Confessions

What do you do when you've got 22 hours to waste on a plane flying around the world? I read...so here's a sample from one of my vacation reads. "Confessions" is Driscoll's second book (following up Radical Reformission). Driscoll is the lead pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. Mark's books are full of brutal honesty, biting sarcasm, biblical commitment and missional focus, and Confessions is no exception.

This book recounts the story of how Mars Hill Church grew from a rag tag group of 12 to its current 3,000 members over the past 10 years. He's a young guy in his early 30s who is beyond his years in pastoral experience and biblical literacy. I enjoyed the honesty with which he shared the difficulties, temptations and mistakes. I was also challenged by his commitment to prayer, the Bible and the mission of his church. He is an emerging leader worth reading.

Dan Kimball, author of The Emerging Church said...
"After reading a book like this, you can never go back to being an inwardly focused church without a mission. Even if you disagree with Mark about some of the things he says, you cannot help but be convicted to the inner core about what it means to have a heart for those who donÂ’t know Jesus."

Here's an excerpt from the last pages of the book entitled More Pruning
"It is my deepest desire to be fruitful for Jesus. And according to his frequent kingdom parables, fruit comes not simply by growing but by his strategic pruning. Jesus prunes us through hardships, suffering, failure, loss, discipline, and pain. I have found Jesus' pruning of my life, marriage, family, and church to be incredibly painful, but it always results in bigger, sweeter, and greater fruit. Some pruning has been so overwhelming that I did not know if I could endure it and even questioned the goodnessess of God despite my knowledge of Scripture, which led to bouts of despair and anger."

We're Back

Bonjour and Buonjourno. If you couldn't tell from my previous post about our vacation, my wife and I went to the Mediteranean coastline of France and Italy. It was beautiful and sunny and quite tiring, but well worth it. We had time to read, play, reflect on our life and talk about what God is teaching us. And here are a few of my reflections:

People are different: The first thing we noticed was our differences from the French & Italians. They dressed nice, but different. They talk different, almost like another language. They work different hours (only 35 hours a week I hear). They have different priorities (like Italian shops would close down from 11-4 for a siesta). They travel differently. You just realize that life is different and you don't quite fit in.

People are the same: But in spite of our difference, people are the same. They love their families. They like to play. They laugh and joke and have misperceptions in about people in other countries. They hate and love and are friendly. People are people.

People matter: We noticed that after 24 hours in Italy, a time when we really struggled with the language difference we began to feel isolated and alone. Here we were walking around this beautiful beach town and we felt alone. We were longing for someone to talk to, or to hear a conversation that we understood. So Christine's reaction was to listen for English then run up to the people and ask them where they were from. One of my strongest memories from the trip were the people that we met and "befriended" on trains or in restaurants. There was Tom & Hannah the Australian university students. There was Simon & Judy the New Zealanders living in Scotland. There was the 52 year old Seattle doctor traveling Europe for 3 months with is 19 year old son Max. There was Darin and Krysa from Santa Monica celebrating the pregnancy of their first child. These becameour European friends...because people matter.

Some people matter more: But our hearts ached a bit because we left our two young boys behind. Caden, 3 1/2, and Griffin, just 2, were a regular topic of our conversation. We realized how much our lives had changed since they came along and we often wondered how they would react to certain situations in which we found ourselves. It was great to get away, but there is nothing like coming home, especially when you are showered with hugs and kisses from your boys.

How's your Vision

Last night at 727 we did eye exams at our vision night. Some of us will be wearing coke bottle glasses for a while due to excessive TV watching, especially those who TiVo Desperate Housewives and Greys Anatomy. Well not exactly, but we did talk about vision. So how's yours?

You know in the church we often become near-sighted, losing focus from our mission, and become concerned only in US and WE. So last night we stepped back and asked ourselves 3 questions.

Who are we? That is who is 727? What we are clarifying is our IDENTITY. And here is what I suggested. 727 is a place for 20somethings to experience the TRUTH of Christ the MEANING of life and the BEAUTY of community. We are targeting a specific group of people, yet we are open, always welcoming more into our midst.

