Be intentional.

In money, time, relationships - capture what you're entrusted with and don't take any of these for granted.

Begin with an attitude of gratitude and out of appreciation, take action purposefully. Think longterm, think legacy, think impact...and at the end of the day, have fun. You haven't been perfect and you don't need to be, because you know you will never be. However, redemption in everything lies ahead and you can easily move past failures and personal defeats. Look up.

Don't let life just 'happen to you'. Instead, happen on life and move forward well.

"Common grace has made it possible for us to participate in the public realm in multiple ways that contribute to the flourishing of the created order." ~ Vincent Bacote

 The World - The City: To be in and not of...we must actually be engaged, connect, relate, discuss, share, influence and even be influenced by the city - the world. Cities are places of influence. Things created in the city make their way out into the rest of the world over time. Whether it be trends, fashion, businesses, thoughts, books, politics, art, religion. education or technologies. In order to influence the future, we must engage the future in the cities. This will cause us to be in that beautiful and vulnerable place of having influence and open to being influenced.

 Considering what it means to be "in" and not of, more specifically the first part of that statement - "being in". How are we in?

 A few thoughts on the ways to "be in":
 * To "be in" we must be physically present (as opposed to living and creating our own bubble) - living, visiting, eating with, enjoying the beauty and creativity of the city. The shift in the last 10 to 15 years of more churches in our cities is a wonderful example of this.
 * Delivering mission in the city is a tremendous way to be engaged. Creating or delivering hope to the disadvantaged and hurting of the city - the world. Helping to make lives better as we consider the greater good. Serve, find out problems and help fix them and become part of the solution. Jeff Shinabarger says (and does) with Suffered Enough, "We will be known by the problems we solve".
 * Engage in Enterprise - Business and work is another sustainable way that we come into contact with the world and show how to be honorable in how we treat others. The entrepreneur is the artist, creating that which others will value & enjoy. Do this with integrity and humility, but also with excellence and focus. Many examples are emerging for Impact Capitalism.

 Do not withdraw, but lean against the wind and go into the cities, into the world to influence and to be influenced by.

"Into the hands of every individual is given a marvelous power for good or evil--the silent, unconscious, unseen influence of his life. This is simply the constant radiation of what man really is, not what he pretends to be." - William Jordan

Q Notes

Raw notes (unedited) from two talks today from Q.


ANTHONY BRADLEY - ABRAHAM KUYPER REVISITED
Author & Associate Professor at The King's College of New York
Back to the Garden - where work was given and established (pre-fall) - doing God's work
God is into the Culture making activity of his people
Every area of culture has it's own place in Gods plan
State - Art - Econ - Family - Science
God designed each of these things to participate in the common good
Governments only recognize and allow these areas to exist
Harry Belefonte influenced hollywood
Dr. King in the churches
Pursue justice in each sphere to be a blessing and to spread shalom
How does God seek to use YOU in YOUR particular sphere? It derives it's authority, mission and design from God himself. It is a part of his plan. Christians need to be apart of every aspect in culture, of culture, having influence. What did God call business, education et al to reconcile creation to himself.
Find your space in your sphere, to explode and unlock what God intends. This is all mine (says God)!


DIANE LANGBERG - TRAUMA AS A PLACE OF SERVICE
2 million kids on our streets homeless
Congo is the rape capital of the world
What does Heaven do? Heaven comes down, to the filth, the dungeon, the hurting.
The church goes into the dungeon to make the dungeon the church.
He enters the dungeons of our hearts. He didn't treat us as "them"…but he made us his own.
He's called us as the body to follow him as the head.
Our God leaves the higher and he defends, leaves the pure. Some want to live as untouched by the trauma of this world.
Trauma is perhaps the greatest mission field of our time, or all time. But we prefer to stay in our churches and occasionally we stick our heads out to tell them what they are doing wrong. We are quick to blame those who suffer for their choices.
We have been blind to the fact of the dungeons in our hearts.

