Hey Dreamers! I am now in Pasedena at the Awaken Leadership Conference with Erwin McManus. I just got to my hotel room after battling in L.A. traffic for the last 2 plus hours, on top of me getting turned around at least twice and going the wrong way. Next time I am going to get a rental car with a navigation system!
I had a map and everything and still got fouled up.
Amazing.
Well, I made it and now I am off to get a salad or something and then maybe hit the gym. Let’s pray I get to the conference tomorrow in one piece!
“…I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”
Acts 26:19
God has a unique plan and purpose for all of our lives. Some of us are at varying stages of clarity as what the specifics are in relationship to it.
The road to discovery for the specifics of God’s vision for us and it’s expression, is most often accompanied with struggle.
But the struggle doesn’t end there. In fact, though it sounds cliche’, it has only just begun.
Because contending for the vision against the outside forces that would try to get us to compromise the vision, dillute the vision, or abandon it altogether takes a great deal of focus and commitment.
A commitment to fight and to get up when we are knocked down.
A commitment to turn deaf ears to the voices of doubt.
A commitment to obey God at all costs along with the vision He has given us.
I can remember as a kid being upset. The kind of upset that makes you tense and tight. The type of upset where you bottle it up inside because you don’t want others to know that you are hurting.
There was a time when I wrote a note to a girl in elementary school named Christina Demile and asked her, “Will you go with me?” with the boxes for YES and NO. Well she didn’t check or mark the YES box. I don’t know if she marked NO, or if she just told me NO, but she let me know that her answer was NO.
I took the news with an outward calmness, but on the inside of me, my little heart was broken. I kept it hidden, but the elementary universe of Julian Newman’s world was rocked. It is in times like these where the best thing that can happen (and this happened more than once!) is to go in your room and have a good cry. Jump on the bed, grab the pillow and let it all out.
When I did that, (and still do upon occasion) there was a lightness and unburdening of my soul that was amazing. The brokenness, tears, and cries out to God (and not just in grade school) brought a strange healing to my heart that I couldn’t fully understand. It was refreshing and freeing to finally release the anxiety that was tied up on the inside of me.
And when I walked out the room I was changed, transformed, and free.
Sometimes we just need to cry and be completely honest in the presence of God.
Over the past few weeks I was taught some new things about expectation, anticipation, and desire in the most unlikely place:
An NBA basketball game.
About a month ago we were invited by some friends to a Kings/Lakers game at Arco Arena. We had AMAZING seats. Absolutely unbelievable. We were so close we could see the expressions on the players faces and the emotion and passion of the game in clear view. We could hear players barking at officials, coaches calling plays, and the squeak of basketball shoes on the gym floor.
It was truly beautiful.
Because we arrived early and Tiffany is a HUGE laker fan, we went down near the court during the pregame shoot-around prior to the game. Laker fans were dressed in their full regalia as they watched their hoop heroes work on their jump shots, spin moves, and footwork casually in preparation for the game. Lamar Odom was there, Luke Walton, and Derek Fisher. There were other Lakers (as well as the Sacramento Kings) that worked up a steady sweat.
Former Laker champions and assistants Brian Shaw and Kurt Rambis talked to the players, giving coaching tips and advice while rebounding misses. As row after row of fans viewed this whole scene with an edge of anticipation; there was an almost tangible excitement that hung in the air.
They were watching the action, but also waiting for something that they hadn’t witnessed yet.
No it wasn’t Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, the cheerleaders, or the Sacramento Kings mascot. They were waiting for their Laker hero of heroes, NBA basketball superstar Kobe Bryant.
I told Tiffany that I didn’t expect him to shoot, with all the distractions, camera phones, and yelling he probably went through his pregame routine earlier, when the gym was closed and quiet.
And almost as soon as I said that, Kobe walked out of the tunnel and onto the court. The Laker and Kobe fans went absolutely crazy. Screams, chants, hand waving and fist pumps. Flashbulbs popping, signs, posters, everything. As he calmly went through his paces after giving a head nod to acknowledge the fans, the energy and electricity in the building was incredible.
When the game actually started an hour or so later, there were a couple of moments where Kobe gave his disciples their money’s worth. In 4th quarter he gave them a taste of the spectacular, performing a two-handed 360 dunk in the closing minutes that brought the Laker fans to their feet. As they screamed and called out, he pointed to his followers and popped his jersey as they showed him the love.
