I am always intrigued by the lives of great men and women who have a reputation for making right decisions, despite the pressure or opposition that comes their way. If you were to sit with any of these wise people, you will find there is a common ingredient in all of their testimonies; decide how you will respond to a situation before you find yourself in the situation.  Making ‘pre-choice choices’ are the foundation to making wise decisions. 

I came across a list of  pre-choice choices the other day that I thought were insightful. These would be the thirteen foundation principles in  General Colin Powell’s life that he’s modeled for many decades which has made him into the man he is today. I thought you would enjoy these!

1. It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.

2. Get mad, then get over it.

3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

4. It can be done!

5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.

6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.

7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.

8. Check small things.

9. Share credit.

10. Remain calm. Be kind.

11. Have a vision. Be demanding.

12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.

13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

As I sat down early this morning in my office, I couldn’t help but to take some time to think about what I am thankful for. Afterall, it is Thanksgiving morning and it is a day where we all stop, eat food, watch football (go Cowboys), take some naps, and oh by the way, reflect on all the things we should be thankful for.  If you are anything like me, it is easy to allow life’s problems, pressures and enticements to illuminate the things I DON’T have instead of being thankful the things I DO have.

Yet, like most every other early morning in my office, I must stop again, put my attention on God and His goodness and thank him for all He has done for me over the years. In a matter of seconds, the thought of what I have become and what I deserved floods every pore of my being with gratefulness toward Him. If I had never received anything else, but Jesus Christ as my Lord, I would die a happy man. But in addtion to that incredible gift, I have been given the most wonderful wife, godly children and precious grandkids which all are overwhelming gifts from God.  I am thankful for my pastor, my church and the wonderful privilege to serve as a leader in building His kingdom; a calling far beyond what I deserve.  I am thankful for my health, I am thankful for my finances, I am thankful for food in my refrigerator, and the roof over my head. I am even thankful  for my Ford Explorer (or ”Exlploder”)  with cloth interior, nineteen dollar rims and vinyl bumpers in the garage.

It is amazing that when you dwell on what you DO have and begin to thank God for all He has done,  it makes all those things that you DON’T have grow strangely dim.  Maybe that is why Paul shared this secret from his life, so that we too wouldn’t live a life of sorrow, but one of great joy. He said, “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.” (1 Thess. 5:16-18) He was a guy that definitely knew how to give thanks in everything, regardless of his circumstances.  

I read a quote early this morning from a man named Matthew Henry (1662-1714) who is remembered today for his commentary. During his lifetime he was known for his gratitude. Once, while walking down a street, he was robbed. The thieves took everything of value. Later that night, Matthew Henry wrote the following in his diary: “I am thankful that during these years I have never been robbed until now. Also, even though they took my money, they did not take my life. And although they took all I had, it was not much. Finally, I am grateful that it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.” True gratitude can be found in more places than we often look. (By the way, cool hairdo! We will leave the outfit alone.)

As you face this day, stop for a few minutes, get alone in a quiet place and begin to thank God for everything you DO have. You just might be surprised and have a better day.  If you are interested in learning more about what Thanksgiving Day really is all about you will want to check out a cool site on Thanksgiving.

The concept of “Team” is not a new concept, but is one that has been around since the beginning of time. Throughout history, great vision has only been fulfilled through the compilation of multiple people that understood that the goal in front of them was larger than anyone could accomplish on their own. On the contrary, great defeat followed those who chose to pursue personal ambitions or dreams and abanonded the team that they were ultimately called to be a part of.

The brutal fact is that “Team” is easy to define, but challenging at best, to live out. The process of creating a healthy team culture requires that every person on a particular team shares the same beliefs, thoughts and attitudes, and that the combination of these three are reflected in their daily actions. Without this delicate formula in place, you will have cohabitation, but definitely not “Team.”

