It has been quite a while since I’ve posted here in my blog. It has been such an adventure these last few years, but I am so happy to say, things could not be better. I am fully in awe with how God has moved in me, around me, and all over this world. Over this morning, I really felt compelled to write out a very painful, but yet incredibly life-changing season I just sent through in my life. I pray this would be helpful and encouraging to just one person out there. Let me begin.
Around the beginning of October 2017, I began to experience a breaking and crashing of my life, my work, my emotions, my mind … I started to feel burn out. It started with a feeling of overload, a feeling I was used to before, but it became more extreme, profound, and prolonged.
I would normally respond with working harder, more hours, and more effort. This time it was too heavy and it fell back on me. I started waking up in the middle of the night, not being able to turn off my brain, fighting feelings of fear, terror, and even a few screaming fits of waking myself up in the middle of the night.
I could not relax, I could not rest, I kept trying to fix, to repair, to catch up, but it didn’t work. I lost energy, my drive left, my desire left, my hope left. I felt frozen, angry, sharp, irritated, annoyed, and began to act out in ways not natural to me. I burnt out, and burn out stinks!
I knew something needed to change, but what was it?
I started to get counseling on Oct 13. I took some days to rest and reflect on Oct. 20-22. I left for an international trip on Oct. 29.
Before I left on the international trip, a very hard blow came at my work. There came some major changes to my work and reporting. While I now see how this change serves an purpose for HSU, it was a very painful and destructive blow to my life, my job, my self-esteem, and value. I felt that I gave myself to something and in turn did not feel valued for any longer – I left like I was being thrown out with the trash.
On top of this, our Director of Communications left, we had some major last minute changes to a big project, completely disseminating our office and our staff. I was helpless, flying to the other side of the world on the international trip, I felt powerless to do anything.
This time brought so much pain, anger, and fear –the bottom dropped out of me. I was completely broken at this point!
If it was not for three prayer warriors (Faith Brodie, Vicki House & Kendra Duke, and there were probably a lot more in the background) who the Lord sent, I don’t think I would have made it past this time. The gift of good friends and prayer truly is a blessings from God.
As I was on this international trip, away from all of this, the Lord began to speak with me on this pain and the reason for everything in clear detail. I felt Him, saying, “let’s talk” (the story of the women caught in adultery, where Jesus met her face to face, was in my reading plan and was a perfect example of what God wanted to do, John 8:1-11). God wanted to talk with me face to face.
He showed me that I was choosing so many different things, too many things in my life and not putting my time into what is best. I was not putting time into what He wanted (John 10:38-42, the story of Mary & Martha also resonated strongly, not coincidently the passage I was reading next).
My energies and focus was split over so much stuff. The clear wisdom and direction from God is what I was missing in my life. If He was Lord of my life, He gets to direct my life, not me. I was needing to wait and listen to His voice. He told me a couple of important things during this time:
- “There are good things, and there are God things.”
- “Just because its good, does not mean its God”.
- “Less does not mean lazy, leave room for the miracle. I’m not going to work if you try to do everything – my miracles cannot happen if there is nothing left for me to do”
- “You cannot do everything. You are not God.”
- “Don’t say YES without realizing and also saying NO to something else.”
- “You can Trust Me. Rest.”
He also reminded me of the promise and words He shared with me in China over 4 years ago:
- “What I have coming for you will be impossible to do on your own, do not even try.”
- “I have new people for you to work with.”
(He gave me these words before I left Dallas to come to Abilene and to HSU. These words acted as lenses for me to live by for a number of years, I kept looking through life for what they meant for a very long time. Well, about two years ago, the Lord revealed to me he was speaking about Abilene, Hardin-Simmons University, and the people and work He would do through us all).
As I pressed in with God in the midst of this pain, exhaustion, and helplessness, He began to speak another very important word to me … I felt the following well up inside me:
“I am drawing a line and I have some new things to teach you. I want to remake the way you look at life.”
This was a very surprising word to receive from God.
I did not know what this meant at first, but as I continued to read more from the book of John (my reading plan at the time, learning more clearly the teachings of Jesus) and reflecting on the Book of Acts (my pervious reading plan, seeing how the Holy Spirit moved to build the first church), it started to make sense more of what He was saying to me.
First, I saw how much God was also in control, He is faithful, in every circumstance, and in every situation, nothing is a surprise to Him. Psalm 46:10 started to appear more “Cease Striving and know that I am God. I am exalted above the nations, I am exalted above the earth.”
