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Last Friday and Saturday I had the privilege to take around twenty student leaders to an off-site leadership retreat in North Carolina. We had a blast together hanging out, playing volleyball, eating remarkable food (that tasted way better than stereotypical "camp" food!) and spending time in sessions learning about leadership. We conducted a Q&A time with the student leaders so they could ask anything and everything to the Center for Leadership Development team. The students asked great questions, and we tried to give helpful answers. When talking about successful leaders at one point, I referenced Jim Collins' book Good to Great and how the transformational leaders that took companies from "good" to "great" (based on Collins' metrics described in the book) demonstrated two qualities: Humility and Determination. When a leader of any group or organization remains humble and hard-working, there's no telling what God can do with that leader. I trust it was an encouraging challenge to the students (and reminder to the Center for Leadership Development team) that we can strive to lead with humility and with an attitude of perseverance and stick-with-it-ness to build people while completing projects and accomplishing tasks. We're excited for a great year of student leadership! 
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This weekend a visiting missionary to Uganda spoke at my church. He was talking about the importance of relationships and the relative unimportance of time. He was describing the culture of the unreached people group and referenced an African Proverb used there. Here is the paraphrased version of the proverb: "You don't really know someone until you can sit with them and do nothing." I researched the quote but couldn't find any real information about the quote, but I nonetheless appreciate the emphasis the quote communicates about the importance of simply being in contrast to doing. God created us as human beings - not human doings. He has certainly called us to action, but our actions aren't who we are - they are what we do (because of who we are). Perhaps the inspired version of this idea can be found in Psalm 91:1 - "He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty." May our stillness and abiding with God help us to know Him more.  April can be a challenging month for maintaining healthy habits and personal discipline with so many events and activities. I hope to be ready and do my best to accomplish these goals:
Daily Goals for April
Monthly Goals for April:
Yearly 252 Goals with Updates 1. Spiritual: Memorize the first two chapters of Philippians. 2. Physical: Complete a Half-Ironman in under 5 hours. 3. Relational: Eat a one on one meal with each of my sons and my wife at least once a month. 4. Intellectual: Write a reflection post here each week. This year I have several annual goals (posted below) and am setting monthly goals to get me to the annual goals and have a little fun along the way. Here is an update on my March goals. It was a fairly good month overall, especially considering we brought our infant son home from the hospital February 28.
Yearly 252 Goals with Updates 1. Spiritual: Memorize the first two chapters of Philippians. 2. Physical: Complete a Half-Ironman in under 5 hours. 3. Relational: Eat a one on one meal with each of my sons and my wife at least once a month. 4. Intellectual: Write a reflection post here each week. My oldest son turned 8 yesterday. We had a fun celebration for him - and he seemed to enjoy the gifts, birthday cake, and games. In fact, as I write this in our living room he's a few feet away from me putting together one of the lego sets he received as a gift. My soon-to-be-5-year-old is also in the same room as I type running around trying to keep a leftover birthday balloon in the air before it hits the ground. And my wife is caring for our newborn in the bedroom. We did the quick math and realized that about the time our newborn is the age of our soon-to-be-5-year-old that our old son that turned 8 yesterday will be a teenager. It was a crazy moment and reminder how time flies.
I've been thinking a lot lately about David Brooks' introduce to his book The Road to Character in which he discuss the difference between résumé virtues and eulogy virtues. He writes: "Recently I've been thinking about the difference between the résumé virtues and the eulogy virtues. The résumé virtues are the ones you list on your résumé, the skills that you bring to the job market and that contribute to external success. The eulogy virtues are deeper. They're the virtues that get talked about at your funeral, the ones that exist at the core of your being—whether you are kind, brave, honest or faithful; what kind of relationships you formed. Most of us would say that the eulogy virtues are more important than the résumé virtues, but I confess that for long stretches of my life I've spent more time thinking about the latter than the former…Most of us have clearer strategies for how to achieve career success than we do for how to develop a profound character.” It is my hope and prayer that I live with eulogy virtues as a priority so my wife and sons can learn what's most important in this life - and the next. Manifesto Against Mediocrity Written and Presented by Dr. Matthew Weathers March 13, 2024 - Bob Jones University Chapel [View here] I have a hope for you today. A hope that you will rise above the downward pull of mediocrity. A hope that you will rebel against the cultural norm of pursuing comfort and strive to pursue Christ. A hope that your love for the gospel will eclipse your love for the praise of men. A hope that you will have a broken heart for our broken world and have the courage to do something about it rather than look the other way. This is a manifesto against mediocrity.