One of my favorite books on this subject is the book, “The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork” by John Maxwell. The important principles listed in this book are the foundation stones necessary to developing a world class team. I found this book to be a great tool for training leaders and discussing important principles with the teams I lead. If you are a leader in ministry or the workplace, I would encourage you to check this book out.

Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of working with an incredible group of leaders that understand the only way to truly impact an entire region and spread the Good News to the nations of the world is through the strategic development of a Team Culture at every level of the organization. To say that this process has been challenging, would be an understatement. It has taken great patience, sacrifice and dedication, but the time and energy we have put into developing a team culture has paid huge dividends in accomplishing our vision.

Last summer, during our Leader’s Retreat we spent a great deal of time discussing, “Creating a Team Culture.” Our Senior Pastor, Frank Damazio spent a few days masterfully defining how a church functions with a ‘Team of Teams” concept. I also spent an afternoon session talking about the practical aspects of developing a healthy team culture. I encouraged the group to consider four big ideas; know the goal, know your role, develop personal standards that build team, and pursue team values that strenghten the team. If you are interested in a set of notes, I would love to get them into your hands. Just email me at www.marc@citybiblechurch.org and I will send them to your free of charge.

At the end of this session, I challenged every department and ministry team to embrace a set of Team Covenants. This is a list that I developed using some of my own thoughts, as well a few adapted statements from the USC football team. Although these covenants were developed to fit a ministry environment, they can be adapted to fit any team.

• WE will accomplish what we do together. We share our successes, celebrate our wins, and will never let any one of us fail alone.

• WE will take personal responsibility to grow as individuals in our own personal lives. We will set our standards high and challenge each other to exceed them. We recognize that our weaknesses will affect the entire team and its mission.

• WE are fully grown adults and leaders of an incredible church. We will act as such, and expect the same from every person on the team.

• WE will not keep secrets or build any division amongst our team. Information that affects us will be dealt with openly, honestly and in a timely manner. We will quickly and openly work to separate fact from fiction.

• WE will keep our word. We will say what we mean, and do what we say. We trust the word of others to be good as well.

• WE will keep our head. We will not panic or over-react in the face of adversity. We will always choose to roll up our sleeves together to solve any problem or overcome any obstacle rather than wring our hands in defeat.

• WE will protect our church vision and church family at all costs. There is nothing we will allow to separate us from each other or from the purposes of God that we have been called together to accomplish. We will look out for each other.

• WE will be unselfish and expect that everyone will exhibit the heart of a servant. No one is above the need to serve another. We are servants together, yet each playing our distinct role.

• WE are each part of a greater vision than anyone of us can accomplish alone. We need each other. What we are a part of is more important than the individual role we play.

• WE will not tolerate a maintaining, declining or defeated mentality. We will accomplish all that God has called us to accomplish. We are in this together for the long haul.

Hope this has been a help for you. Let me know your thoughts.

I came across this amazing story regarding a priceless instrument that was returned after being misplaced and caught myself reflecting on how this story reminds me how many people have a distorted view of their true value. It is worth the read.

The primary cellist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra accidentally left a 320-year-old Stradivarius cello outside his home one spring afternoon in 2004. Nearby video surveillance cameras revealed that a bicyclist pilfered the legendary instrument.

At the time it was stolen, the General Kyd, the cello named for the man who brought the instrument to England at the end of the eighteenth century, was valued at nearly $3.5 million, it being one of only sixty cellos handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari in his Cremona, Italy workshop.

About three weeks later, twenty-nine-year-old nurse Melanie Stevens found the instrument lying beside a dumpster about a mile from where it was originally stolen, still inside its silver-coated plastic case. A homeless man helped her load it into her car’s trunk. Stevens asked her boyfriend, who was a cabinetmaker, to convert the old cello into a one-of-a-kind CD rack. “I had the idea to possibly put a hinge on the front,” she said. “He would install little shelves inside, and it would be a very elaborate CD case.”