- Did I really believe He was in absolute control?
- Was this season of very painful circumstances apart of His plan?
- Did I believe He was working out ALL THINGS for my good and His Purpose?
If so, then even this season had a purpose for His plan and glory and it was also for my good!
I had to sit in this idea, in solitude, and really search my heart, motives, and beliefs – in my heart, did I truly believe He was in absolute control and there is nothing beyond His grasp? To be honest, it took me a number of days and conversations with Him to work this out.
My answer in the end was YES!
I do believe this truly. He is Lord of my life, and I trust him.
Secondly, I remembered His promise over my life as a follower of the teachings and way of Jesus. I AM HIS. Nothing controls my life any longer. No power, no person, no job, no ruler, no evil, no circumstances … I AM FULLY HIS and FULLY FREE!
I remembered one of my favorite verses coming together in a new and profound way. Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.”
“Our circumstances do not need to change, but our perspective on are circumstances need to change.”
As we love Him, and He loves us, then He is fully working out ALL THINGS, for my GOOD and for His PURPOSE. This is an “iron-clad truth”!
This led me to spend even more time in solitude with God, asking Him to reveal to me what needed to change.
- What did He want to show me?
- What did He want to remake in my life?
- What freedom and joy did He want to release in my life?
I pressed in even more.
I started deep self reflection with God, and realized that I have such a very, very strong need for the affirmation and acceptance of others. This really has driven a significant part of my life – what others think of me and how others see me. This was significantly motivating my decisions, my choices, and my energies, really everything. God wanted to free me from this! He wanted to uproot this and replace this with Him!
This was the beginning of what He wanted to remake in my life.
WOW! This came up and really hit me hard.
My strong desire to have the affirmation from others. I saw this in my job change, my burn out, my decisions, in so many things. This could not continue. I know that I wouldn’t do what He has called me to do if I listened so strongly for the affirmation, value, and seeking significance first from others instead of first from God.
I realized that everything in my life could be taken away, changed, moved … if I look for other things besides God for my value, significance, affirmation, I will eventually get crushed. GOD and His Love, How He sees me; these things are my value, significance, and my affirmation, these guide my life!
I believe this season was brought about to show me a new way to live …
My significance is found only in Him! My life is founded first on the love, value, and affirmation of God, understanding how He sees me as His son, now perfect, blameless, pure and Holy. Beyond that, the full of the power of heaven itself through the Holy Spirit is with me and ready to be unleashed onto this world! For His glory!
My crumbled foundation instantly became rock solid, stronger than I have ever felt before! I realized that through a very difficult season, not only was God wanting to uproot, but He was wanting to plant a very powerfully strength inside of me. He was taking me deeper in Him and with greater maturity in my life. Praise to Him!
Everything started to come together, the last year and a half in Abilene.
As I began to live this new perspective, I began to see everything different – everything started to come into focus, and I began to see the freedom and life He had given me fresh again.
I can truly tell you that my first desire is to please you Lord as first importance! You will no longer have to guess from me what I am thinking of why I am doing something my friends! Its God and God alone!
This is the vine for me; I cannot produce the fruit as the branch fully unless I am fully in the vine. Jesus is the vine. He pruned me, and there is more … I am learning to love Him more and to look at Him first in all things! My leadership. My Family. My education. Everything.
As I look back at this season, there is something else that comes up even more profoundly. Something that touches every bit of every word I wrote here – ITS GOD. I am speechless by how good our God is! His love and faithfulness. His attention and patience to show me these things is just incredible.
A life of following the teaching and way of Jesus really builds on each other. It truly is a journey that He leads us down. Its filled with twists and turns, unexpected detours, surprises, tears (of joy and sadness), but throughout it all, He is there! Trust Him, because it all comes together in the end. He has a plan to show us more, grow us, and most important reveal His love to us!
I now feel a season of remaking, building, expansion, an expectation of more to come! I am excited to see where the Lord leads; following him truly is the greatest adventure we could ever have!
It all points to Him. Glory to God! Amen!
Grey
Each Tuesday afternoon we have a meeting in the International Affairs division at Dallas Baptist University. The purpose of this meeting is to Encourage, Inspire, Pour Into, and Enable our teams in their leadership and their individual purposes within our division. We call this meeting the Purpose & Leadership meeting. This past Tuesday, I shared with the group my personal convictions and beliefs about Purpose.