After it was all over and we were on our way home I thought to myself:
“Do I approach the presence of God, my time with God, with the same voracious expectation as a disciple of Jesus as the disciples of Kobe approach him? Am I at the edge of my seat looking for Jesus to reveal Himself to me in worship? Or am I casually going through the motions, trapped in the monotony of my rountine with little to no passion or flame in my heart?
In too many cases the disciples of Kobe, of Britney, of Paris, of Hannah Montana put the disciples of Jesus to shame in terms of expectation, excitement or passion.
But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.
These are pictures of the place where Tiffany and I got our ministry start. We served as youth pastors in a small refinery town in Martinez, where God worked on us and began to shape our lives and leadership. This is the church building we were at every week (building has since been sold to another church) as a member of Evangel Temple (it later changed its name a couple of times over the years) on Las Juntas street.
Across the street (pictured above) we had our youth worship services at a Polish Catholic Church because we didn’t have any room on Wed. nights for our group. There were times where we had 7 students or maybe even less. I think about some of my early messages out of books like Lamentations and Obadiah and me screaming about being passionate for God. I laugh now at some of my well meaning missteps. My motivation in many ways was good, but my methodology was primitive at best.
Tiffany and I were spending a couple days together in the Bay area and decided to visit our old stomping grounds of a little over a decade ago. It was amazing to look at things with the gift of perspective, and how God was using this experience to better prepare us for our future. We didn’t see it then, but it is much clearer now.
If you are going through a rough stretch, don’t get discouraged. God has a plan and a future for you. He is just preparing you to do well in it.
Don’t despise the beginning, because if we are faithful, God will bless it at the end.
I write this post in the middle of ‘March Madness’ (Click here). This is a term used to describe the craziness attached to the NCAA Basketball Tournament (Even though this year in the NBA, especially in the Western Conference, this March has been really crazy!). There will be tears and crying, raucous crowds, and last second shots at the buzzer. Games will be decided by the slimmest of margins, and in many cases at the free throw line.
The free throw is an unchallenged shot taken 15 feet away, with defenders unable to interfere.
But just because the opposing team can’t interfere, it doesn’t mean that interference is without attempt.
In most arenas in the NCAA tournament and in the NBA, there are fans that sit behind the basket, and do everything in their power (signs, shouting, drums, horns, cowbells, etc) to distract the shooter from their primary task. Beside dealing with the accute pressure of the moment, these moving, shouting, yelling distractions are yet another foe for the shooter to deal with.
The best free throw shooters are not able to simply handle the challenge of pressure, but are able to focus past the streamers, the noise, and the shouting to settle into their fundamentals and do what they stepped up to the free throw line in the first place:
To make the shot.
In life, and in leadership we are faced with many, many distractions. I could fill this whole page up with the distractions that we all deal with as we pursue the will of God for our lives. And though my distractions may be a little different then yours, and yours from mine, they all have the same primary goal:
To get us to miss the shot.
But just like a good free throw shooter at the end of the game, with people yelling and going crazy;
slow down, and take a deep breath.
Focus on where you want the ball to go,
bend your knees,
keep those eyes on the rim and nowhere else,
imagine you are in the gym all by yourself,
flick your wrist as you let the basketball leave your hand,
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. -Luke 16:10-12
Most of us are dreaming, praying, and expecting God to do great things in our lives. But the question we must ask ourselves as we dream for the much is, “are we being faithful in the little?”.
Because how we do with the little that is in front of us, is directly connected to how well we will do, and if we ever step into the season of “more”.
There was a story that has been all over the news that has caused quite a reaction. It is about a woman that stayed in the bathroom and sat on a toilet for 2 years (Click sentence for story). 2 whole years. Absolutely incredible. “She is an adult; she made her own decision,” said her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. “I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it.” He went on to say that beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.
The story goes on to say that the toilet seat was literally stuck to her body and her skin had grown over it.
Amazing.
Now before we go too far in criticizing this woman, think of how many bathrooms you and I have been stuck in.
Not literal bathrooms, but figurative ones.
Where we are not moving forward, not stepping out, not taking any risks.
All because we are afraid.
Because we have been hurt in the past.
Or failed before.
Or it has never been tried before.
Or many other reasons and excuses.
So we go in the bathroom and sit.
And we sit so long that we are more conditioned to sit and stay rather than to go and to move.
We kinda get used to it.