Stevens didn’t know the significance of the instrument until she saw a news report about it and contacted her attorney, who reported the instrument found. She was rewarded a handsome $50,000, which she donated to charity.

Robert Cauer, a Los Angeles-based instrument restoration specialist who had worked with the General Kyd for some twenty years, reported the valuable instrument was damaged but repairable and would be back in service by the following season. When asked about the prospect that the prized instrument could have been turned into the world’s most expensive CD rack, Cauer said, “It’s so abominable, I get sick when I hear it.”

As an executive pastor of a sizable church, I see a fair share of great people filled with unlimited potential swept from their destiny as they discount their relationship with God. I get sick when I see it; priceless instruments handcrafted for greatness, ignoring their divine purpose. How foolish to neglect the call to greatness in order to fulfill any other purpose.

We cannot place enough value on our importance to God’s symphony. You and I will never know our true potential until and unless we realize how much God loves and cares for us. Only when we understand that the Master Craftsman dotingly created us in His workshop before a single note had been written; when we comprehend that, while He gently sanded and polished us to a golden luster, He knew our considerable value and that someday we would be worth seeking and finding; when we realize that it was only after he applied the bow and tuned our heart strings to perfect pitch that He would stamp His worthy name on us … will we appreciate the warm resonance of His call and surrender to His purpose.

Being chosen by God is part of the Bible’s love story. But it gets even better. God not only chose you, but He wants you to comprehend how important you are to Him. Get used to the idea. Everything was created by God for God, but beyond being created by Him for Him, we have a very special place in His heart above all of creation. “He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures” (James 1:18, MSG). Unfortunately, many of us don’t see the ornate value God has placed on us, and this limits our ability to really use this vital revelation as a primary tool for living life on purpose.

Standing up For Truth

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School , Kingston , Tennessee , by school Principal, Jody McLeod

“It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country.” Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law.

As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it “an alternate life style,” and if someone is offended, that’s OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, “safe sex..” If someone is offended, that’s OK. I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a “viable! means of birth control.” If someone is offended, no problem….

I can designate a school day as “Earth Day” and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess “Mother Earth” and call it “ecology..” I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as “simple minded” and “ignorant” and call it “enlightenment..”

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated.. This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical. Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS Commandments.

Nevertheless , as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical… I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.

For this reason, I shall “Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s,” and refrain from praying at this time.

“However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM, in the name of JESUS, to Bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that’s not against the law—-yet.”

One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray. They prayed in the stands.. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer’s Box! The only place they didn’t pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America- the Seat of “Justice” in the “one nation, under GOD.”

Somehow, Kingston , Tennessee Remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the Freedom OF Religion, not the Freedom FROM Religion. Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains!

JESUS said, “If you are ashamed of ME before men, then I will be ashamed of you before MY FATHER…”

Discipline is doing that you don’t want to do so that you can do what you want to do. It is paying the price on the smaller things so that you can reap the benefits of the bigger things. If you want to succeed in life and reach the full potential for your life, you will need to work hard at being disciplined in three core areas:

1. Disciplined Thoughts – You won’t make far in anything if you don’t use the six inches between your ears. You don’t have to be a genuis to succeed, but you do need to be disciplined in your thoughts. How you think about your life, your relationships, your career, your finances will have a great bearing on ultimately who you become.

2. Discipline Emotions - If you can get the right thoughts perculating in your mind, you are well on your way to have a better chance with your emotions. Regardless of what comes your way, you will need to know how to control your emotions. You really only have two choices when it comes to your emotions; let them control you, or you control them. For the most part, the emotions you experience were the emotions you chose.

3. Disciplined Actions - Most of what you do in life will be determined by your actions. You may have the greatest intentions but they won’t get you far. You must act upon what you are supposed to do and put into practice those elements that move you forward in following your dreams and visions. Champions aren’t built in a day, but built daily through the every day right decisions they make.

If you want to become all you are to become, discipline will be one of the primary vehicles to get you there.