Reflecting on this past meeting, I also wanted to share with you “Why I do What I do”. I have always felt that in order to do something meaningful, you need to know the motivations or purpose beforehand. As an example for your leadership, I truly desire to share part of the “purpose” journey God has brought me on. I pray it is helpful for you who may be on this same journey now. There are three major areas (The Gospel, My Doctorate, Leading at the Christian University) that I would like to highlight for you in regards to the purpose and motivations behind “Why I do What I do”.
The Gospel
First and foremost, I have highly personally experienced the grace and love of God though our savior Jesus Christ. As a Christian, we refer to this as “The Gospel.” My life has been transformed as a response to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I have in turn given my life to relentlessly follow Jesus. I see that following Jesus is much more than simply knowing in my mind that He died on the cross for my sins, regular church attendance, or a set of rules to follow. Following Jesus is living his teachings, following the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and waiting expectantly for his return. By living Jesus’s teaching, I have been led to an understanding of my purpose in life, as well as given a burden heart to serve others.
I believe that in the gospel of Jesus Christ, I have a purpose in an epic and cosmic plan. I believe this purpose is God revealing and reconciling all things to him, which is the greatest cause known to man. For these purposes, I have greater meaning and more fulfillment than anything I can ever hope to know or achieve on my own. I believe that each of us are called or purposed by God in this same plan, but that we need to follow Jesus before that can be made known to us. In a practical way, I see the purposes of Jesus penetrating all aspects of my life including my job, which I would refer to as a “calling.”
My Doctorate
Second, and through my doctoral program, I have encountered a strong understanding for how “purpose” contributes to organizational leadership. As an example Burns (1978) describes this very well in the transformational leadership theory of inspirational motivation. I consider purpose to be a clear understanding for how one makes meaning out of their life, and how this meaning becomes valuable for a cause, for others, and for oneself. Once known, purpose acts as a guiding light and rocket fuel for one’s life or calling.
I believe that great leadership begins with a strong purpose in life (Craig & Snook, 2014; Joshi, Marzalek, Berkel & Hinshaw, 2013; Christensen, 2010; Pink, 2009; Frankl, 1958) and a strong alignment of that purpose to a timeless cause or vision (Kanter, 2011; Mourkogiannis, 2007; French, 2006). Furthermore, I find that exceptional leaders can enable others to pursue a timeless vision or cause by leading from a strong sense of purpose (Csikszentmihalyi, 2003; Brandt, 2003; Boyatzis, McKee & Goleman, 2002; Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1997; Burns, 1978), and it is the result of a strong purpose, and its alignment to timeless vision (or cause), that enables incredible impact on the organization and for those it serves (Kanter, 2011; Mourkogiannis, 2007; Collins & Porras, 1994).
Leading at the Christian University
Third, to help me remember what my purpose is, I have developed a purpose statement. I believe that my purpose in life is to “Model the example of Jesus Christ in a manner that is pleasing to the Lord for my family and circles of influence. I will consistently serve others by helping them to find their purpose, excel in their callings, and grow in their relationship with God.”
This purpose statement embodies the Christian values that I hold most important, and is the way I make meaning of my life, bring value to others, and serve a greater cause. I believe that my purpose in life is best served at the Christian University. As I continue to study the concepts of Organizational Leadership, behavior and theory, I am learning to a greater extent how to successfully hire the right people, put them in the right place, and develop them to believe in and accomplish the purpose of Jesus at the Christian University.
I most identify with what Zigarelli (2012) called the interrelated missions or aims of the Christian University; which are to Train, Transform, and Transition students. By serving as a senior administrator, I am passionately motivated to lead the Christian University into the accomplish this mission. I believe that apart from Christ, higher education does not hold the transformational affect and powerful impact to the world and to the students it serves. In addition, I believe that the future landscape of higher education will change in the years to come. I desire to equip and lead the Christian University through perhaps what could be challenging days ahead. I am particularly interested in advancing the Christian University’s capabilities for administration, international development, and international student recruitment.
It is the gospel resulting from my experience with Jesus, which now gives me a burden heart to serve others. My purpose in life is grounded in the cause of Christ, which fuels my personal leadership philosophy and drives my life and calling. In these ways, I would not consider myself to be just a transformational leader at the Christian University, but a Christian educator who is called to be an “admissionary.” For me at the Christian University, the transformation we are working on does not encompass only efficiencies and effectiveness gained, degrees conferred or jobs attained, but in lives transformed, purposes found, callings excelled, and Jesus Christ made know to others through the work we do!
