Customer Service is not dead...give credit where it is due...

Wanted to pass on some quick "UP's" where they are due. A week ago this morning, i arrived at the airport at 5am to fly out of town. As i arrived, i took one last look at my e-ticket, and to my misfortune, it seems that i had been Pricelined... Yes, i used this service to book my ticket, put that i was flexible on my travel times, but not on my dates of travel. And to my dismay, it booked my ticket exactly a week later than it showed me on the screen. (Now let me pause and say, there is a chance this is my fault, and i will accept that, however in this case, i am pretty sure, i saw the dates i was trying to book online as correct).

The lady at Continental could see the worry on my face. And smiled kindly as she heard my plea for help. Mind you at this point, i had my credit card out, and knew a fee of great proportion was coming. Never the less i had to get out of town today. After a few minutes of tapping and working, she had me on a flight a few hours later, and no upgrade fee. She even prepped me to fly standby on my connecting flight. She then directed me to another carrier to fix my return flight. I was stunned, and thankful.

As i headed over to the Delta counter, i saw a gentlemen, who just as kindly heard my plea for help. He tapped away, and i thought againn, better get my $ out. This time however, he explained that he could not help me. And if Continental was willing to help i should go see them about this flight as well. I asked one last time, "Even though this is a Delta flight, i should go back over there?" He said yes, and warned me of a $200 fee coming my way.

So i head back to Continental, where she asks me what else she can do for me. I explain what Delta said, and she began tapping again. Within 5 minutes, she had fixed my ticket completely, again, ready at NO COST. During our small talk while she was tapping, she told me she was still trying to wake up. So as she finished, i headed towards Sbux, and picked her up a Grande with half/half. The bible is clear, that we are to honor those, who deserve so. Priceline and / or my negligence could have started this day with much worry and unforeseen cost. But instead someone cared enough to spend 5 minutes and fix my day.

Admittedly more often than not, my expectations are greater than the customer service i receive. However, today, my expectations were blown away, and when this deal is over, i plan to make sure that Continental knows how good they have it with this Lady at the counter. And recommend her to moved to a CS trainer and overseer. To all of you who serve in the world of C.S., thanks today was a great reminder it is not dead!

A dream i had a few weeks ago...

Like everyone, i get busy now and again. This is a gift the Lord gave me in the form of a dream a few weeks ago, and i have just recently found time to post it. To Jesus be the glory.

Had an interesting dream the other night. I was in a large condo somewhere on a retreat. Jess and the boys were with me, as were other youth leaders and family.

It was obvious that I was leading the retreat, and that we were winding down from the days events. As I began to navigate my way through the house we were all in. I headed down stairs to find 2 large rooms, one with guys in bunks, hanging out, getting cleaned up, the other with girls doing the same.

The students were all busy doing their thing, and all seemed to fall in the Sr and Jr high range. As I made my way back upstairs to the main level. I walked over towards the picture windows facing outside to take a look, and behind me sat a typewriter on a flat table. Out of no-where the type writer threw itself on the floor and basically exploded. I ran over, took a look and immediately decided this was warfare.

I communicated this to my wife and the other leaders around me, they agreed and immediately we began to pray fervently, for our students, for our team. As I took perspective on our time of prayer, it hit me this was as aggressive as I can remember myself ever leading such a time of prayer, it was intense. We were coming against principalities, we were calling on the angels of heaven to come and fight. It was a pretty serious and victorious ordeal.

At some point I recognized that I had yet to check upstairs on my boys who were already asleep. As I made my way towards the stair case, the hall was very dark. And then I began to see flashes of light. Flickers, might even be a better explanation. At first I thought it was another round of attacks. And then I had this sudden peace about me, that this was not attack, but angelic. The Lord had heard our cries (obviously) and had responded (again obviously), and some sort of logic reminded me of a book I read by CS Lewis, and a quote that he had experienced the same sort of wonder. So I worshiped the Lord, thanked him for the spiritual forces, and headed upstairs to check on the boys. All was well with them, so made my way back downstairs.