You don't want to hide in the chapel, the dungeon is the human heart, there is no rape or abuse without human beings. Our first call is not to places but to people. Hearts that will tolerate no dungeon corner. Stay clean used to be the emphasis, but it avoids the call of our savior. The dungeon is first in us, that is what created those out there. Pride. Pornography. terrified and shattered humanity. We are complicit with the perpetrators if we do not go. Follow our head, jesus christ, into the corners of our own hearts, then into the corners of the world.

MATH

How are we going to multiply?

At some point in life, you start thinking past yourself. Not for everyone gets here, but most people do and it usually occurs when a child comes on the scene. All of a sudden, the decisions and details of our lives go beyond just us and our own desires. We see longer into life - the decisions we make now impact another generation...actually, they always have impacted others, we just see it clearly now.

We begin thinking longer. Our lives and decisions aren't dead ends anymore, we see the ripple of effect.

Then, something else ... something bigger can happen, and I'm not sure how many people see this reality with precision, but our children will have children and they will have children. The implications of our life grows immensely. The decisions we make, who we are, what we do, how we live, will affect multiple generations. People will be impacted in 200 years by our lives...or not.

My mom's parents left a legacy with me that is now, by name, in my son. My kids know about the characteristics of my grandparents and they will learn more in the years to come. My life is impacted distinctly by their devotion and wisdom. My career path can be traced back to their focus on stewardship...and now my kids too - that's four generations that will span over a hundred years. Next thing you know, my children will have children.

We are called to be fruitful and multiply. This call for our lives goes well beyond the physical multiplication. I'm marinating on this idea about the legacy that we will pass down. A longer-term perspective allows for better decisions today. On the flip side, a shorter-term perspective allows for more foolishness. Foolishness hurts and costs. It costs money, time, implications, relationships and on and on.

A decision based on the next quarter - a decision based on the next three years - a decision based on the next thirty years - a decision based on the next hundred years.

How would our decisions be different if we were thinking about the generational impact of our lives?

Think longer. It's basic Math - How are we going to Multiply?

Finish Strong

We're all a mixed bag. Made in the image of our Creator, broken by our wrongs, so easily taken off track and yet blessed by genius by the Spirit of God that is within us ... and we're called to be apart of the redemptive story of humanity. I don't know Joe Pa, I don't know what he is really like. I know this, he didn't do what he needed to at a very important moment. It was more than a 'personal failure' - it was a failure to protect others that will be forever marred (humanly speaking) on more than one occasion. He allowed the worst of human existence to occur under his watch.

We must fight for the young, the disadvantaged, the poor and we must flip the tables over when Money, Position and Power are mis-used and abused. This is the worst of us. May God forgive me if I do this knowingly or unknowingly.

Sometimes our culture likes to self-righteously and publicly execute people as a normal habit without ever giving grace and mercy or forgiveness. I don't pretend to know where the balance is for it all. What I do know is that humanity is in the habit of failures. But our God is redeeming, that is what he does, making all things new and extending forgiveness when it doesn't make sense to us. I hope Joe Pa saw where he failed and I pray he sought forgiveness in a genuine way. I pray for the healing of any that were abused.

Our lesson is this...It is easier to start well than finish strong. May our lives chase after justice - may we be a voice for the weak and the hurting, the young and the innocent who are abused by others and may we, start well and Finish Strong.

(Failure leaves clues...Howard Hendricks breakdown how Finishing Strong can be stolen from us all http://tinyurl.com/7sld7nh)

Implement the Inspiration

When the music stops and the inspiration fades, get to work on the vision and new direction that you've been given. Don't leave the idea in the song, take it with you into life and change the future. The emotions aren't bad, but it would be a shame if you left your life's calling on the shelf and only picked it up to read every now and then. Do something...Get to work.

Implement The Inspiration.

#Winning

Two things to winning.

1) Spend more time on it strategically than your competitors.

2) Approach your time involved more intentionally, by seeking to learn from your weaknesses and understanding your success/strength.

Bring the endurance/marathon mentality to the above and it will be hard for you to lose. Of course, by that time, you've done all the work, paved the way, and paid your dues through preparation. You'll win.