This is “Why I do What I do”.
– Grey Hoff, Jr.
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References:
Bartlett, C. A., and S. Ghoshal., (1997). Beyond Strategy, Structure, Systems to Purpose, Process, People: Reflections on a Voyage of Discovery. Monash Mt. Eliza Business Review 1, no. 1 (September 1997): 54–61.
Brandt, J. R. (May 01, 2003). Managing For A Higher Purpose. Industry Week/iw, 252,5.)
Boyatzis, R., McKee, A., & Goleman, D. (2002). Reawakening your passion for work. Harvard Business Review, 80(4), 86-94.
Burns JM. (1978). Leadership. New York, NY: Harper & Row.
Christensen, C. M. (2010). How will you measure your life? Harvard Business Review, 88(7), 46-51.
Craig N, S. S. (2014). From purpose to impact: Figure out your passion and put it to work. Harvard Business Review, 92(5), 104-11.
Collins, J.C., & Porras, J.L. (1994). Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. New York, NY: HarperCollins.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2003). Good Business: Leadership, flow, and the making of meaning. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
Frankl, V. E. (1958). On logotherapy and existential analysis. Am J Psychoanal the American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 18(1), 28-37.
French, M. L. (2006). The alignment between personal meaning and organizational mission among music executives: A study of happiness, job satisfaction, and responsibility toward employees.
Hirsh, S. K., and Kummerow, J. M. (1998). Introduction to Type Organization: Individual Interpretive Guide (3rd ed.). Mountain View, CA: CPP, Inc.
Kanter, R. M. (2011). How great companies think differently. Harvard Business Review, 89, 11.)
Mourkogiannis, N.,. (2007). Purpose: The starting point of great leadership. LTL Leader to Leader, 2007(44), 26-32
Pink, D. H. (2009). Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us. New York, NY: Riverhead Books.
Zigarelli, M. (2012). Training, Transforming, and Transitioning: A Blueprint for the Christian University. Journal of Research on Christian Education, 21: 32-79, 2012.
This morning I woke up with some “junk” on my mind – frustrations from the previous week, stress from work situations that did not go as planned, guilt on missing the mark in my relationship with God.
From my previous experiences, and also from sheer exhaustion of trying to live my life on my own, I desire to run to God in prayer when my mind is cluttered with these “junk” thoughts.
I know that my first thoughts of the day need to be on Him, and not my frustrations from this past week.
This morning, I prayed to God for him to take these “junk” thoughts and feelings from me. God immediately reminded me to “renew my mind” each day in Him … recalling this verse in Romans, I opened up the bible to give it a read.
Romans 12:1-2 (MSG) said;
So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
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I ended up writing out this verse by hand this morning and noticed some interesting observations of what Paul said here.
1) We have clear direction to make our lives and everything in it about him as an offering. This is a choice we make daily to take the ordinary things we do in life and make them about Him as an offering. Everyone does the things Paul mentions here (sleeping, eating, going to work, walking around life). In fact, he calls them ordinary – the difference is how we choose to do them, and whom we do them for. Are these things done in an honoring way to God, or are they done for only for us? This is the choice.
Paul also notes, that these things are to be placed before God as an offering. Well, an offering is something of value done and given as a gift or contribution to another as a token of kindness, love, or devotion.
Doing these things as an offering means that the ordinary things we do in life are done in motivation to make God pleased.
To me, this comes down to a question of motives. When I sleep, do I truly want to make sure I get enough rest to be energized and ready to serve and do valuable work for others? When I eat, do I eat healthy and enough (or) not too much so that my body is kept healthy and strong as a temple to the Lord? Is my work done in an honest and truthful way to benefit my company and others, inline with biblical principles?
2) We are to willingly and enthusiastically accept (or embrace) the things God does for us daily. This is also a choice. We have a daily choice to accept the fact that all things, including; the breath in our lungs, the food we receive, the job that we have, the music we get to enjoy, and ultimately the life that Christ gives to us, as a gift from God.
Paul tells us “embracing what God does for us is the best thing we can do for him.” In other words, embracing these gifts from God is a valuable offering to Him, which acknowledges Him as the creator. This is how we are to daily place our lives before God.