Why do we exist? That is what are we about? Here we are clarifying our MISSION. This isn't rocket science, it is quite simple. Our mission is to be Christ’s witnesses to young adults in word & deed. This really is the misson of the church (Acts 1:8), yet we focus on doing this among young adults in west Columbus. It is important that 727 is not just a break from the real world or a youth group for 20-somethings. We does exist for us, we actually exist for those not yet in our group. 727 is not about who we need to keep it is about who we need to reach.

How do we do that? We are really trying to figure out what we should do and what should we not do? This helps to clarify our STRATEGY. And here is where I have pointed us to be about creating irresistible environments and strategic steps. We will create two environments: a gathered worship event and home-based small groups. We will utilize two steps to get people into these steps: the Taste of 727 (sunday lunch) and Area Fellowships (social events). Our strategy will always be in flux depending on the degree of success in relation to our mission.

It all looks great on paper but really it boils down to people investing in people. It is about people investing in others and inviting them to receive good news. It is about people getting on board leading worship, leading small groups, running outward friendly social events and then getting their friends involved. It is about missional living...being on mission. Don't sit by and watch, let's get started.

Our Amazing Race

Today I will kiss my two beautiful boys goodbye and place them into their Grandma's arms, then I will wrap my arms around my tearful wife and we will board a plane together to go away. "They'll be ok" I'll say and I'll wipe her crocodile tears away with my sleeve. That's one of the reasons I married her, because of her tender heart... and I think she's beautiful when she cries.

We will board a plane and go far away, just the two of us for about nine days. Where are we going...to that place. A place where they speak a different language, eat different food and cheer about different sports. We've scraped our pennies together over the years and the stars have lined up so that we can go and adventure together.

We've often watched the Amazing Race and wondered how well we would do...actually we wondered how poorly we would do. We love each other, but we both find different ways to drive to the bank...so traveling around the world is a whole other story. But we will go and adventure. We will reconnect, relax and rekindle the joy of just being together.

I might share a picture while we are away, but if things are really going well...you may not hear from me for 10 days. Ciao!

Akeelah's BEE is too much

Christine and I watched the Starbucks Entertainment film “Akeelah and the Bee” over the weekend. And I must say that it is the feel good, family flick of the year. We both held back tears at numerous times. The inspiring story of a young black girl from the rough part of South Central LA who lost her dad to an early death and struggles to spell her way (literally) out of a negative neighborhood and struggling school by entering a world controlled by rich white suburban kids and international homeschoolers… really struck a chord.

I would highly commend the film to all.

But I was left wrestling with a few questions. Are people good or bad? And what must happen to bring out the goodness in people?

My own contention is that people are largely selfish and generally are prone to tear others down. And in general when others are prospering or excelling the natural tendency is to work against them or lash out at them in order to overcome feelings of inferiority. While there is a spark of goodness in people it is not awakened until there is some terrible tragedy like 9/11 for instance. In the wake of this close-to-home but other-focused terror, people are more willing to stoop to help those in need.

But the storyline, of Akeelah swims against this stream. Akeelah is surrounded by negative, destructive, angry people. And as she seeks to rise above her situation and achieve something, these selfish people lose themselves in the task of helping her achieve. Her angry mom, turns into her number one fan. Her depreciating brother helps her do something he can’t. Even the local gangster turns into a nice guy confessing he once wrote a poem and the helps her train for the competition.

But where do these people find the resources to give selflessly with no personal gain to be seen? My question is an anthropological one. Is it possible that people like Akeelah, who simply set out to do something as simple as win a spelling bee, can change a community? I wish I could say yes, but I think a transformed community is a collection of transformed hearts. And I don’t think the story honestly deals with the type of heart transformation necessary for those around her not only to cheer her on but to willingly participate in her success. I think people are generally too selfish, because I know myself and I’m too selfish.

Don’t get me wrong. I was inspired. I even want to pick up a dictionary and learn a new word. I can’t wait for the next spelling bee to be on ESPN. But changed communities require heart transplants. We must die to our selfishness before we can live selflessly.

Birthdays, Chuck E. Cheese & Mentors

Griffin turned 2 this past weekend and we partied it up. As the second boy in our family he tends to play second fiddle to his big brother and as much as we tried to push him to the front, he comfortable slid in behind his brother. So Caden led the way in unwrapping the gifts…and Griffey was fine with it. Caden would pick the toy he wanted to play with…and Griffey was fine with it.