Men, I have a hope that each of you will develop a backbone instead of a wishbone. A hope that you will treat these ladies like sisters in Christ rather than objects to exploit. A hope that you will not become a lazy man sitting in a La-Z-boy with the remote in one hand and Doritos in the other, but that you will train to be strong and tender warriors wielding the sword of truth against the encroaching darkness of the enemy. A hope that you are humbly preparing to lead yourself and your family in a way that shapes the world rather than being shaped by the world. A hope that as for you and your house, you will serve the Lord. This is a manifesto against mediocrity. Ladies, I have a hope that each of you will develop a heart of faith rather than a heart of fear. A hope that your words will be full of grace rather than fraught with gossip. A hope that you will treat these men like brothers in Christ and pray for them. A hope that you will meditate on what is valuable rather than what is in Vogue. A hope that you will care more about the battle lines of eternity than tan lines for the summer. A hope that you are diligently preparing to lead yourself and support your family in a way that demonstrates strength and dignity. This is a manifesto against mediocrity. I have a hope that you all will strive to progress in wisdom and make decisions rooted in the Word. A hope that you will advance in stature and strengthen your body to serve others rather than indulge or idolize your body to serve yourself. A hope that you will advance in your love for God as you prioritize your relationship with Him. A hope that you will grow in your relationships with others as you impact them for God’s glory rather than manipulate them for selfish gain. A hope that you will pursue eulogy virtues more than resume virtues. A hope that you will have a growing desire to be confronted with uncomfortable truths that lead to life rather than being coddled with comfortable lies that lead to death. This is a manifesto against mediocrity. I have a hope that you will imitate Christ in your thoughts, words, and actions. A hope that today and for all your days, you will do the next right thing rather than the next easy thing because Christ is better than the fleeting pleasures of sin. A hope that the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. A hope that the God of hope will fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. A hope that you will join this manifesto against mediocrity and advance the cause of Christ with courage and conviction because your identity is in Christ. A hope that one day, on your final day – because you rejected mediocrity and embraced the Way, the Truth, and the Life, you will hear: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” This is a manifesto against mediocrity. So, who will you be and what will you do with your one wonderful and miraculous life that God has given to you to live for His glory and empowered by His grace? Luke 2:52 states "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." The purpose of the fourth post in this series is to explore what it means for Jesus to increase in favor with man. As I shared in the previous post, the word "increase" is the Greek word προκόπτω (prokoptō) which means to "progress" and/or "advance." Jesus progress and advanced (in His humanity) in the development of stature. The word carries a sense of striving as if to remove obstacles to obtain a goal or arrive at a destination. What does it mean for Jesus to progress and advance in favor with man? The word "favor" is the word χάρις (karis) and is commonly translated into English as "grace." The meaning is broader and in this context carries the idea of divine goodwill (as opposed to obligation). As a man, Jesus grew in His understanding of and relationship to other human beings. This is not meant to be mysterious or complicated. Jesus, as a human being, grew in his ability to relate to other human beings as He grew and developed. He had younger siblings. He had friends. He was a teenager. He worked as a carpenter and learned how to interact with customers and suppliers. His interacted with countless other human beings and grew in favor with them. How can we too progress in favor with man? How we can grow in our relationship with others? We can grow in our relationship with others by growing in grace χάρις (karis) in our own lives and developing increasing care for and affection for others. Jesus perfectly obeyed the Great Commandment (Mark 12) and loved God and loved others perfectly. We can follow Jesus' example by understanding how he related with others during his life on earth. He was kind. He was gracious. He was truth-telling. He was compassionate. He was everything Paul admonishes New Testament believers to be throughout his epistles. We can imitate Christ in that way as well as we week to relate to others. May we, like Jesus, increase in favor with man and thereby glorify the Father who is in heaven.  On February 1 I posted an update to share progress for accomplishing goals during the month of January and to look forward to the month of February. This post on March 1 is meant to do the same thing.
