“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing; while others judge us by what we have already done.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
How we see
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Monthly Archives: November 2007
Encouragement
“Dude, you are incredible!”
“You are so good at that!”
“You look great today!”
“You smell GREAT!”
“Thank you for taking the time to do this right!”
“Way to go!”
“It’s great to be your friend!”
“I’m proud of you!”
These simple words and words like them can really lift people up!
Lift someone up today with your words! You’ll be amazed at their response and you’ll love how it feels!
A great evening
This is what a great evening on television looks like…
Republican Presidential Candidate’s Debate on CNN
- Brains
- Suits
- Politics
- Mouth
The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra on Spike TV
- Brawn
- Sweat
- Punches
- Muscles
Bottom line… there’s a LOT of testosterone and pride flowing in both of these competitions & there’s fighting happening in both arenas! It’s really a guy’s kind of night!
Be quiet and grow
These days I am seeking to balance my reading from evangelism on the one hand to discipleship on the other.
For instance, I will read a book on how to connect someone to Jesus and then I will read a book on how to teach them to live like a follower of Jesus.
Most recently I read Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary by Lee Strobel, a book that discusses how our unchurched, unbelieving friends view the church and our faith and then shares how to effectively connect them to Jesus.
Now I am reading The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s essential teachings on discipleship by Dallas Willard. This is really a great book in which Willard puts the process of discipleship in “doable” terms.
This morning Dr. Willard was talking about the role of silence and solitude in the process of becoming more like Jesus. He said,
“Of course there is a time to talk, as there is a time to be with others. But we are not safe and rich in talk and companionship unless our souls are strong in solitude and silence. If we have heard the good news and have come to trust our Savior, he will meet with us through extensive solitude and silence to stabilize his love, joy, and peace in us. His character will become increasingly ours – easily, thoroughly.”
And then he says this…
“You rarely find any person who has made great progress in the spiritual life who did not at some point have much time in solitude and silence.”
Man, is he ever right!
I find that the busier I am, the more I talk and the less like Jesus I become!
I am at my spiritual best when I rise early and spend quiet time with my mentors (books) and my personal life-coach (Jesus)… who happens to be the Son of God!
How about you? When was the last time you were alone and quiet for the purpose of growth?
Details
Geeze O Man… this attention to detail (ATD) stuff is rocking my world! I’m so used to having help in this area that I’ve forgotten what it takes!
I’d like to say a HUGE “Thank You” to the three greatest organizers I know…
- Sherri Peterson – my bride.
- Sue Hutchison - my personal assistant and dear friend at the church I pastored in Pennsylvania.
- Jeff Harmon – my best friend and Director of Operations at the church I pastored in New York.
These three people are wonderful organizers with incredible eyes for detail! I love and appreciate them!
I’d also like to give a shout out to several key players in my life these days helping me to manage the never-ending detail on this church planting journey:
- Julie Miller is helping me with the monthly updates that I send out. Julie, you are priceless and even though I’ve been told that I can’t take you to Cincinnati… girl you sure are making life easier here in Georgia! Thank you!
- Marie Lindelli is simply an all star! Besides serving as the personal assistant for David Putman, she is also tracking the support monies that are coming in from our Connection Partners and helping me to calendar my way through this year! Marie… you deserve the Starbucks I’ll be putting on your desk on Thursday!
- Paul Peterson. Yes that’s right. I’m giving props to myself because I need the encouragement! Way to go fella! You’re doing a great job! Keep up the good work! Oh, Julie and Marie are getting Starbucks on Thursday? Sure, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if you grabbed a cup too since you’ve been working so hard at getting organized!
OK, enough already… back to getting organized.
Getting organized
OK, let’s be honest here. Paul Peterson talking about being organized is like Rosie O’Donnel talking about tact. 
Nevertheless, one of the areas that I’m working on right now is the area of organization.
Over at Zenhabits they give the Top 12 Organizing Tips, Plus Resources.
By the way, Zenhabits is a great blog with regular insights on how to simplify life for maximum productivity!
If they’re not in your bloglines… they should be!
Now back to Rosie…
Personal Assistant
Today I had a meeting with my personal assistant. Me.
Honestly, I’m not a very good personal assistant, but I’m all I’ve got for now.
A few times I verbally abused myself and once it almost got physical!
I gathered all the things that I do not like to do: scheduling, filing, entering receipts, correspondence, schedule review, etc. and I set up a meeting with my personal assistant.
I may fire him.
Redeeming the name
Right now being a Peterson is a potential liability!
Think about it…
- Scott Peterson (convicted murderer)
- Drew Peterson (suspected murderer)
- Kelci Peterson (25 year old teacher who ran off with a 13 year old student)
I must redeem the name!
- Adrian Peterson is the rookie running back for the Minnesota Vikings. He recently set an NFL record for rushing yards in a single game (296) and is positioning himself to break Eric Dickerson’s record for the most rushing yards by a rookie.
- Joe Peterson is the owner of one of the top rated restaurants in Central Indiana promising an “unmatchable ambience [while] serving only the best to patrons.”
- And then, of course, there’s always this guy. (Only time will tell if this guy is a liability or an asset to the name!)
So PLEASE, if you hear the name “Peterson” today, don’t allow the first thought to be your only thought! We’re not all thugs and killers!
God’s not taking a break (Part 1)
Imagine if the local church grew every day!
Suppose every day someone discovered hope, forgiveness, peace, and love through the work of the local church connecting people to Jesus! How great would that be?
I believe this should be normative.
Based on what we know about God, I believe that the local church should expect to grow and actually grow everyday.
Follow me on this:
- God is serious enough about bringing people to Himself that He invested the life of His Son in this mission! He put blood on the ground for this cause! (check out these verses)
- God has a history of bringing people to Himself on a daily basis (Acts 2:47; Acts 16:5)
- Jesus, God’s Son, said that His mission was to “seek and save those who were lost” (aka disconnected from God). As He left earth to go back to His Father for a while He handed over His mission to His followers. We now call this the Great Commission. The passion of God and the mission of Jesus continues… through the efforts of the local church!
Do we honestly believe, considering the above verses, that there’s ever a day when God sits back and says, “Ahhhh… today I’m going to take a break. I’m not super interested in rescuing anyone today.”
Do we really believe this?
The answer is NO!
Church, followers of Jesus, we believe that every day God is bringing people to Himself through faith in Jesus Christ.
We believe that every day God is working through His body (i.e. the church) to bring forgiveness, love, hope, and adventure to guilty, lonely, frustrated, and bored people.
God is NOT taking a break. He is NOT tired of breathing life into people.
Read these verses to hear the heartbeat of God.
God’s not taking a break! His fervor for this mission of bringing people to Himself has not lessened! His passionate desire has one outlet through which it is expressed… the local church!
I smell t-r-o-u-b-l-e