It is at this point that I woke up from my dreaming. I checked the clock, it was 4am, on the nose. I remembered all I had just been dreaming about, and immediately went into prayer mode again. Very victorious, and very aggressive. Praying for our home, our family, Katy Hollis, the kids that were in the rooms hanging out at the retreat. It was a wild time of prayer. Somewhere about ½ hour into it, I found the peace again to rest. So I went back to sleep. I have shared this time with Jess and the only aspect that seems out of place, is me referencing CS Lewis concerning the flickering of lights that were around me. I cannot remember any quote by him about such a wonder, it reminds me more of Peretti to be honest.

I thank the Lord that he is always at work, restoring his kingdom, and that he allows me glimpses of wonders in my life to see what he is up to and to be a part on this side of Heaven.

Tribes

Just finished the book Tribes by Seth Godin. What a great description of leadership and ability to tell it's story.

For many this book will frustrate you. In a world full of formulas and 5 steps to huge success (I jest of course) this is a book of identity an encouragement.

Seems that Seth is able to put his finger on the reality that God has a purpose for each of us. For him this is best described as leadership, and the innate need in each of us to lead in some way.

Majority of the book helps each of us identify with leaders and their choice to lead. Long before resources, a following, or a killer product there is that choice we must make to lead.

In fact it is the simple humaness of choice that leads us to lead. Reality is I will never have enough money to raise my children, enough time to write effectively enough, or enough spirituality to pray for everything that matters to me or my Lord. Instead I make a choice daily to move towards what i see in my minds eye as my future and not be inactive due to what I do not yet have or fear I never will.

As the book ends a few quotes moved me that I decided I would share, and the sure enough Seth asks that anyone who finishes the book will do him a favor and pass it on, so here goes;

I think most people have it upside down. Being charismatic doesn't make u a leader. Being a leader makes you charismatic. It's a choice not a gift.

The secret, Reagan's secret, is to listen, to value what you hear, and then make a decision even if it contradicts the very people you are listening to. Listen, really listen. Then decide and move on.

Without people pushing against your quest to do something worth talking about, it's unlikely to be worth the journey. Persist.

Real leaders don't care about credit, they do all they can to give it away. Credit isn't the point change is!

I can tell you this; leaders have nothing in common. Except this they make a choice to lead.

Hope you enjoy the book, I look forward to your thoughts. And if you enjoy Seth and his ability to tell the story you should check out Tim Sanders too.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

How could America change the world?

How could America change the world?

Let me start by being clear about my love for all the amazing testimonies of grace that flow out of the western world and especially out of the US. From feeding the poor, to serving orphans, to protecting the widow, I am amazed at all we are up to in the name of Jesus. So this note is not about what is not being done, but instead what IS/CAN be done.

This week my brother in-law shared with me part of his story on how his family is affecting the lives of 4 adults And 3 kids on the other side of the globe. His story is so profound and so life shifting, that it has messed up my perspective and must be told to any and all that will listen.

Last year through a series of very random events online, my brother in law met a family from the Philippines. At first like anyone should be with online these days, he was skeptical at best to their need and their real reason for reaching out to him. However, something kept drawing him to reach out to them in very small ways. So eventually he began to ask the Lord, is this something He is up to?

This family lives in a cinderblock shack near Manila so their needs are fairly endless. In this need they have a real hunger for the gospel, so my brother and his family have been sharing the gospel and dealing with the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual needs they have, little by little.

From bibles, to a fridge, to college transportation, over time my brother in-laws family has found that a very insignificant amount of American $ can go a long way in the Philippines. In fact he has figured out that $100 a month wired to this family guarantees they all get meals for that month. By providing for food the family, they can use their income to upgrade their home and their lives, little by little.

The oldest daughter is fighting her way through college, so my brother in-law raises $ to make sure that she has the supplies, food, and transportation she needs each month, by the way this totals $150 a month. Literally in one generation this family’s life style will change by simply having a college graduate in their home.