It’s not that Caden doesn’t love Griffey, he’s just used to leading the way. In fact the night before the party we heard Caden singing himself to sleep, and do you know what he was singing? ....“Happy Birthday to Griffey…” Yep he sang it through twice before he faded off to dreamland.

But when we took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese a new Griffin emerged…a riskier…more confident…more daring Griffin. It all happened when the guy in the Chuck E. costume comes out to visit the Birthday kids. Caden at 3 ½ is weirded out by the 6 foot rat and runs the other way…he will not go within 10 feet of the towering rodent.

But Griffin can’t get enough of Chuck E. He stood in front of a crowded room dancing with him… he gave him countless hugs… he high-fived him until his hands were red… and climbed up in his lap like he was Santa Claus. I’m not sure what was running through his 2 year old mind, but his admiration for this larger than life mouse moves my son to action.

I go in to check on my sons every night after they are asleep and I often whisper a prayer or speak a blessing over them. I regularly pray that they will choose good friends and wise counselors. I want to be my boys’ hero, but at some point I know that other men will wear that label for them too. So I pray they choose good heroes.

Some guys are fakes dressed up in costumes and I want them run for the hills…like Caden treats Chuck E. But others wear wisdom like a comfortable bathrobe. Their words are sound and their actions are full of integrity. So I hope my boys will climb up into the lap of those types of heroes like Griffin responds to Chuck E.

When heaven comes down

What’s the deal with heaven? We rarely think of it. We want to go there, or at least not to hell. But we have our whole life ahead of us. We have dreams we want to fulfill. We want a spouse, a house, and some kids. Guys have adventures to tackle, mountains to climb or promotions to earn. Chicklets want spa days to enjoy, romantic dinners to share or to start their own business. With all of these dreams yet unfulfilled, where is the room to long for the after-life? Of course we want heaven, but at a much more convenient time…translation – after I’ve lived a full life.

The Bible speaks of the eternal state as New Heavens and New Earth populated by New People (Rev. 21 & Rom 8). Along with these things which God reforms or restores to perfection there will be the absence of some old and familiar things.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. Revelation 21:4

No tears, no death, no suffering, no pain.

Maybe that is the key. The reason we don’t long for the next life is because this life has not yet come in contact with pain and loss. Maybe that is why the apostles spoke longingly of heaven, they suffered….alot. Maybe that is why old people long for heaven…they’ve lost all their friends and many family members and their bodies are decaying. Maybe that is why the parents who have lost an infant long for heaven, because death and mourning is a reality to them.

If you have suffered, wept, lost or tasted the bitterness of death your longing for rest will be realized. Charlie Hall captures this longing beautifully in a recent song.

Come For Me
Jesus come take me away,
I long to see your face
This world is broken yet beautifully made,
Jesus come take me away,

Jesus today I am tired,
I need your music to come and inspire
I give myself to be refined in this fire,
But Jesus today I’m so tired,

You’ll come again with a shout,
Like a thief in the night you’ll come riding on clouds
Finally the voice I have followed for life
Has a glorious face that is lit up with light
And you’ll come for me,
no more pain, peace,
no more fear, release,
just lost and consumed with my glorious King,

Remember the Hills

This past weekend 12 of us from 727 left town and ventured down to Hocking Hills. We got far enough away that we could see the stars. It was a time to laugh and play and discuss our faith. We stayed at this quirkily designed but sweet little lodge that really fostered a family-style experience. We stayed up late, we ate a bit fat breakfast and we burned some serious carbs on Saturday with both a 2 1/2 mile hike and a 5 mile canoe trip. See more photo's. In addition to fun we challenged each other in 2 areas of faith:



What should I do? We all agreed that we want to please God, but we often wonder exactly what God wants us to do. And sometimes we end up doing nothing and letting moments of opportunity pass us by. The "more spiritual" of us cunningly suggest we are praying about it, but really we are just afraid to act. So we challenged each other to repent from our sin of inactivity with the words JUST DO SOMETHING.

