Garden of Eden'.  An interesting look into what humanity might have missed out on but what the future may taste like.

The Mark of the Christian by Francis A. Schaeffer

Christians should be easily identifiable shouldn't they?  Schaeffer compels believers to not only talk the talk but live it in their daily lives.  Short, easy and to the point.

Escape from Reason by Francis A. Schaeffer

A historical journey of philosophy and religion and how they were once mixed and now live in total separation.  An interesting book that is a bit of a mind spin...I'm still digesting it and will probably read it again in the next few weeks.  (Further review to come)

The Swans are Not Silent

In March I had the pleasure of reading three books that belonged to the series titled "The Swans are Not Silent" written by John Piper.  These books actually started as lectures given at the Desiring God conferences starting in the year 2000 I believe.  Each book deals with the lives of three real people and how their lives proclaimed the Gospel, even through immense difficulty.

The three books are titled:

The Legacy of Sovereign Joy: God's Triumphant Grace in the Lives of Augustine, Luther & Calvin

The Hidden Smile of God: The Fruit of Affliction in the Lives of John Bunyan, William Cowper, and David Brainerd

The Roots of Endurance: Invincible Perseverance in the Lives of John Newton, Charles Simeon and William Wilberforce

All three of these books are wonderful reads as Piper weaves their incredible stories together in a way that make you feel like you were there as a silent observer.  The second book of the series is a powerful look into the reality of suffering, especially in the form of depression that was so evident in William Cowper's life.  I would encourage everyone to pick up these books and add them to your library as they are all pretty easy reads.

More Book Reviews

Once again, these reviews will be short and sweet until I'm finally caught up to my current reading list so please bear with me.

Book #8 The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter

This is another book in the Puritan Paperbacks series that gave me a few ninja slaps to the face.  Richard Baxter was one of the most well-rounded pastors making sure to not only preach and teach effectively but care for his flock of people he was entrusted with.  This book was going to be a speech he gave at what we would call a 'Pastor's Conference' of his day.  He ended up becoming ill so he wrote his speech out which eventually turned into this book.  The three main sections are divided up into 1)Let me slap you around a little bit and tell you how lazy and unproductive you are at your calling 2)Let me slap you around a little bit and tell you how you should take seriously your calling 3)How to be effective at your calling.  I really did love this book.  Baxter takes seriously the calling of Pastors and gives an effective message no young pastor should go without hearing.  

Book #9 Death By Love by Mark Driscoll

Each chapter of this book is written in the form of a letter from Pastor Mark to a person who is facing the real situations of life be it relationship discord, abuse, pornography, anger and more.  Through each situation Driscoll beautifully points to Jesus and highlights the work of Christ such as justification, propitiation and the like.  One of the most meaningful chapters in the entire book is the chapter he writes to his youngest son.  This book is very moving on an emotional level dealing with these weighty situations as well as very deep mentally helping the believer build a firm foundation that deals with these subjects.

Book #10 Out of Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis

This is the first book written out of the three in the Science Fiction series of Lewis.  After reading the Narnia series numerous times I expected something along the same lines but was surprised to find this book quite a bit more meaty than expected.  The influence of Tolkien is seen in the incredible description of the planet and of its inhabitants.  Although the first half of the book seemed a little too descriptive for me (why I'm not a big fan of fiction, I want to get to the point!) the last half picked up the story a bit more and left me diving in to the 2nd book.

Book #11 Who Made God (100 Questions...) by Norman Geisler and Ravi Zacharias

If you're looking for a deep and almost academic approach to some of the heavy questions when it comes to faith and theology this is a good book to have at your disposal.  The book is actually written by numerous authors who each take a chapter and deal with some of the difficult questions people bring up on their faith journey.  Geisler and Zacharias do a nice job putting all of the info together and laying out the book in a way that doesn't get to stuffy or heady.  

Book #12 Greatness: Reagan, Churchill & the Making of Extraordinary Leaders by Steven F. Hayward

As a lover of almost anything to do with history, this was one of my favorite books I read in this first quarter of the year.  Hayward writes with a easy to read style that keeps you longing to turn the next page.  In this book he attempts to put the lives of Ronald Reagan and Winston Churchill on display and discoveries numerous similarities in their leadership style.  As a rather enormous fan of Churchill, I knew this book was unlikely to disappoint.  Hayward starts out with both of these men's childhood experiences through their education and entry into politics, even discussing the somewhat similar situations each faced with WWII and the Cold War as well as economic situations for both countries.  What I found to be most eye opening was the economic situation Reagan found himself dealing with has numerous similarities to that of our current reality.  

