Very Kind, Gracious, Generous People

In the past week I have had the great pleasure of visiting with or otherwise being in contact with very kind, gracious, generous people. Some 5 or 6 of them. I count them as good friends which is a great privilege. I won't mention them by name because they would prefer to be anonymous - typical of their humility.
       I have asked myself what these people have in common, what are the characteristics of lives lived so well.
1. It is not about them! This is the first and most important common thread, and it sets them off from the large majority of the rest of us. They care deeply about others and will sacrifice themselves for others.
2. They are generous with their time, treasure, and talents without being asked to use them. They give before they are asked to give! WOW!
3. They are dependent people, as opposed to INdependent types. They are utterly dependent on God for their lives, and they take little for granted.
4. They know what is most important in life. God, family, close friends, helping the most vulnerable. They have an intuitive sense of right priorities and live consistently in that way.
       To those who so enrich our lives by your life, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Daring to Dream Broadly

Few of us dare to dream big. I mean really big.
As Thoreau said, "Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them."
Here are some questions I have been asking myself about this:

• What do I fear would or would not happen if I pursued the dream?
• What will others think about the dream?
• How will this dream be financed?
• What if the dream is really folly?
• If God is birthing this dream, why should I care about any of the above questions?

A Great Article on Pastoral Narcissism (really!)

The most recent edition of Leadership Journal is all about AMBITION - the good, bad, and ugly of it, especially in ministry contexts.
       Let me say at the outset that I am mentioning this issue on my blog because I am 'the chief sinner" when it comes to matters of ambition, drive, narcissism, and the like. I do not mean to point fingers here.
       Here is a link to an article from the journal. It is titled, "Pastoral Narcissism." Whether you are a pastor or someone in a church where there is a pastor, you should read the article. It is insightful and profound - and convicting.
       The author, JR Kerr, quotes T.S. Eliot in the article. He sums it up very well:
"Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm, but the harm does not interest them ... or they do not see it, or they justify it ... because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves."


And now for something on the lighter side of narcissism:

The $27 Sports Car Rental

I got to the rental car counter in Tulsa yesterday afternoon to pick up my economy class car, pre-paid for a whopping $27.
       The young gal at the counter said they were out of economy and compact cars and would I mind driving either an SUV or a Mazda 3.
       "I'm not familiar with a Mazda 3," I said. "Do you have a picture?" She showed me the picture to the right and said there was only 2400 miles on this 2010 car. It was a no-brainer - I took the Mazda 3.
       I had to drive about 100 miles from Tulsa to Oklahoma to have dinner with good friends. As I drove on the interstate (long, flat boring roadway with few cars) I noticed that the speedometer went up to 160 miles per hour. Hmmmm, I wonder if that's just for show or if this car really goes that fast?
       I drove to Oklahoma City late in the afternoon, when more people were out on the road. So I kept my speed to 80 MPH, only 5 miles over the speed limit. Good self-discipline!
       On the way back to Tulsa - at 11pm and without a soul on the road - I just had to see how fast the road would go. I think it's a guy thing or something. I chickened out at 120MPH and took my foot off the accelerator. But it still could have gone a lot faster, I could tell.
       Boy, that car was SMOOTH AS SILK on the road!

Veteran's Day

Today is Veteran's Day in America. It used to be called Armistice Day back when it was created by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 after World War I.

       I used to make little of Veteran's Day - I am not too nationalistic and do not necessarily believe that the United States is the greatest nation on earth. Now before some of you get too upset, let me say how much my respect has grown for the 25 million Americans alive today who have served in the military. My dad is one of them. Our very dear friend Nate is a retired two-star general from the Air Force.
       This is what I appreciate the most about Veteran's Day: It honors ordinary people who have done extraordinary things for their country. The people who have served in the military are not super-human; they are plain folk like you and me. And yet many of them have responded to incredibly difficult situations with extraordinary valor.
       The other reason Veteran's Day has become more important to me is that the veterans of World War II (those amazing people who Tom Brokaw called "The Greatest Generation") are dying off, and soon we will not have them in our midst. For me Veteran's Day is about those 80+ year olds. Here's all of them!

An Impressive Interview with George W. Bush

I listened intently to Matt Lauer's interview with former President George W. Bush a couple of nights ago on NBC TV. It was an amazing, mesmerizing interaction.
       Breath-taking really.
       Here's some things I respect from the interview:
   1. Mr. Bush was articulate, much more than I remember than when he was in office;
   2. He owned up to his mistakes, he admitted when he had been wrong on some decisions (something Barack Obama could learn from);
   3. He seemed honest, open, direct, and clear. He did not mince words as politicians usually do;
   4. Mr. Bush never criticized his successor. To quote Mr. Bush, "President Obama has plenty of critics. I am not going to be one." Wow, CIVILITY from a politician! Well done, President Bush. Thank you.
   5. "I believe in justice, not in revenge." ~ George W. Bush on being at Ground Zero after Sept. 11th.

A Mind-Blowing Thought from Richard Rohr

"We all remain who we are. But on the way to healing or liberation we have to do what the Romans called agere contra: we have to act against the grain of our natural compulsions. This requires clear decisions. Because it does not happen by itself, it is in a way "unnatural" or "supernatural" . . . (we) simply have to cut loose now and then, and in the process . . . make mistakes."

~ Father Richard Rohr

Check out the Center for Action and Contemplation which Rohr founded.

