Today was awesome.  There is a group of people in Atlanta that are changing the culture of business in America.  They are a multi-billion dollar company.  Their mission is not “to make the most money possible in any way possible.” It reads like this, “To be a good steward of all that God has entrusted us with.”  They are led by an amazing team of leaders and Christians. The company is Chick-fil-A and I got the opportunity to preach at their weekly devotion.   They have one of the most amazing cultures of any organization I’ve ever been around.  Never open on Sundays is just the tip of the iceberg.

I shared the vision of World Causes and the journey God has taken us on the past few years.  The question I posed was this: What would happen if Christians led the fight against poverty, injustice and epidemic diseases?  Historically when Christians did, the church grew in exponential ways.  Listen to what the pagan ruler of Rome Julian said about the Christians when a plague swept through the city leaving people literally dying on the streets.

“Atheism (Christian faith) has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.”

The pagan culture noticed the Christians living out the gospel and many were so intrigued that the joined the ranks themselves.  Today we have a huge opportunity before us.  And I apologize to president elect, the government is not the institution that will be able to bring sustainable change.  There is a huge mess in the world today.  But, the bigger the mess, the bigger the opportunity.

Will you be a part of the problem or the solution?

Have you ever been reading and the text just slaps you in the face?  It just jumps out at you and comes alive.  I heard a quote today and I’m not sure who said it, but it went something like this.  The point of education is not knowledge but action.  Wow!  That is so timely for me. You see, I am an education junky. I love books. I love learning, growing and changing. I love going to conferences and sitting down with any leader that will give me time. I’ve been blessed over the past year to learn so much from more experienced leaders that I look back with amazement.  I love it all. But I’ve been seeing that all the right information will not change anything. Knowing the answers. Memorizing the principles.  Being able to quote the content.  It is all great. But it wont change a flipping thing.  The only thing that changes things (English professors going crazy with that sentence) is action.  ACTION. Action, comes from some other root word that means to act on something. To move. To act. Its about change. Its about taking what you’ve learned and doing something with it.

Its a new year.  Its a clean slate.  With all that you learned last year, what will you apply this year?  What action will you take in 09 to make it the best year of your life?  A couple of actions for me are:

1. Focus- I will spend more time on the things that truly matter this year than ever before.  I plan my weeks and days in advance. I now block my time.  A principle from Andy Stanley goes like this, “The clearer the vision, the fewer the options, the easier the decisions.”  When you focus on what matters, its easier to decide where to spend your time.

2. Prayer works, so do it more.  I saw God do amazing things last year, so why didn’t I spend even more time begging him to move?  I don’t know, but that is changing this year.

3. Leading at home. I’ve learned the best leadership principle out there (by trial and error…mostly error). If you are not leading at home, you are not truly leading.  I’m committed to leading at home at the highest level possible.

Its going to be an awesome year.  Everyone is predicting a horrible year.  I think God has other plans. The bigger the mess, the bigger the opportunity.

No more annoying commericals about what this person did, or didn’t do, or who they hired, or who they fired, or how bad they are, or how great they are.  Atleast for another 2 years that is.

We did see history last night. It is  yet to be determined if that is positive or negative. What excites me most however, is not the change of leadership, the change in philosophy, or the end of the annoying campaign ads.  What excites me most is our opportunity for the Church (with a big “C”) to stand up and be the church.

There are many excited about “the change” that will come.  There will be change, but we must remember that our hope is ultimately with our heavenly Father, not the Oval Office.  I think about when Jesus told his followers to give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s.  I know he was talking about taxes, but could we also apply that to our hope?  Could that be a reminder that while positive change may come from the government or the new president, our hope ultimately rests with God?

So we have an opportunity before us.  We can let “change” come from governement.  We can let them tackle the issues of poverty, sickness and oppression. We can let them do the work. OR.  Or we can go be the hands and feet of Jesus to a still hurting world. (notice that the people that were suffering yesterday are still suffering today?)  We can go be the Church and bring the much needed change to our country and to our world.

Can government play a role? Of course.  But they should not be the lead role. They should be the supporting cast.

One way to jump in is with the Free Chains campaign. Help us end child sex slavery.

It’s been pretty intense over the past few weeks watching the economy, the forecast, the campaigning, and the promises.  I just don’t see how any one could be shocked at what is happening right now.  We are a greedy people. How else can you explain the outcomes we are seeing?  We spend more than we make.  As a nation, we no longer save.  We spend on credit.  We balance books in the gray areas.  We don’t question questionable business decisions.  The bottom line is the only line.  AND then we wonder how we got into this mess.

I think this provides a perfect opportunity to be salt and light.  Light is used to expose darkness.  We can bring biblical truth into a dark economy right now.  Think of the biblical wisdom written about making wise decisions, being prudent, seeking knowledge and wisdom over gold.  We can be salt also.  We can help preserve the culture just like salt preserved food 2000 years ago. We can run our businesses with integrity.  We can do what is right, even if its hard.  What a perfect opportunity we have to share the gospel.

And on a last note, we need real leadership in this country.  And real leadership is not being liked.  Someone needs to step up and make the tough decisions because they are right, not because they are liked!  That is the true definition of a leader.  Do you think Lincoln was liked when he made the tough decisions?  Not by half of the country….But he made the tough decision and a nation was saved.  It wasn’t easy.  There were scars and casualties, but it was saved.   Who will that be in 2008?  Are they even running for office?