We were at Sam’s Club the other day, and we saw that the movie Coach Carter was on sale for about six bucks, so we picked it up. This movie has a lot to do with leadership, mentoring, and discipleship. Here are some of my thoughts on this movie:
- Leadership is about molding people into who they need to be and giving them a chance to succeed.
- We should see beyond what people are now and challenge them to become what they need to become.
- A good mentor loves the people he is working with. Coach Carter was upset that the community did not want to see his players succeed off the court as much as he did.
- A good mentor is determined to do whatever it takes for his students to succeed. He is willing to pay the price.
- A good leader takes responsibility for the actions of his team. If one fails, they all fail, even the coach.
- Effecting change in the lives of others will have opposition. Even the principal of the school didn’t understand.
- A good leader has a clear vision of what he wants to achieve. His definition of success may be different than that of those around him.
- A good mentor is there for his students.
There are many other lessons that can be learned from this movie. It is a great movie about a great leader. I liked it so much I showed it to my class on discipleship when we were talking about mentors. We must look for people with these qualities to impact the lives of the students in our ministries, and we must become these types of people in order to effect change in the lives of students in our communities.
The reason this picture is funny is because of the horrible translation job done. Click on it to see better. They must have used an online translating tool or something because the English is horrific. The idea behind the sign is for people to take off their hats before entering the sanctuary. The second part is about being respectful because this is a place of worship.
There is a lesson in all this. I think the problem lies in the attempt for an exact translation of the words. The lesson (for ministry) in this example is that we cannot translate everything exactly. We want to get an idea across. Many times, in missions, we try to translate our idea of Christianity (or youth ministry, pastoral ministry, or whatever ministry) exactly, when really, the idea is what we should be communicating.
The problem, however, is that it’s easier (in the short run) for us to just import something. In the example above, it was much easier for them to just put the text into a computer program and settle for a translation, however bad it may be. It would take more time to actually try to translate it or ask someone to help translate it into correct English. Often we don’t want to take the time to spread the idea, and we look for a quick answer.
By the way, thanks to Amy for the picture.
I just got back from my first jogging session. I decided that I’m too fat and need to at least get in shape (even if I don’t lose any weight). So I’m using Cool Running Couch to 5k running program. It’s supposedly easy at the beginning, but I am practically dying here.
The first week, you just run 60 seconds and then walk 90 seconds for 20 minutes. I did that, but there were a few things I didn’t realize.
- Just how out of shape I am.
- The altitude. Mexico is about 7000 feet above sea level, making it hard to breathe and run at the same time.
- Hills. Our neighborhood is far from level.
- It’s cold outside in the mornings, adding to the difficulty level.
Well…hopefully, I’ll stick to it. It’s only 3 times a week.
By the way, if you want to watch the video about my thoughts, here it is. You can check my progress on www.thejogvlog.wordpress.com
Tomorrow is the third chapel of the year, and they’ve asked me to share. It’s been a week of testimonies about what students did over the summer, so the guy who speaks has only really had 5 minutes. Tomorrow, I’m really going to try to keep it that short.
I read something this week about Mark Twain. The story goes like this.
“When Mark Twain was sent this wire by his publisher ‘NEED 2-PAGE SHORT STORY TWO DAYS.” Twain replied ‘NO CAN DO 2 PAGES TWO DAYS. CAN DO 30 PAGES 2 DAYS. NEED 30 DAYS TO DO 2 PAGES’.”
Tomorrow’s sharing will be like that. It’s a lot easier to ramble than be succinct. I’m going to talk about the benefits of sharing testimony, using Psalm 126 as my text. The three key words are:
Glory.
Joy.
Guidance.
Those words mean that when we share with people what is happening in our lives (aka what God is doing in our lives), God gets the glory, we are joyful, and others are given guidance.
Short. Sweet.
Here is the second in a series of my thoughts on some important quotes from The Lost Art of Disciplemaking by LeRoy Eims. Click here to read the first post in the series.
These quotes have a lot to do with spending your time with and investing your life with others. This is key to good discipleship, for it is in life that discipleship is tested.
- “To have people become involved with you, you must first become involved with them. This is following God’s pattern, for He took the initiative with us.”
The initiative for a discipling relationship must always begin with me. As with every other relationship I have, I must involve myself first. I must take the first step to get to know someone. They will most likely not come to me.
- “Where there is no involvement, there is no real training. In order to meet the needs of the person whom we are training, we have to know that person and be involved with him.” Get involved! Take the initiative and be involved with people. It’s not always easy, but it is important. Our lives must overlap with the lives of other people in order to be able to train them. Like I have said in class time and time again, programs are just excuses for involvement in the lives of students.
- “Jesus’ message was personalized in the everyday affairs of life. His clasrooms were the events of the day. He was what He taught. He transmitted the message by His life.” Discipleship is not a class. It is us learning how to follow Christ in normal, everyday life. How we act minute-by-minute is more important than if we have the right answers in a Bible study. The best way for us to teach and train is in how we live our life.
- “Jesus and His men were immersed in life together.” The word immersed is key in this quote. It’s not enough to just spend our “spare time” with people. We should be willing to share our life with them. This is never easy, but it makes a big difference.
It never fails, seven weeks from now, seminary students will be coming to me, saying that they just can’t continue their studies. They will be tired. They will be discouraged. They will be ready to quit. They will be weary and will have lost heart. Many times I feel the same way. I feel like I just can’t continue.
This morning, I challenged the student body to do the three things that are mentioned in Hebrews 12:1-3 in order to not be weary and to not lose heart. Here they are:
- Remember those who have gone before (vs 1). There are many people praying for us. There are many people who are our biggest fans. There are many people who want us to succeed. Sometimes it’s nice to remember that.
- Throw off everything that hinders AND the sin that entangles us (vs 1). It is not always sin that hinders us. There are many things that are good that hinder us. We must not let the good get in the way of the very best.
- Run the race (vs 1-3). We are to run the race with perseverance. We are to run the race with our eyes fixed on Jesus. We are to run the race considering His sufferings. He will perfect our faith (Philippians 1:6).
I hope that in a few weeks, in the middle of the crisis of seminary work and pressure, the students will remember these thoughts so that the future will be changed.