Sometimes we all get stuck in the bathroom.
Sometimes we need people to get us up and pry us out.
“…I heard you in the Garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Genesis 3:10
A question I was thinking about yesteday:
What would the world be like if Adam and Eve didn’t run from God (Gen. 3:6-10)?
What if after they had sinned and disobeyed God’s words they ran to Him and repented, asking for His forgiveness? For His love and grace?
Would they have been restored and able to stay in the the Garden of Eden?
Instead they ran away from God and hid.
And the world has never been the same since they did.
I can think about the many instances in my life where I have disobeyed God and run from Him. Trapped in darkness and hiding, and banished from the garden of His presence. When I am on the run, I can’t pray, can’t read the bible, I am allergic to things that are connected or pertaining to God. It is a horrible and ugly thing to be locked out of the presence of God.
The good news is that we can get back in.
We can get back in by being honest with God and with ourselves.
By asking for His love and mercy.
For repenting and asking for His help.
Because contrary to the perspective of far too many, God is not out to hurt or condemn anyone.
He loves us, cares for us, and desperately misses us when we are gone.
If you having been running or hiding, feeling afraid and alone,
You and I are in a fight. A fight for our destiny, fight for our futures, for God’s dream for our lives. The issue isn’t whether we are in a fight or not, but in what manner we fight.
Are we fighting from our toes (moving forward), or on our heels (in retreat)? Are you throwing punches or just blocking punches?
God wants us to fight from our toes and score a knockout.
Hey Dreamers! I am now in Pasedena at the Awaken Leadership Conference with Erwin McManus. I just got to my hotel room after battling in L.A. traffic for the last 2 plus hours, on top of me getting turned around at least twice and going the wrong way. Next time I am going to get a rental car with a navigation system!
I had a map and everything and still got fouled up.
Amazing.
Well, I made it and now I am off to get a salad or something and then maybe hit the gym. Let’s pray I get to the conference tomorrow in one piece!
Posted in The Church, Leadership | 1 Comment »
“…I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven.”
Acts 26:19
God has a unique plan and purpose for all of our lives. Some of us are at varying stages of clarity as what the specifics are in relationship to it.
The road to discovery for the specifics of God’s vision for us and it’s expression, is most often accompanied with struggle.
But the struggle doesn’t end there. In fact, though it sounds cliche’, it has only just begun.
Because contending for the vision against the outside forces that would try to get us to compromise the vision, dillute the vision, or abandon it altogether takes a great deal of focus and commitment.
A commitment to fight and to get up when we are knocked down.
A commitment to turn deaf ears to the voices of doubt.
A commitment to obey God at all costs along with the vision He has given us.
When you get a vision from heaven from God,
obey the vision.
Posted in The Future, Leadership | No Comments »
I can remember as a kid being upset. The kind of upset that makes you tense and tight. The type of upset where you bottle it up inside because you don’t want others to know that you are hurting.
There was a time when I wrote a note to a girl in elementary school named Christina Demile and asked her, “Will you go with me?” with the boxes for YES and NO. Well she didn’t check or mark the YES box. I don’t know if she marked NO, or if she just told me NO, but she let me know that her answer was NO.
I took the news with an outward calmness, but on the inside of me, my little heart was broken. I kept it hidden, but the elementary universe of Julian Newman’s world was rocked. It is in times like these where the best thing that can happen (and this happened more than once!) is to go in your room and have a good cry. Jump on the bed, grab the pillow and let it all out.
When I did that, (and still do upon occasion) there was a lightness and unburdening of my soul that was amazing. The brokenness, tears, and cries out to God (and not just in grade school) brought a strange healing to my heart that I couldn’t fully understand. It was refreshing and freeing to finally release the anxiety that was tied up on the inside of me.
And when I walked out the room I was changed, transformed, and free.
Sometimes we just need to cry and be completely honest in the presence of God.
Free yourself.
Posted in Prayer, Transformation | No Comments »
The novel, Great Expectations was written by Charles Dickens and published in 1861. It is a story that chronicles the life of a young orphan nicknamed Pip, who goes from rags to riches and back again. It is a tale of great ‘expectation’.
Over the past few weeks I was taught some new things about expectation, anticipation, and desire in the most unlikely place:
An NBA basketball game.