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. James 4:17

What difference can I make? We want our lives to count and as we watch opportunities pass us by we see our moment slipping away. So talked about the needs we each see and the gifts we each have and the passions that are on our hearts. Then we discussed that fact that when you make an impact often times it impacts you. When we mark others we can get marked or scarred or wounded. It is just part of the game.

What would happen if every place we went, every environment we stepped into, we would look around and ask ourselves, 'Is there a way that I can make an impact? Is there a way that I can leave a mark and through my life leave the fingerprints of God all over someone else's life? Erwin McManus

The choice is up to you...

I came across a statement by Erwin McManus, in his recent work "Chasing Daylight" that highlights the importance of choice.

"The most spiritual activity you will engage in today is making choices. All the other activities that we describe as spiritual - worship, prayer, meditation - are there to connect us to God and prepare us to live."

Make a choice.

Do you feel connected?

Do you have relationships with a few other people? Real relationships…more than acquaintances. People who you can turn to in tough times and they’ll care for you. People who know you well enough to see you veering off track and step in to draw you back. People that you can call your people. If not you feel lonely and disconnected.

I ask this because I’m thinking about you, knowing that you need a few real friends. And I also ask because I care about the church, which I believe should be a place where you find a few real friends. If that doesn’t happen, either there is a problem with you or with the church.

I recently read Andy Stanley’s book “Creating Community.” I read it in a day. It tells the story and strategy of North Point Community Church, which states as their goal “to encourage all people to move into a small group.” And they are doing it. They observe that today’s church are filled with "crowded loneliness” and that “isolation breeds selfishness.” Their small group purpose is “To provided a predictable small-group environment where participants experience authentic community and spiritual growth.”

Most people won’t argue against wisdom like “Christian community is the final apologetic” (Francis Shaeffer) or “God creates in us a “human-shaped-void” that God himself will not fill” (John Ortberg). Most completely agree and honestly say, where can I find such a place. I suggest the church.

I agree with Larry Crabb who says, “the center of Christian Community is connecting with a few” (Connecting, xiii). So do you feel connected? Do you have a few people that will be there with you or for you or a few people that you will be there for? Are you connected to people that are journeying through life with you to laugh & celebrate and if necessary cry with you?

Kyle's Film

Kyle Lake, 33, the pastor of University Baptist Church (David Crowder's church) on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, TX died an untimely in 2005 during a baptismal service. He left behind a wife and 3 young kids. This film will memorialize his legacy and has grown into a nationwide phenomenon.

John Maxwell rethinks ministry

I was reading the Sept/Oct 2006 Rev. Magazine today and came across an interview with John Maxwell. He was a pastor for 25 years, then made the jump to corporate leadership training, by spearheading Injoy. His answer to one question in particular sparked my interest...

Q: What would you do differently if you were starting (pastoring) over today?

A: I'd have a lot less church; I'd have less programs; I'd have less services. I'd have a lot less of everything....one of my major mistakes was thinking that life revolved around the local church and what we were doing... If I had it to do over again, I'd have people doing a lot more ministry outside the church, in their workplace or in their community or in their volunteer organizations. I'd find out where they had the greatest influence and make their ministry where their greatest influence was, not confine it to a church.

What if we did that?
What if everyone invested time ("had a ministry") outside their church?
How would ministry outside the church affect the life of the church?

To read the rest of John Maxwell's comments....

What’s on your iPod?

What if God saw your playlist? Some churches are taking this “God on the Pod” business pretty seriously. Read more...

Suffering for Cheeses

Creative highschool kids who are suffering for promoting their love for Jesus are outsmarting their persecutors by wearing “I love Cheeses” shirts which “when spoken, is almost undistinguishable from ‘I love Jesus’. Read more...

When I think of Suffering for being a Christian I have one of two responses. I can laugh or cry. The joke above is my typical response, a nervous attempt at laughter motivated by personal conviction at my extremely comfortable life. The other option is sadness that some suffer and that my life as a Christ-follower does not warrant such suffering. Am I doing something wrong, I often wonder?

If you want to read some Scripture about how to suffer as a Christian, you want to spend some time in 1 Peter. Peter wrote to Christians who are spread abroad in hostile foreign lands and as a result faced some agonizingly tough times. And what I read, shocks and floors me.