3) We are called to be different. I admit that these two choices of (1) making our ordinary life an offering to God, and (2) choosing to embrace the belief that all things comes from God are indeed a different way of thinking. Especially when compared to the many other ways one can think and be motivated in this world. However, I believe this is exactly the point Paul wants to make in this verse.
We as followers of Christ are called to be different in the way we think, the way we make choices, and in the motives we have deep within our heart.
I like how Paul says; “we are not to be so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without thinking”. To me this means that our habits or instinctive characteristics are supposed to default to the daily choice of (1) offering our ordinary behaviors in life to God, and (2) embracing the belief that all things are from the creator God through Jesus. This is to be our instinctive behavior as opposed to the contrary motives of being self-driven for personal benefit and gain.
Now, one other thing to notice here is that we are still supposed to fit into, understand, and connection with this world. But, it should require us to think and use our God-given critical judgment, human intelligence, and Christ-centered motives intentionally to do this. Again, our first instinctive behaviors are to God.
4) We are to focus our attention on God. Now I further admit that this can sound exhausting. In fact, I guarantee you if you try to do these things on your own strength, you will 100% fail. Please trust me on this, I have tried that for many years and it simply does not work.
Here is probably the most important part of these verses Paul is explaining, please do not miss this:
“Fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. You will be able to readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly be able to respond.
As Paul outlines earlier, we are to (1) make our ordinary life an offering to God, and (2) choose to embrace the belief that all things come from God, which in turn (3) makes our lives different than others in this world.
None of these things are possible without the strength and power of God, which is the focal point that Paul is trying to make.
Transformation happen here – our lives and the motives of our heart will be changed from the inside out once we focus our attention on God through the studying of the bible, and the uninterrupted, unhurried time with him in prayer.
If we try to do these things on our own, apart from focusing on God through the bible and prayer, the sheer exhaustion, frustration, guilt and stress of it all with collapse us – and this is exactly where I was this morning.
When we have this feeling, our immediate response should be to run to him in prayer and time in the bible. This allows us to encounter God and to have him fill us up with His grace and power – doing this consistently will transform your life and is exactly what Paul meant when he said, “We’ll be changed from the Inside Out”.
5) God will bring the very best out of you. This is the most important choice we can make. We decide what we get to embrace and put into our mind and into our heart. Simply put; whatever you put in, is what you’ll get out.
If You Put Junk in; You’ll Get Junk Out.
There will be something coming into our mind and into your heart. Either the “junk” of frustrations, un-purposeful stress, missed expectations, guilt, or the saving grace, promise, and relationship we can have with God through his son Jesus Christ. This is the biggest choice we have to embrace in our lives.
The transformation process we will then go through by spending time with God through the studying of the bible, and the uninterrupted, unhurried time with him in prayer, will quite literally make us into the very best person we are created to be. The choice this comes down to is, will we embrace a relationship with Jesus Christ, then spend the time with God through his word and in prayer?
The last thing that I loved reading was that “God brings the best out of you, and develops well-formed maturity in you. We serve a God that has an incredible, world changing, meaning-filled life to live, and I love how through our relationship with him, he is developing us to the very of what we are created for!
I am very grateful to our God for this reminder from Him this morning. I truly and sincerely hope this verse encourages you wherever you may be in your life.
Please remember, what God has inside of you is far too important for you to keep on your own. You were born with purpose!
Over the past few months I have been reading the book 30 Life Principles by Charles Stanley with my Thursday morning men’s bible study. This is an excellent book and I would highly suggest checking it out. This past week, I read a section of this book which had good application for leadership and professional development that I wanted to share: Life Principle #25 – God Blesses us so that we may Bless Others.
I work at Dallas Baptist University, where we talk a lot about Servant Leadership. Reading through this book, and reflecting on the concepts of Servant Leadership, I wanted to share a couple of important ideas of why it is vital for leaders to be obsessed about serving others:
1) God gives each of us all unique abilities and resources.
You may feel that you don’t have much to offer people, or you may be confused about what your talents, abilities or purpose is. Realize that if you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, God gives you a tremendous gift that you can use to bless others. That is a promise!
1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Romans 12:5-8 says, “In Christ, we have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
2) These Abilities and Resources have been given to us in order to bless others and build His kingdom.
We need to realize that the reason God has given us such immense blessings (abilities and resources) was so that we would use them for His glory and for the furtherance of the gospel. God’s gifts to you were never meant to be hoarded. They were given to be used wisely as you serve others through the power and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
We are most effective as leaders when we intentionally use our talents and abilities in our work, our ministry, and all other aspects of our lives to serve others.
Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service”. Romans 8:28 tells us, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
3) We have a choice whether we are going to encounter God to discover these abilities, then use them to bless others and honor Him.
Our love for God and others motivates us to serve, it inspires us to give freely so that others can be blessed and one day come to know salvation and enter into a relationship with Him. However, we have a choice as to whether we are going to our abilities for our own purposes, or bless others.
Only you can stop God’s goodness, the abilities he has given you, from flowing through your life and into the lives of others— and you do it by hoarding His gifts.
Acts 20:35 says; ” In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Luke 12:32-34 tells us, “It is our Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom … a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Luke 12:32–34)
4) Are you using your gifts in a way that honors God and blesses others?
I used to selfishly use what God has given me to pursue after money, power, recognition, and personal gain. I can promise you these pursuits will not end well. You will be left empty, without meaning, and alone. You will end up with a perpetual state of chasing after stuff the rest of your life. I do not want that for you! Purpose and meaning is found alone in Christ.
Therefore, look for opportunities to use your talents and resources to love and serve others. Then watch how God works. Soon you’ll see that it truly is much more blessed to give than to receive.
As leaders, we need to model the way, using our talents to invest into others through mentoring, and showing that through our words, actions, and decisions we truly desire to serve others. We need to take intentional opportunities to help others find what their abilities are and how they can practically demonstrate their love for others through their calling to bless others.
We are told the only thing that will last the test of time is the gospel and the church. I don’t know about you, but I want to build something that lasts forever!
Cited Source: Stanley, C. F. (2008). 30 life principles: Study guide. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson.
We each have a deep felt need for meaning in this life. I have had the opportunity to travel to many different countries around the world, and consistently I see that we all yearn for a sense of meaning or purpose. We all want to belief that there is a reason for life. This question comes in many shapes and forms, but it sounds something like “What am I hear for?” or “What is the meaning of life?”
At some point of another, we all have these thoughts or questions. The problem is, many of us seem to dismiss the idea of “purpose” or “meaning in life” as some kind of fairytale, abstract thought, or crazy concept — one that we will never come to understand, let alone personally discover.
Over the past few years I have been personally wrestling with the concepts of purpose. As a young professional in Dallas, TX, I have watched my counterparts (and myself for that matter) chase after money, power, pleasure, etc. to eventually get caught up in the perpetual state of breathing, consuming and sleeping, as a continual cycle of life.
I observed this mind-numbing trend, but it was not until my first semester of my doctoral program that I begin to put a name to what I was noticing.
I keenly noticed that were some people that were driven by a pursuit of something greater. There were those who were driven by a belief that they were fulfilling a purpose (some valuable aim which benefited others that was beyond the intrinsic). There is subset of people who believe that they are contributing to something greater than themselves, and that in this pursuit they have meaning and happiness. They have a deep understanding of their purpose in life. And they understand how they are fulfilling that purpose through very practical and specific ways in their career and personal life.
I began to zero in on this idea, and came to call it “purpose in life” or “meaning” for the individual. Purpose is the reason something is done, created, or for which something exists.
I believe that the understanding for one’s “purpose in life” is a journey of self-exploration, self-awareness and actualization. This is a journey that is different for each individual, but I think we can use certain tools to enable this discovery: Finding Purpose.
The Source of Purpose
As a Christian, I am led by my belief that there is a one-true God and that through his son Jesus Christ, we can ultimately find meaning for this life. It is through accepting his son Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, can we come to know this. I believe this to be true because of my personal experiences with Jesus Christ that I have encountered in my life, and in the lives of those around me.
The bible tells us in Psalm 139:13-16 that God “created my inmost being; He knit us together in our mother’s womb … we are fearfully and wonderfully made; His works are wonderful … All the days ordained for us were written in His book before one of them came to be.” Also, Ephesians 2:10 tells us that “We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
The fact that we are breathing and living on this planet tells us that we have a purpose. The Lord has prepared us in advance to do good works, He is not done with us yet if we are still alive.
We have been made with purpose and each of us have a reason for living. It is our ultimate purpose to bring Him glory with the various aspects of our life. Following Christ is the greatest adventure that each of us will ever have, it is an adventure and life of purpose. The question is, in what way or through what vocation will you live your purpose?