Book Review Update

I've been terribly unfaithful at not only keeping my book reviews up to date but at even attempting to blog faithfully about anything.  For this I apologize and hope to keep as a discipline this useful tool.  In this blog I'm going to quickly let you know of a few books I've read over the past few months and maybe add a few comments as to catch up on my reviews:

Book #3 The Lamb & the Fuhrer by Ravi Zacharias

Book #4 The Lotus & the Cross by Ravi Zacharias

I have put these books together since they are a part of small collection of books Ravi uses to discuss various religious topics through the use of made up conversations between historical/religious figures and present day people.  A very interesting, down to earth way to communicate theological and gospel truths.  These books are very short (around 100 pages) and easy reads.

Book #5 John Calvin: His Life and Influence by Robert Reymond

Book #6 The Acceptable Sacrifice by John Bunyan

This book is part of the Puritan Classics series and is full of beautiful gems.  Bunyan uses Psalm 51: 17 as his principle text; "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite hear, O God, thou wilt not despise."  He urges the reader to seek after a broken heart that through this we are truly able to grow in our depth and love for God.  He offers the signs of a broken heart as well as why the heart must truly be broken and finishes with how to keep a broken heart.  Here are a few lines that I will take with me:

"The heart, as it is by nature hard, stupid, and impenetrable, so it remains, and so will remain, until God, as was said, bruiseth it with his hammer, and melts it with his fire."

"Therefore, I say, a broken heart is of great esteem with God; for it - and I will add, so long as it retains its tenderness - covets non but God, and the things of his Holy Spirit; sin is an abomination to it."

Book #7 Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

This book is Batterson's latest although by the time I finished this he in turn is sending his latest book off to his publisher for final critique which is a good thing for Mark writes with a clean and easy approach on inspiring subjects.  This book derives its title from the name the Celtic Christians gave to the Holy Spirit calling Him the Wild Goose.  Mark takes this theme and is off to the races compelling us to not cage in the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives to a cage of expectation but to open our minds and hearts to all that God has in store for the adventure of our lives.  Mark's writing style is easy to read since he weaves personal story so well with creative thought on a certain idea.  My main take away from this book is that when I start assuming things for my life and ministry is most likely the moment I begin to stifle all that God has in store for me.  I should never assume things when my faith and hope is in Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit and when I rest on this foundation my life will be full of broken assumptions and impractical thoughts carried on to fruition.

More to come later...

Book #2

Book Title: "Humility: True Greatness"

Author: C.J. Mahaney

Pages: 174

In keeping with my C.J. Mahaney fix I plunged into his second book on the topic of 'humility'.  You can tell that any man who would attempt to write a book on this subject is either seriously mental or on a very incredible journey.  I'm glad C.J. is of the latter and this book is a great insight into the heart and mind of a man who is not claiming to be a great example of humility yet is striving to reshape our thoughts on what this subject is all about.

Mahaney starts off by pointing to a plethora of scriptures revealing the heart of God in that He desires those people who are humble in heart and will humble themselves before Him.  C.J. then speaks about the opposite of humility which of course is pride and how the two have no standing together in any place.  The main idea of this book is that "pride is the greatest enemy and humility the greatest friend."

A good definition of pride: "Pride is when sinful human beings aspire to the status and position of God and refuse to acknowledge their dependence upon Him.  Pride takes innumerable forms but has only one end: self-glorification.  That's the motive and ultimate purpose of pride - to rob God of legitimate glory and to pursue self-glorification, contending for supremacy with Him."  

I also liked how C.J. pointed out on pg. 43 that Jesus does not categorically criticize or forbid the desire or ambition to be great.  Instead, He clearly redirects that ambition, redefines it, and purifies it: "But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all (Mark 10:43-44).  

Mahaney continues to point to the cross of Christ to keep us humble reminding us that we perform no greater sacrifice than the one who has humblest Himself to the lowest form and now is greater than all because of it, Jesus Christ.  The best we can do is follow in this example which should keep us humble in our pursuit of greatness which is to serve all.  C.J. continues to tell the reader how to make this happen both daily, weekly and throughout the different seasons that life may bring.  

Overall, another great gem by an author who spills his passion for Christ over every page of his work.  On to the next book Mr. Mahaney!