Scripture
After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ Acts 13:22

Observation
How did God find out about David’s heart?

There was no resume that David sent to Samuel. There was no referee who put in a good word for him. Samuel didn’t point him out to the Lord. In fact, David’s father had pushed him out of sight by sending him to the back acres to care for sheep. His brother’s belittled him. David had no business card and took no time for networking. And yet he became King of Israel because God spotted him.

How did God find David and then find him useful?

God spotted David during his job interview. What interview you might wonder? David indeed had an interview to become king; it was called shepherding. While he was feeding sheep, fighting off lions and bears and singing psalms under the stars God was reviewing David’s file. Because David made the most of a dead end job God opened another door for him. What change can happen in life if we make the most of insignificant moments. Little do we realize that God is watching and because of our faithfulness in one difficult place the Lord opens the door for the next one.

David worked the way God works, that is why he was called a man after God’s own heart. He cared for sheep with passion just as the Lord does his own. He worshipped with gusto even without cds or mp3s. It is our attention to the trivial things of life that gains the attention of the Lord and gives us entrance into other things.

Had the Samuel advertised for a king in the newspaper his mail box would have been packed with resumes. Instead he listened to the Lord who had been watching when one one else was looking. What is invisible to others is in plain sight to the Lord and he can make the inconspicuous into the obvious just as easily.

Application
What matters most is our heart. We must throw our heart fully in what we are given to do. There can be no excuses that we would work harder if we had something better to do. We must work with heart. It is not enough to show up to work, we must throw ourselves into the job. God delights in passion when energy and emotion blend together to bring results; when love and labor intertwine and life changes for the better. What would happen if we treated every mundane moment like a job interview? Not only would we do our best but more importantly God will open doors for what he next has in store for us to do.

Prayer
Father, today I give you my heart by throwing it into that which you have given me to do. Amen.

Scripture
Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me. 1 Corinthians 4:10-16

Observation
The higher a leader climbs the ladder of responsibility the fewer privileges, not greater, but fewer privileges he has. As John Maxwell says, “You have to give up to go up.” Paul knew that. He was an Apostle. On the kingdom flowchart his leadership box looked impressive. It was a role appointed by Jesus Christ and accountable directly to the Lord. With CEO ministry came travel, public speaking, company expansion, staff and the freedom to write the Bible. Not bad.

But the highest office in the church was really just a litter box. Like a parent, Paul had paid the price for churches to exist without repayment. His actions were public so onlookers filled in the motive blank. As a great leader he was magnanimous, knowing that to start a fight is to lose an argument. By patience and gentle appeal Paul may have lost face but he kept the climate of the church healthy for conflict. Yet for all this Paul was just a green garbage bag, always ready to be opened and packed with just one more bit of abuse from those he hoped to serve.

The more a leader influences the more rights he loses because a leader is one who serves. If a leader holds onto his privileges then he ends up serving only himself and it is just a matter of time before the enterprise fails. The great corporate leaders exist to serve the mission of the organization at whatever personal cost necessary. Paul was just such a leader.

So why did Paul bring up his self-sacrifice? Because the autograph-hunting groupies of the Corinth Church were gaga over the glittering personalities of the international church. They were impressed with what doesn’t impress God. Since Paul looked like something from a scratch and dent sale he didn’t make their cut. Paul was concerned with more than his rejection as their leader. What bothered him was what this hero worship would warp in the people’s own hearts. If they thought leaders with perks were the epitome of church life then very likely all of their service for Christ would become self serving. If however, they could come to see that true leaders serve by sacrifice then they would as well.

That’s why Paul ends his dog-eared resume with the words, “I urge you to imitate me.”

Application
God had those words written for us too. We are to imitate Paul with a humility in our leadership to give up as we go up. Paul was okay with being a garbage can if it meant that a church could be formed and lives could be changed. He wasn’t doing what helped him but what furthered the organization. God asks leaders if we are okay with that kind of leadership style. Yes we can collect perks around his house like frequent flyer miles but in the end we may be followed by hollow people just like us. People of substance are produced by leaders who qualify for leadership by the debris trail of their self-sacrifice.