It reads in 4:12 “do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you.” Do not be surprised….are you serious! That’s not me. I am completely surprised… stumped… shocked when an ounce of difficulty comes to me. ‘But what about my rights’, I protest. ‘I don’t deserve this’, I retort. I know I shouldn’t be, but I am.

In the next verse he says, “rejoice” when we suffer. Again I my hand goes up…you can’t be talking about me. I don’t take joy when my rights are constrained, when my freedom is curtailed or when my happiness is impinged upon by others. Can you see that not only do I not suffer, but I struggle even with the idea. I should rejoice, but I can’t.

My only hope is for God to help me “not be surprised” and “rejoice” in suffering for His name. I can’t, but he can. So if I press into him and identify with him, “working out my salvation” through faith in him. Then he, through me, can accept and rejoice in suffering for Him. God help me.

Big Hairy Monsters

What will happen when Jesus Returns? That was the question we were tackling on Tuesday night. I was personally excited to walk through the biblical-timeline of glorious appearing of our blessed hope. I was sure that a greater understanding of Pre-Tribulation Rapture and Pre-Millenial Return of Christ would be an exciting topic and would foster greater evangelistic zeal within our group.

Then yesterday I spotted it. Someone had left their notes behind from the lecture. I glided over and proudly picked it up to see how well received the topic was. I secretly hoped that they had written their name on the top, so that I could return these valuable notes to them.

And this is what I picked up. I guess I held the attention of this guy (or gal) for the first 10 minutes, then they proceeded to draw big hairy monsters as I waxed eloquent on the finer details of the rapture and millenium. It does look like someone has some artistic promise. I feel it only right to return such fine drawings to their rightful owner and I hope to recruit this individual to our new cartoon drawing ministry. Please come forward to receive your prize and our admiration.

All You Need Is Love?

"….knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." 1 Cor 8:1

Doctrine divides, just love others like Jesus. Theology is cold and impersonal, but my faith is simple. I’ve often heard this verse used to support less focus on teaching and more focus on loving others. Would such an idea really be passed on by a guy who challenged his understudy to “preach the word” (2 Tim 4:2) or who encouraged a fellow church leader with “teach sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1)? I’m not trying to grind the axe that everyone needs a seminary degree, what I’m asking is what is Paul really driving at here?

What is puffed up? The picture is a balloon getting inflated or puffed up by air. Some people because of a certain degree of spiritual insight think themselves bigger or better than they are. They are prideful or arrogant. Is this talking about just any knowledge? NO…it is the realization that meat sacrificed to idols is fair game for eating because idols are nothing but man-made toys (1 Cor 8:4), even if some take them seriously.

The rub in Corinth was not that this knowledge was bad, but that not all possessed this knowledge (8:7). So you are dealing with the haves and the have-nots. The have-nots would see a fellow Christian eating meat to idols and would get wigged out because they used to do the same thing as part of their former idol worshipping days. As a result they would become conflicted about their new life in Christ and might stumble back into idolatry or at least would lose some serious sleep over it. And to cause such a stumble is a sin against that brother and against Christ (8:12).

The knowledgeable Christians had a right to eat meat (8:9). But if they did so in the wrong setting it becomes arrogant and prideful not loving. It then doesn’t build up the church, it tears it down. Paul could have discounted knowledge, but instead he affirmed it (8:4-6). His point is not less knowledge, but knowledge without love is sin.

The point can’t be love without knowledge… that is irresponsible.
It is certainly not knowledge without love… that is arrogance.
It must be knowledge with love… that is enriching.

War, Swords & Spirits

I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
(Rom 7:22-23)

The life of a follower of Jesus is joy… it is peace… it is life… and it is war. War?! We have received a gift of new life, real life you might say. Salvation is the restoration of our total being towards shalom or wholeness of mind, body and spirit. Yet our new life, the Christian life, is the process of feeding the new nature which loves God and simultaneously killing our old nature which loves sin. There is within us all a part which loves sin…so what is your poison? Anger, jealousy, pride, sex, back-stabbing, gossip, lust, gluttony, laziness, self-indulgence, caffeine, alcohol.