Every once in a while a big need will come up, like surgery or a hospital visit, which must be prepaid. So my brother in law tells the story and his work buddies jump in to help. Just recently this team at his job raised just over $400 to pay for this surgery, that’s right $400 American for surgery and recovery in the hospital in the Philippines.

What both impresses and amazes me about this influence on this family is that my brother in-law is not rich by American standards. He is a hard working, very ok with being regular, blue collar worker that works with specialty woods shop all day long. He has a home, a family, and a church family he cares for, and does so quite well.

Yet he gets it. Americans are so blessed no matter their financial status, we live in abundance. So what if 1% of the American families adopted a family in another part of the world? Approximately 1 million families globally would be moving towards a change. The natural turn would be the gospel exploding in greater ways all over the world?

How can America change the world? 1 family at a time, 1 need at a time, 1 gospel story at a time.

How Small The World Is Really...

In the summer of 2007 I had the privilege of taking a trip to Kampala, Uganda with a group of students and leaders from our youth ministry. On this trip we experienced and felt many things that we could not have in the US. With 21 million people in its city, Kampala faces a 95% poverty rate we often faced images and human suffering beyond description.

We also faced what the term “joy” truly meant. For a US citizen the term joy is almost always associated with fun, pleasure, immediate gratification. However, as we partnered with the local church (Gaba Community) and one of the local orphanages (Bethany Children A.R.M.) we were reminded of a more biblical “joy”. The ability to find peace in who we were, not what we owned, or what we could do for someone. Day after day we ran into people young and old whose confidence was in their creator and who He had them to be in Christ. In the midst of whatever circumstance they faced, they knew one thing for sure; their hope and their joy remained, because it was in Him who is unchanging.

One of these experiences happened one day when we stopped by the daycare program for Gaba Community’s local families. We actually happened upon these little ones on our way to another program for their high school students, and knew we would have to stop back by to see them. As we approached this gated area with the 3 small classrooms, little ones began to be filled with wonder as all of these “white” men and women approached. Their teachers reassured them, and very quickly we were accepted as part of their group. As we played with these 1-4 yr olds, we learned of their stories, many of which were heart breaking, and the knowledge that their only true love came from their care givers each day, as their parents often were HIV victims or street people, that allowed the church to care for their little ones. About an hour later, it was time for these precious little ones to move on to their next part of the day, which meant out of respect for their teachers we needed to say goodbye. To our surprise, it turned out leaving these little ones became a much tougher task for our soul, then when we left the orphanage days later. Uganda does a lot of incredible work in the orphanages, but that topic is for another time. We were leaving children which beyond their care at Gaba, we were not sure what they would face.

A few days later, we were on a plane back to America. As we reentered the worlds we lived in, each of us fondly remembered out little friends at the Gaba Daycare center. About 6 weeks after our trip, a friend of mine and his father took a trip to Uganda and visited Kampala. When they returned, my friend Joey began to show me the photo book he had created from his trip, I enjoyed seeing similar faces to the ones I had met not long before. My joy turned to tears about half way through the book, which caught both Joey and his dad by surprise. There in front of me were a couple pictures of the little ones at Gaba Daycare. I knew their faces, as sure as I knew my own. As I regained my composure, I began to bombard both of them with questions. “where did you get these pictures?”, “how did you meet these kids?” , “did you get to spend time with the folks at Gaba Community?”.

I was reminded once again that the world is a much smaller place than I perceive it to be. There are 21 million people in Kampala, and many groups of believers my friends could have met to encourage. And of all of them, they met with Pastor Peter, from Gaba Community, and my little friends from the Daycare.

That story is one of many in my life that reminds me how small the world is really. Each person I make contact with, each group of humans that I end up on public transportation with deserve every bit of Jesus that I can live out. For we never know as believers, what God has planned for tomorrow, through what we have lived out today. It could be that the people that we have ignored on a plane, bus, or in line at the grocery, maybe a connection that the Father had intended for His purpose. In God’s Kingdom and in His viewpoint, the east shores of China, are not nearly as far from the Starbucks I am sitting in as I have made them out to be.