Prayer
Father, whew, that is a heavy thought today. But it is the bottom line of changed lives makes it worth it all. I make the choice today to be what you need me to be in the kingdom. That means looking foolish, being weak, feeling ridicule, hunger, thirst, cold, beaten, homeless, self-supporting, blessing, patience, gentleness–just being a trash can for you. I see the fringe benefits of leadership. I accept them and I ask that you will help me not to rattle too much when my lid is lifted and something is tossed into me that I do not like. Amen.

My brothers and sisters gathered to celebrate my Dad’s 80th birthday in November 2003. This is a picture of our “family feud”!

Scripture
I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. John 5:19-20

Our family reunion in July 2006. There are 43 in our family now, so not all could come.

Observation
We can push, we can prod, we can placate, we can persuade, but in the end the only life that leaves a dent in eternity is one that finishes what God has already begun. Works that begin with me will end with me. But when I take the time to discover where God is already at work and add on to what he has started then my works eventually end in him.

The choice is simple. I can have a made-up life, where I stumble along the road looking for the map, or I can have a God-made life that begins by asking, “What is he up to today?”

God loves interdependence. The Christian faith started as a Father & Son business, and at its simplest and best it is the same for each of us. My life is a partnership of Father & Son. What matters most is not what we achieve but the relationship we develop in the working.

In the summer of my first year in college I came home to find my father framing a wall in the family room. Dad and building bonded together like hammer and nails. I usually tried to be as invisible as possible lest I would be “invited” to help. I have vivid memories as an eight year old of hiding under the basement stairs while Dad packed tools hoping he’d never find me. It never worked. Dads have radar.

In the summer of 1980 I took a different trajectory. I offered to help. Over the nights and weekends of the summer we built his home office. The walls were lined with floor to ceiling walnut-toned bookcases. We wrapped the rest of the room in a wainscot of woody tones. At the end of that summer I think I remember asking not to be paid in cash. Instead I asked for a pocket watch that I still treasure. The permanent mark of the whole experience was learning to cooperate, work willingly, follow the plan of another, and to enjoy many deep conversations along the way. These were principles that would guide the rest of my life.

At some point we have the opportunity to choose to work along side of the Father. Sure we can out smart him, out maneuver him, and do our own thing…for a moment. But soon ahead we discover that the God we left behind is in fact one step ahead of us. There is another workshop ahead. Again we see him in a pool of lamplight bending over the workbench, his tool belt laden with worn tools, and shaving curls of wood giving way to his sharpened chisel. We stand silently in the doorway, but he hears us. Father’s can feel the presence of their children. He turns and lights the room with his smile. He steps back from the workbench, proffers a chisel and invites us to have a turn with the tools for ourselves. The Father is at work and he is inviting us to work with him. What happens next is our choice.

My parents, Charles and Roberta McCallum

Application
Yesterday I read a snippet out of the book The Heart of the Pastor¸ where H.B. London and Neil Wiseman remark that as pastors our love for Christ is proved by feeding and caring for the sheep. That means that a pastor’s form of devotion is not just with a Bible in hand in the morning hours, but in the face and heart of each person he serves. The work of pastoral ministry is an act of devotion to Christ. Caring well for the saints is my way of expressing love toward him. The depth of my love is proved in the quality of my care for the sheep. Shepherding is the family business.

Me and my folks at Dad’s 80th November 2003
Prayer
Father, I’ve been here before, but how often I try to make up what’s next rather than to follow the sawdust to where you are working. Show me the place in the workshop where you are. Help me to be of help in your workshop. I’ll start with sweeping the floor. And if there are other works to do I’m willing. Amen.

My five brothers and sisters gathered for my Dad’s 80th birthday November 1, 2003