We are at war, in ourselves to kill these old desires and awaken new desires. Not to repress or cover over or avoid these desires but to kill, strangle, suffocate, lynch, mortify them. How? By the spirit. So then, brothers and sisters, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh… but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live (Rom 8:12-13).

How do we engage the Spirit of God to kill the sin our lives? By feasting on the Word of God which is the Sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17). Apart from faith in the Word of God we will disconnect the very power that is able to kill sin our lives. We must fight fleshly desires with all our might, but that alone will not kill sin. The dynamic power of the Word of God cuts to the heart and is the instrument the Spirit uses to root out the cancer of our sin. Don’t make peace with sin and cover it up, call a war. Don’t try to tame it, kill it by the Spirit. Embrace the war. Expose the war. Engage the war.

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires (Heb 4:12).

Run the Race

I lay in bed at 7am on Saturday morning and I didn't feel like running. For a bit of context, I've been training to run the Columbus marathon for about 6 weeks now. Saturday morning is the long run day and I was schedule for 13 miles this past Saturday. But as I lay in bed half awake knowing what was before me, I simply had no desire to run. I thought out all of the reasons why I should sleep in and why running that day was not the wisest use of my time. I felt flat, windless, like my batteries needed to be re-charged. I didn't think I had 13 miles in me.

Have you ever laid in bed on Monday morning and said, "I don't feel like being a Christian today"? I sure have. It sometimes happens after I have been doing a lot of church stuff and I'm just tired. Or sometimes when I feel stressed about a situation or people that I've had to deal with. Or other times when I'm starting to lose the passion or the dreams that God has placed in me. I'll wake up and hit the snooze button and say, Not Today, I just don't want to do it. I don't think I have 24 hours of being a Christian in me.

I've heard that in marathoning the most difficult part is the training. It is stretched out over months and covers a few hundred miles. It takes discipline, it takes perseverance and even support from others. It's the same way with being a follower of Christ.

Life is a marathon and the biblical writers pick up this running/athletic theme to teach us how to run the race of life. First, we have a crowd cheering us on so we should "run with endurance the race that is set before us..."(Hebrews 12:1). Second, successful running requires self-discipline which prepares us to "run to win" (1 Corinthians 9:24-25, 1 Tim 4:7).

Probably the most encouraging idea to me, when I don't feel like being a Christian is the fact that "God has given us everything we need for living a godly life" (2 Peter 1:3). Nothing is hidden from me. Nothing has been held back. I don't need more I just need to tune in with what has already been given. The power is there. The resources are there. So let's run to win.

John Owen on Sin

Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work;
be always at it while you live; cease ot a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you."

John Owen
17th Puritan

The Face of Success

How do you define success? Success is a haunting word for some and a fleeting idea for others. And in the world of ministry, where heart transformation is the goal, it can often be difficult to measure. In this picture are the faces of nearly 40 campers and 1 dozen volunteers who made up the Northwest Soccer Camp.

By many standards of measurement this years camp was not a success, but a failure. First, this years attendance was less that 50% of last years attendance (40 down from 90). Second, we lost money running the camp this year. Third, we had no kids respond to the gospel invitation (compared with 7 last year). What I'm saying is that numbers were down. And I honestly struggled with that. I lost sleep over that...because I don't want to be a failure.

And interestingly enough my antidote was draped across my back. That was where this year's camp slogan was placed on our t-shirts, which read: "SUCCESS = ATTITUDE + ABILITY". We used that slogan to challenge the campers with the 3 keys to a successful attitude. Maybe my focus on the camp numbers was the source of my dour attitude. So lets look at the situation from a different angle.

We did have 40 kids who not only learned soccer but were challenged with biblical truths about successful attitudes. I wonder what seeds were planted in their hearts that might have an exponential return in the future. We did have 16 kids who had never been to our church before. I wonder how the hearing of the gospel now will affect them down the road. And don't let me forget the 2 dozen volunteers who spent their free time and vacation time to pull this off. What impact will their selfless investment have on them and the kids into whom they poured themselves.

When I look into the faces of this picture that I see people, not numbers. And it is hard to see failure when you invest in people. Because God cares about people, we must focus on the people whom he allows us to serve, not focusing on those whom we don't.