2010 February | JonathanPearson.net

Baseball, Billiards, & Bocce Ball (Or Something Like That)

In case you’ve been in a hole somewhere, the Winter Olympics are going on right now.

I have to admit, I kinda like having sports available to me 24/7, so I like the Olympics.

A few days ago, I was watching the Olympics and saw a sport called “Mass Start.”

It appears as if someone at some point in time decided that instead of inventing a new sport, they’d just combine two that had been semi-successful in the past.

Thus, Mass Start was born.

It’s a sport in which a couple of dozen skiers take off from a stand still with guns attached to their backs.

Every 5 minutes or so, they stop and shoot at some targets before they move on with their skiing.

Now, it sounds kinda boring, but if you haven’t seen it, it’s actually pretty entertaining.

Any way, it got me to thinking…

What other sports could we combine to form one entertaining sport?

Be creative!

Go!

________________

If you enjoyed this post (or if you didn’t and wanna see if they get better

, subscribe here for regular updates!

Feb 2010

POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson

POSTED IN

Blog, Random Stuff

DISCUSSION No Comments

What Hezekiah Taught Me About Spiritual Leadership

Hezekiah was a bad man!

Taking the throne at age 25 he instituted reforms that made a person’s head spin! He was awesome.

But what made him stand out in my mind apart from the other “good” kings like Asa, Jehosophat, Amaziah, Uzziah, Jehoash, Jothan, and Jehu is that he went further than them in instituting reform.

He broke down the pagan shrines which many failed to touch.
And he broke up the bronze serpent Moses made because the people worshiped it.
Think about that last one for a second: he broke the serpent Moses made!

Moses!

The man that led them out of Egypt, instituted worship, delivered the Law, and brought them to the edge of Canaan. You just don’t touch, much less alter ANYTHING anyone that great did–and yet Hezekiah did it. Why? Because the people worshiped it and not God.

The Essence of Spiritual Leadership

Many people complicate spiritual leadership. If you haven’t been to seminary, don’t have a degree, aren’t charismatic, don’t have connections, or don’t have the right “credentials” you may not be the “one.” And not to discount those advantages…but the real purpose of a spiritual leader is to bring people to God or into a closer relationship with God.

Period.

Whether it be a judge raised up to destroy Israel’s enemies and re-institute worship

A Samuel telling people to get rid of their idols and worship God only
A David who brings the Ark of Covenant from Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem
A Solomon who constructs a magnificent Temple for worship
An Elijah who stands up to 850 prophets (450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah) on Mount Carmel and urges the people to serve God and Him only
Or a John the Baptist who prepares the way for the coming Messiah

We may use different methods: technology, social media, multimedia, user-friendly houses of worship but the purpose has always been the same–lead people to, back to, or closer to God.

Back to Hezekiah

Hezekiah is a model for all those called to fix or repair something. He cut down the serpent Moses made because though it originally had a noble intent it became a hindrance. It got in the way of people and God.

You as a leader have to be willing to “cut down” all hindrances.

What stops most people from becoming great leaders is their unwillingness to cut down these bronze serpents. All the other kings before Hezekiah saw it and probably saw the effects of it…but only Hezekiah cut it down.

Whether it be a tradition, dogma, way of life, or system…if it’s a hindrance it’s got to go! It won’t go overnight and you will get flack for “thinking such a thing”…but you know what God has called you to do.

It’s got to be cut down!!

_____________

Guest Author:

Michael is an author, blogger, and speaker. He is the author of I Shall Raise Thee Up: Ancient Principles for Lasting Greatness. He blogs and speaks about leadership development from a Biblical perspective. It’s leadership by the Book! When he’s not writing or speaking, he can be found writing bios in the 3rd person. Check out his blog/website here,pick up the book here, or the audiobook here.

Feb 2010

POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson

POSTED IN

Blog, Church Ministry, Leadership, Life

DISCUSSION 1 Comment

3 Things To Do When You’re Waiting For Something to Do

I was reading through a story a few days ago that I must have read a hundred times before.

It’s the calling of the disciples.

As I was reading, I jotted these notes down about the passage…

1.God calls us when we’re acting on what we know to do.

God never wants you to just sit still and take up space until He reveals something huge for you to do. God expects us to be doing what He’s already given us to do. It’s then that God will call us to the next place. Be working what you have until He gives you something new.

2.Sometimes, faithfulness to God means abandoning the good for the Godly.

James and John were doing the work they knew to do. It was good work. It was a family business. There wasn’t a thing wrong with the fishing business, but Jesus had bigger things plan. The old saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Here’s a new one, “It may be good, but it ain’t God’s.”

3.People don’t mind you talking, it’s action that gets them stirred up.

Jesus had been around this point for about 30 years or so. He had spoken in the temple, but He never caused a stir until He started acting on it. If you take the step of obedience God calls you to take, you’re going to cause some waves. If you’re fulfilling the plan of God, the positive and the negative will be heard.

For you, what’s the toughest part about following the call of God?

What’s God been calling you to do? Are you doing what you know in the meantime?

Feb 2010

POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson

POSTED IN

Blog, Devotional Thought, Leadership

DISCUSSION 1 Comment

You Can’t Deny It: A Message for Leaders

Something I’ve observed from leaders…

Leaders are great at denial.

A lot of leaders are great at convincing themselves that everything is OK regardless of reality.

They sometimes see the need for more or see the need for better, but are too good at reasoning themselves into thinking that everything is OK.

I think the reason we tend to do this is because our pride can often keep us from admitting that we’ve got work to do.

What I know:

As long as I am convincing myself that everything’s OK, it’s not going to change.

As long as leaders are convincing themselves that their organization is in good shape, it will never become a reality.

We have to face the facts.

There is need for improvement.
There is need for more.
There is need for reorganization.
There is need to feel pressure.
There is need for a healthy discontent within the leader.

Denial is more than just a river in Egypt, it can be a leader’s greatest weakness.

Feb 2010

POSTED BY Jonathan Pearson

POSTED IN

Blog, Leadership

DISCUSSION No Comments

4 Reasons Christianity Isn’t A Race

Our Christian walk isn’t a race, it’s a journey.

When I first met my wife (Melissa), I wanted to know every thing about her.

I wanted to know her likes, her dislikes, her favorites, her goals, her dreams, everything.

The problem was that I couldn’t know it all at once.

I had to spend time with her, I had to hang out with her, I had to give her my attention, I had to build trust with her before I could know more about her.

It took time for me to get to know her.

In fact, I’m still learning.

Heck, I know people that have been married 40 years and are still learning every day.

Our relationship with Christ takes time.

The transformation process takes time.

We must be continually intentional about this journey called Christianity.

We must continually walk with Christ, talk with Christ, and grow with Christ.

We have to spend time getting to know him and spend time getting changed by Him.

It’s not an overnight process.

It does take time and transformation requires some failures.

We must realize this.

Treating our relationship with Christ like a race will lead to…

Frustration (we aren’t moving fast enough)
Disappointment (we will expect not to sin or fall)
Religious Pride (it’ll become more about accomplishments than a relationship)
Loss of Faith (frustrations will look like abandonment rather than growth opportunities)

Wherever you are in your walk with Christ, know that it’s not a race but a journey.

There will be disappointments and failures.

You don’t have to become perfect over night.

Let Christ lead you on the journey.