About a month ago we were invited by some friends to a Kings/Lakers game at Arco Arena. We had AMAZING seats. Absolutely unbelievable. We were so close we could see the expressions on the players faces and the emotion and passion of the game in clear view. We could hear players barking at officials, coaches calling plays, and the squeak of basketball shoes on the gym floor.
It was truly beautiful.
Because we arrived early and Tiffany is a HUGE laker fan, we went down near the court during the pregame shoot-around prior to the game. Laker fans were dressed in their full regalia as they watched their hoop heroes work on their jump shots, spin moves, and footwork casually in preparation for the game. Lamar Odom was there, Luke Walton, and Derek Fisher. There were other Lakers (as well as the Sacramento Kings) that worked up a steady sweat.
Former Laker champions and assistants Brian Shaw and Kurt Rambis talked to the players, giving coaching tips and advice while rebounding misses. As row after row of fans viewed this whole scene with an edge of anticipation; there was an almost tangible excitement that hung in the air.
They were watching the action, but also waiting for something that they hadn’t witnessed yet.
No it wasn’t Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson, the cheerleaders, or the Sacramento Kings mascot. They were waiting for their Laker hero of heroes, NBA basketball superstar Kobe Bryant.
I told Tiffany that I didn’t expect him to shoot, with all the distractions, camera phones, and yelling he probably went through his pregame routine earlier, when the gym was closed and quiet.
And almost as soon as I said that, Kobe walked out of the tunnel and onto the court. The Laker and Kobe fans went absolutely crazy. Screams, chants, hand waving and fist pumps. Flashbulbs popping, signs, posters, everything. As he calmly went through his paces after giving a head nod to acknowledge the fans, the energy and electricity in the building was incredible.
When the game actually started an hour or so later, there were a couple of moments where Kobe gave his disciples their money’s worth. In 4th quarter he gave them a taste of the spectacular, performing a two-handed 360 dunk in the closing minutes that brought the Laker fans to their feet. As they screamed and called out, he pointed to his followers and popped his jersey as they showed him the love.
After it was all over and we were on our way home I thought to myself:
“Do I approach the presence of God, my time with God, with the same voracious expectation as a disciple of Jesus as the disciples of Kobe approach him? Am I at the edge of my seat looking for Jesus to reveal Himself to me in worship? Or am I casually going through the motions, trapped in the monotony of my rountine with little to no passion or flame in my heart?
In too many cases the disciples of Kobe, of Britney, of Paris, of Hannah Montana put the disciples of Jesus to shame in terms of expectation, excitement or passion.
But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.
Luke 19:40
Let us approach Him with great expectation.
Posted in The Church, Media/Culture | No Comments »
“Who despises the day of small things?
-Zechariah 4:10
These are pictures of the place where Tiffany and I got our ministry start. We served as youth pastors in a small refinery town in Martinez, where God worked on us and began to shape our lives and leadership. This is the church building we were at every week (building has since been sold to another church) as a member of Evangel Temple (it later changed its name a couple of times over the years) on Las Juntas street.
Across the street (pictured above) we had our youth worship services at a Polish Catholic Church because we didn’t have any room on Wed. nights for our group. There were times where we had 7 students or maybe even less. I think about some of my early messages out of books like Lamentations and Obadiah and me screaming about being passionate for God. I laugh now at some of my well meaning missteps. My motivation in many ways was good, but my methodology was primitive at best.
Tiffany and I were spending a couple days together in the Bay area and decided to visit our old stomping grounds of a little over a decade ago. It was amazing to look at things with the gift of perspective, and how God was using this experience to better prepare us for our future. We didn’t see it then, but it is much clearer now.
If you are going through a rough stretch, don’t get discouraged. God has a plan and a future for you. He is just preparing you to do well in it.
Don’t despise the beginning, because if we are faithful, God will bless it at the end.
Happy Easter Sunday
Posted in The Future, Leadership, Family | 1 Comment »
Great article on focus in USA Today concerning Tiger Woods (Click here). I thought that it was a great followup to my post on focus yesterday.
Posted in Leadership | 1 Comment »
I write this post in the middle of ‘March Madness’ (Click here). This is a term used to describe the craziness attached to the NCAA Basketball Tournament (Even though this year in the NBA, especially in the Western Conference, this March has been really crazy!). There will be tears and crying, raucous crowds, and last second shots at the buzzer. Games will be decided by the slimmest of margins, and in many cases at the free throw line.
The free throw is an unchallenged shot taken 15 feet away, with defenders unable to interfere.