Before your day ends, may the Lord show you how small the world is really, Selah…

Our Last Night at Barefoot...

Over the week i have seen so many amazing things. Barefoot's agenda is simple, take students from every racial, economic, and environmental background, and put them together seeking Jesus together. Their goal; watch as Jesus breaks down every wall, and produces a family, on one fact; each of these young people are part of the family of God. This has happened over and over again at camp.

Friday night, we ended the evening with a practice called "carry your cross." Together these diverse teams would carry a large wooden cross from one side of the camp to the other, and then raising it up, nail all their hurts, their sins, their issues, to the cross, so that Jesus could carry their burdens for one and for all. It was a very deep significant finale to a cool week of God stuff. As each team finished, much prayer broke out. Not the typical pass the hat, now its your turn to pray stuff, i mean, deep groans that only the Holy Spirit could interpret and could do something with.

While the students and leaders were praying together, the Lord began to show me a picture of the battle that was at hand. At first it startled me, cause what i saw was men coming from the edge of the woods towards the students huddled together, these men carried large swords and other weapons. They were taking aim at the students, attempting to slice and dice them, yet to this point none of the students had been harmed. It took me a minute to realize that i was viewing; a spiritual battle happening all around us. So i began to call on the ministering spirits to show themselves. Slowing i began to see the angels not only protecting these students but also attacking the enemies. I was over whelmed by awe, so i prayed, Lord send more, send your protectors not only to this place, but to the hoods and neighborhoods these students are from. Send them in large battle ready forces. Send them now Jesus!

As this time of prayer ended, the group came together as one large group and the 90 or so of us began to worship together. Then we took the next step in the battle. One by one, students began to come up and share what they had seen God do in the life of another co-camper this week. Or talk about what another camper or leader meant to their life. This edification lasted a long time. What was interesting, is that there was very little fluff. These students in a weeks time had also found maturity. They were helping each other see themselves the way God sees them, and lose much of the false identity they had created on their own. As this time ended, we all knew who received the glory that night, Jesus. We also knew, who had been reminded he is defeated, the enemy.

Speaking of God's glory, here is a small list of the things He did in the lives of our campers that He should be magnified for: At least 4 students accepted Christ's gift of salvation for the first time. Many of the students broke out of their box, and left the need to be cool, in order to take on their acceptance as part of the family of God. On Friday, God touched the lower back of one of our campers who was injured and healed it, when they got to the hospital, no injury. Numbers of students were healed of addictions (Sexual, smoking, lying, cheating, self deprecation) and found freedom in Jesus, so that their lives may be free. Each day, reconciliation happened, as walls were trampled and divisions were no more, only family was left, it was awesome.

As Saturday came, I think we all knew that our lives would never be the same. Like in Joshua 3, many, many stones had been laid in the river, and the Hope had been ignited. So that in the years to come we would tell the story of what God did summer of 09 at the first Sr High Barefoot Republic Senior Camp ever on that campus. I hope many of you will find the Barefoot experience to be part of your journey in the years to come. PEACE.

Day 1, Post 1 - Barefoot Republic

Well, this will be a short one. Last night we finished our training as a staff at Barefoot Republic. What a diverse group of individuals from backgrounds, to race, to beliefs. And yet nothing was lost in our love for Jesus and focus on Him first.

As we prepped last night, God began to remind me of what His family looked like, here on earth. In the scriptures it says that his mother and brother came to see him, seeing a teachable moment, Jesus replied, "who is my mother and my brother"..... i assume silence as the question threw the crowd "those who do my Father's will, that is my mother, brother and sister". Such statements draw our team together. We have been around eachother less than 24 hours and already, we have found common ground to receive eachother as family. Only Jesus could do that.

Together, serving Sr Highers with just as diverse backgrounds, what a week that awaits us. All the glory to you Jesus.

Thanks to each of you for your words of encouragement and your prayers.

Peace - Steve