Timeliness and Intensity

My intent for this blog is to provide opportunity to personally and transparently process the intensity of my life as a community servant. The hope being, that by sharing the challenges of leadership, others who come behind me, might risk a life of similar intensity for the sake of their communities, thereby sharing in the joys of leadership. Full engagement is what I believe Jesus spoke of when He used phrases like “living abundantly.”

Politically savvy individuals often avoid transparency for the sake of vertical movement in the polls and it works; often elevating people to office prematurely or in some cases serving the purposes of those seduced by a sense of power or craving the attention of those who have learned to manipulate the system for personal benefit.

How does one matriculate such an environment and keep their spiritual moorings? For me it has been the discipline of time alone in the scriptures each morning, now approaching 40 years. Case in point: this a.m. I find myself renewed after a long day and night of conversation with those who understand my heart but feel the need to “vet” my candidacy by way of open challenge; some because they want honest answers and are suspect of anyone who might run for office; some strategically searching for ill spoken sound bites rather than positive vision.

My intrigue with scripture has less to do with the benefits of memorization, but rather the phenomenal timeliness experienced through all these years. How does it work, given that for a full year, I simply wake up each new day, grab a cup of coffee, check out the headlines, pick up the scriptures and meditate, with no set amount of words to read each day or canned program that matches chapter with season or another’s devotional guide? Not that those things aren’t beneficial, my favorite being Oswald Chambers!

Not just this morning, but repeatedly for 40 years, the scriptures have consistently spoken to my spiritual need like no other text, and I am an avid reader of other leadership and personal growth materials.

This a.m. The Beatitudes and the marginal notes scribbled over time…blessed are the poor in spirit (brokenness is good). Those who mourn (grieved for missed moments); the meek (restrained…still need some work here!); merciful (free to forgive); pure in heart (holding nothing back for yourself); peacemakers (willing to go where you don’t have to go but need to, if collective healing is to occur); persecuted for righteousness sake (arousing one’s enemies with truth); insulted by the things falsely spoken (a prophetic identity…there’s your sound bite!).

The prescription for salt, light and a life that brings glory to God; I pray towards that end and “though the outward man perish, the inward is renewed day by day.” II Cor. 4:16.