But just because the opposing team can’t interfere, it doesn’t mean that interference is without attempt.
In most arenas in the NCAA tournament and in the NBA, there are fans that sit behind the basket, and do everything in their power (signs, shouting, drums, horns, cowbells, etc) to distract the shooter from their primary task. Beside dealing with the accute pressure of the moment, these moving, shouting, yelling distractions are yet another foe for the shooter to deal with.
The best free throw shooters are not able to simply handle the challenge of pressure, but are able to focus past the streamers, the noise, and the shouting to settle into their fundamentals and do what they stepped up to the free throw line in the first place:
To make the shot.
In life, and in leadership we are faced with many, many distractions. I could fill this whole page up with the distractions that we all deal with as we pursue the will of God for our lives. And though my distractions may be a little different then yours, and yours from mine, they all have the same primary goal:
To get us to miss the shot.
But just like a good free throw shooter at the end of the game, with people yelling and going crazy;
slow down, and take a deep breath.
Focus on where you want the ball to go,
bend your knees,
keep those eyes on the rim and nowhere else,
imagine you are in the gym all by yourself,
flick your wrist as you let the basketball leave your hand,
make sure you follow through…..
and….
Swish.
Great shot.
You win.
Posted in Leadership | No Comments »
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. -Luke 16:10-12
Most of us are dreaming, praying, and expecting God to do great things in our lives. But the question we must ask ourselves as we dream for the much is, “are we being faithful in the little?”.
Because how we do with the little that is in front of us, is directly connected to how well we will do, and if we ever step into the season of “more”.
Posted in Leadership | No Comments »
There was a story that has been all over the news that has caused quite a reaction. It is about a woman that stayed in the bathroom and sat on a toilet for 2 years (Click sentence for story). 2 whole years. Absolutely incredible. “She is an adult; she made her own decision,” said her boyfriend, Kory McFarren. “I should have gotten help for her sooner; I admit that. But after a while, you kind of get used to it.” He went on to say that beatings she received in her childhood caused her phobia.
The story goes on to say that the toilet seat was literally stuck to her body and her skin had grown over it.
Amazing.
Now before we go too far in criticizing this woman, think of how many bathrooms you and I have been stuck in.
Not literal bathrooms, but figurative ones.
Where we are not moving forward, not stepping out, not taking any risks.
All because we are afraid.
Because we have been hurt in the past.
Or failed before.
Or it has never been tried before.
Or many other reasons and excuses.
So we go in the bathroom and sit.
And we sit so long that we are more conditioned to sit and stay rather than to go and to move.
We kinda get used to it.
Sometimes we all get stuck in the bathroom.
Sometimes we need people to get us up and pry us out.
Other times we just need to get up.
Either way we need to get out the bathroom.
Get out the bathroom.
Get unstuck.
Go.
Posted in Media/Culture, Leadership | 1 Comment »
“…I heard you in the Garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Genesis 3:10
A question I was thinking about yesteday:
What would the world be like if Adam and Eve didn’t run from God (Gen. 3:6-10)?
What if after they had sinned and disobeyed God’s words they ran to Him and repented, asking for His forgiveness? For His love and grace?
Would they have been restored and able to stay in the the Garden of Eden?
Instead they ran away from God and hid.
And the world has never been the same since they did.
I can think about the many instances in my life where I have disobeyed God and run from Him. Trapped in darkness and hiding, and banished from the garden of His presence. When I am on the run, I can’t pray, can’t read the bible, I am allergic to things that are connected or pertaining to God. It is a horrible and ugly thing to be locked out of the presence of God.
The good news is that we can get back in.
We can get back in by being honest with God and with ourselves.
By asking for His love and mercy.
For repenting and asking for His help.
Because contrary to the perspective of far too many, God is not out to hurt or condemn anyone.
He loves us, cares for us, and desperately misses us when we are gone.
If you having been running or hiding, feeling afraid and alone,
please stop.
Run to Him.
He is waiting for you.
Posted in Relationships, Transformation | No Comments »
You and I are in a fight. A fight for our destiny, fight for our futures, for God’s dream for our lives. The issue isn’t whether we are in a fight or not, but in what manner we fight.
Are we fighting from our toes (moving forward), or on our heels (in retreat)? Are you throwing punches or just blocking punches?
God wants us to fight from our toes and score a knockout.
Posted in Leadership | No Comments »