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To read more about how purpose contributes to organizational leadership, read the blogs titled: Exceptional Leaders lead with Purpose and Finding Purpose on the Job – Motivating the Millennial Workforce.
This past week I traveled to Sydney, Australia to visit Hillsong Church and Hillsong International Leadership College. For those of you who are not familiar with Hillsong Church, they are a mega-church with 12 campuses throughout Australia and 13 international church locations throughout the world, with over 30,000 people attending service each week.
Out of Hillsong Church we have seen Hillsong Worship, Hillsong United, and most recently Hillsong Young & Free emerge as some of the most influential Christian worship bands today. If you would like to see more, take a moment to watch the video “Awake” from Hillsong Young & Free here (or click on the image below):
Each year all Hillsong Church locations come together for Vision Sunday, which is a special time over three days to share the “vision” of what God is doing with Hillsong Church. The theme of this year’s vision Sunday was “Pioneer Again”. Hillsong Church continues to be committed to changing, moving forward, and keeping the pioneering spirit alive. They shared future plans for growing the church and are continuing to develop other global campuses. It truly is amazing to see what God is doing at Hillsong Church!
From my trip, I have been overwhelmed and greatly encouraged and wanted to share a few observations from my trip that have application for leadership:
1) Relationships Matter – As you walk in the front door of each Hillsong location, you will notice the words “Welcome Home” over the entry way.
Hillsong calls themselves a “large church” with a “small community”, emphasizing relationships and family. Over and over again I heard that relationships matter at Hillsong Church. Well, they live this in each and every part of their Church and College. Walking into the various church and college locations at Hillsong, I felt a real sense of community and closeness.
As an organizational leader, I see the powerful importance for establishing and building an environment where relationships flourish and people feel welcome, comfortable and encouraged.
On a side note, one of the things I’ve learned about the Australia is that “sarcasm” is really seen as a “love language” here. If someone gives you a “hard time” in public it really communicates that they like you and have a friendship with you.
2) Culture is Critical – Hillsong is not something you are taught, it’s something that is caught.
There is a strong sense of culture and identity at Hillsong. Just as relationships are important, having an empowering culture for a church, company, or organization is critical. Throughout the week I noticed how people “fall in love” with what is happening at Hillsong Church. There is a connection of culture to timeless value and vision which makes this place attractive, exciting and transformational for those who are there.
3) Visionary Leadership – Senior Pastor Brian Houston communicates vision constantly to Hillsong Church and the Leadership College.
Having heard Senior Pastor Brian Houston multiple times this past week I noticed a few important trends. First, Jesus Christ is proclaimed and given glory in each and every sermon or speech he gives. Second, Pastor Brian speaks with powerful vision. Those that work closely alongside him describe Pastor Brian as a “visionary leader”.
Visionary leaders are uncommon, but they share many characteristics. The qualities of visionary leaders include openness, imagination, persistence, and conviction.
I was told once that “Vision” is putting dreams into action. Vision enables followers to feel and see where they are going and actually visualize themselves as being there. Vision is a powerful motivator and enables people to grow, achieve and transform into great things!
4) A Sense of Destiny and Purpose – What God has put in you is far too important to keep it inside and not use it.
I heard comments like this throughout this entire last week at Hillsong Church. As I continually study leadership and observe organizations where great things are happening, I keep seeing this idea of “purpose” and “meaning”. I do not believe this is coincidence, but rather it is a building block for God to build upon and use in us to do extraordinary things.
God has given us each a purpose in this life. We each have meaning and value while we are here on earth. As a student, working professional, family member, or friend, we each have so much talent, so many skills and unique abilities. Use them for a life of purpose and impact on others. Realize that God has a hope and a future for each of us!
How happy is the man who does not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path of sinners or join a group of mockers! Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalms 1:1-3
This is a strong tree with roots that dig deep into the ground. It is filled with never ending streams of water as it is planted next to a lake. This trees’ leaves and branches extend powerfully in many directions, giving shade and shelter to the plants and animals that surround it. This tree is alive, it prospers and bears much fruit.
An abundant life can be found in the word of God. Just as the strong and beautiful tree here, which is planted next to streams of water, we too can prosper and not wither if we are firmly planted next to the streams of life, which is found in the Bible.
Just as the tree in the desert, far away from water, without the word of God, we too will wither and die.
Which tree do you want to be?
Let’s focus our hearts and minds onto His word. Just as the tree planted by streams of water, we can trust in His plans to prosper and grow us strong.