Today is March 1. We are 1/6 of the way through 2024. I have been reflecting on the month of February and what I shared in my "Let's Go(al)! Looking Back and Forward" update on February 1. Here is a brief update as well as my specific goals for March. Yearly 252 Goals with Updates 1. Spiritual: Memorize the first two chapters of Philippians. Have read Philippians 1-2 every day this year and plan to read chapters 1-2 each day in March. 2. Physical: Complete a Half-Ironman in under 5 hours: Transitioned from establishing base miles (completed in January) to focusing on strength-training. I am registering for shorter races during the spring and summer to provide helpful milestones for training and benchmarks for progress. 3. Relational: Eat a one on one meal with each of my sons and my wife at least once a month. This has gone well and I look forward to continuing. Fleur gave birth to our third son (Sammy!) a few days ago so we will adjust as needed. 4. Intellectual: Write a reflection post here each week. This has gone well and I look forward to continuing. Update on February-specific goals:
I'm thankful for the progress in February! Here are the daily goals for March:
We will see how the month goes! Luke 2:52 states "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." The purpose of the third post in this series is to explore what it means for Jesus to increase in favor with God. As I shared in the previous post, the word "increase" is the Greek word προκόπτω (prokoptō) which means to "progress" and/or "advance." Jesus progress and advanced (in His humanity) in the development of stature. The word carries a sense of striving as if to remove obstacles to obtain a goal or arrive at a destination. What does it mean for Jesus to progress and advance in favor with God? Wasn't He fully God in human form? Yes. He was also fully man in human flesh and as He grew in wisdom and stature (discussed in the previous two posts) as a man, he also grew in favor with God. The word "favor" is the word χάρις (karis) and is commonly translated into English as "grace." The meaning is broader and in this context carries the idea of divine goodwill (as opposed to obligation). As one commentator writes, Jesus "continued to experience increasingly the lovingkindness of his Father." As a man, He grew in His understanding of and relationship to His heavenly Father. He learned the Torah and other Old Testament Scriptures and increased in His knowledge of God's Word. He communed with God in prayer. He saw the example of godly men and women around Him and came to know what it looks like for others to live to honor and glorify God. How can we likewise progress in favor with God? How we can grow in our relationship with God? We too can grow in our relationship with God by delighting in His Word (Psalm 1:2) and His created world (Psalm 111:2), through communing with God in prayer like Jesus (Luke 5:15-16), and by interacting with other believers (Heb. 10:24-25). We can grow in our χάρις (karis) and affection for God as we know and delight in Him more and more. May we, like Jesus, increase in favor with God; and in so doing, further reflect and glorify God with our lives as His Word increasingly lights our paths and gladdens our hearts.  Luke 2:52 states "And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man." The purpose of the second post in this series is to explore what it means for Jesus to increase in stature. As I shared in the previous post, the word "increase" is the Greek word προκόπτω (prokoptō) which means to "progress" and/or "advance." Jesus progress and advanced (in His humanity) in the development of stature. The word carries a sense of striving as if to remove obstacles to obtain a goal or arrive at a destination. Second, the word "stature" is the Greek word ἡλικία (helikia) and in this context could mean to advance in "years," "maturity," and/or "physically." I have checked multiple commentaries to understand their interpretation, and there are various views. The most consistent view is that Jesus increased physically, which is to say his body grew and developed as a human being. As a human being, Jesus grew physically. He ate food, he ran around as a little kid, and his body developed. His stature increased. He certainly ate and drank to the glory of God, so we can learn from his example as we seek to progress in our own physical capacity and take care of our body. We too can progress and advance in our own stature. How can we increase in stature? How can we do all for the glory of God when it comes to eating and drinking? Tom Rath shares a helpful perspective in his book Eat. Move. Sleep. in which he offers an understandable approach to taking care of one's own body. He suffers from a rare physical condition that can be managed by proper lifestyle choices, so in the long run (like for all of us) what he does for and to his body is a matter of life and death. He writes: "Every bite of food either increases or decreases my odds of spending a few more years with my wife and two young children. Half an hour of exercise in the morning makes for better interactions all day. Then a sound night of sleep gives me energy to tackle the next day. I am a more active parent, a better spouse, and more engaged in my work when I eat, move, and sleep well." Further, in regards to habit formation for healthcare, he writes: "For your overall approach to eating, find foods with less fat, fewer carbohydrates, and as little added sugar as possible. Eating well does not need to be difficult or complicated. It is possible for healthy eating to be sustainable and even enjoyable. Set your sights on foods that are good for your near-term energy and long-term health. Making a commitment to eating the right foods every day is a lot easier than jumping from one diet to the next. Once you start eating better, give it time — a lot of time. People often bounce from diet to diet because they grow impatient. The body takes a long time to react to these dietary changes, usually a year or more, according to experts. Instead of worrying about losing 10 pounds in the next month, focus on better decisions the next time you eat. When you make better choices in the moment, it benefits your overall health and well-being." How can we take care of our bodies and increase in our stature and physical strength? Eat properly, exercise consistently, and sleep sufficiently. It's certainly easier said than done. Most of us know what to do to progress in our physical health and overall well-being. It's actually doing the hard work that is challenging. May we, like Jesus, strive in this area and advance in physical stature as we maintain a healthy lifestyle through intentional, God-honoring choices.  |
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