Every Monday, the Economist Magazine

Every Monday the Economist magazine arrives in the mail at my house. I love the Economist. I feel like I re-enter the global conversation when I pick up the magazine and begin reading it.
       They always cover subjects, countries, and issues overlooked by much of the rest of the global media. There are usually articles about some out-of-the-way place that nobody has heard about. And they have a very different perspective on the U.S., which makes sense since the Economist is a British publication.

       Here is some of the article titles from last week's edition:
* Argentina after Kirchner: End of an Era
* War in Afghanistan: Lunch with the Taliban
* Sri Lanka's Moral Policing
* Blogging in China: Breaching the Great Fire Wall
* Can Kenya make its New Deal Work?
* France's Pension Reform After the Protests
* Technology and Obama: End the the Silicon Honeymoon
I can't wait for the mail to arrive today!

Bailey took me out this morning!

Our two-year-old Lab, Bailey, came bounding down the stairs this morning as I going down the stairs. Totally took my legs out from under me and there I went sliding down the remaining 4 four steps.
       I lay there motionless for a few minutes. Bailey retreated, tail between legs, under the dining room table. She knew she had done something bad, just was not exactly sure what. She's not the brightest light bulb!
       So I whacked my lower back, and I landed on my left elbow and it's pretty sore.
       This blog entry has nothing really to do with my blog at all. I just wanted to tell someone what happened!

Bailey last winter in the snow.

A Banquet That Was Worth It

We went to a banquet for Hands of the Carpenter last night. I'm not much into the fundraising banquet scene, but this was the best one I have been to.

What made this banquet better? A few things:

* Location: Denver Botanical Gardens and we could walk around beforehand. Beautiful!

* Open Bar - free beer and wine tasting. Sure, I might sound like a lush but I'm not (really). A beer company and a wine company donated their goods and staff to make this happen. It was a great time!

* The food was outstanding from beginning to end. A+

* The program moved along at a good pace, with a great dance group performing, a powerful slide presentation, and brief but powerful words from the Staff.

We live at a time when generating the resources needed for valuable non-profit work is hard to do. A lot of people are sitting on their wallets for one reason or another. Hands is doing a great work and is worth the investment.

Leadership and Those 3 Magic Words!

I watched Barak Obama's press conference on Wednesday first with wonder and then with great unease. At least four times the President was asked something like this: "Is it possible that you have not heard the American people, and that some of your policies are wrong?"
       Each time the President gave an answer like this: "Clearly the American people are not happy" and "clearly we have to do better."
       I wanted to SCREAM at the TV, "Just admit that you were wrong on some things! Humble yourself, mr. President!"
       But he did not. Pride got the best of Mr. Obama, as it gets of many leaders who have an immense sense of power and authority. Pastors and other Christian leaders are tripped up by this over and over again.
       Somehow I thought Obama just might rise above petty politics, discover humility, own up to situations and policies in which he was wrong.
       Instead he acknowledged that the Democrats were beaten badly in the election. Duhhhhh....
       My point here is not to say that Mr. Obama's policies are right or wrong, best or worst for the American people. But surely Mr. Obama can own up to at least SOME poor policy decisions, even a few! But to put it on the American people and to say they are upset is just dodging the leadership issue. 
       There are two sets of words that every great leadership says AND means and lives humbly by - we would all do well to seek to live with these words on our lips - so would Mr. Obama:


"I was wrong."


"I don't know."

That's My Girl!

Carly is doing really well at Westmont College in Santa Barbara.
Last Sunday was Halloween and some students had a party (I guess). Carly dressed as a Zebra, as you can see from the photos.
That's My Girl! Ya gotta love what college has to offer!

An Open Letter to U.S. President Barack Obama

Dear Mr. President,
Today is the day after the election in which the Democratic Party was roundly defeated by the Republicans. Today is also the next day in your presidency, and so as a citizen of the U.S. I am writing to you with several requests.

       1. I am a supporter of yours, which borders on crazy for me to say in public because many people in my circle of friends are NOT supporters of you. As one of your supporters, I want to remind you about something that Bill Clinton learned. You can campaign from the political left, and you may be able to win a presidential election speaking from the left. However, you must govern from the political center-right.
       2. Resist the temptation to be a political idealogue. You are a left-leaning politician, but do not use your political views as a battering ram. Political idealogues on the right are nothing more than thugs; political idealogues on the left are nothing more than goofy jokers. Do not fall in these categories. Rise above the partisan bickering of this current political climate.
       3. Now that the Democrats have held the Senate (barely), please find a new Majority Leader. Harry Reid has thoroughly discredited himself and is simply a weak leader. Please help your party find new leadership.
       4. Align yourself with the so-called "Blue Dog Democrats," those 50 or so fiscally conservative Democrats who are the last remnant of what was called a "moderate." Oddly, many of these people lost in the election, leaving the political middle ground vacant. Still, I urge you Mr. President to move into the political middle and govern from there.
       You have the most difficult job in this country, and I do not envy you for the responsibility you have. I hope, and pray, that you will govern well in the coming days.
Sincerely,
Brian Newman
Lakewood, CO
(CO- 7th Congressional District)

Today is Election Day in America

Mercifully, today is Election Day in America.
YEA!
No more political ads on TV.
No more canned phone calls with recordings of candidates.
No more four-color flyers in the mail blabbing about the candidates!
YEA!
God save the Queen!

Movember Mustache time!

Today is November 1st and the beginning of MOVEMBER. For the next month I'm joining a bunch of guys in growing our mustaches for the next 30 days - all for the purpose of growing awareness about men's health issues (such as prostate cancer).
       I'll post some photos of my "progress" with the mustache in the coming days. My greatest anxiety is that it will grow in grey!