Sometimes humility and ambition get murky in Christian conversations. 

On one hand, humility is highly valued, implying that our accomplishments and triumphs are better kept quiet, and we should surrender more to God's guidance rather than our own initiative. 

On the other hand, Christians are encouraged to DO so much. Scripture, service, community building, church attendance, small groups, prayer meetings, missions, etc. 

What does it look like to be ambitious as a Christian? Can humility and ambition co-exist?

To me, God strikes me as quite ambitious: 
- create a whole planet in 6 days
- rescue 2 million people from tyrannical rule, overnight
- conquer a country
- build a temple
- recruit judges, kings and prophets
- save humanity

Ambition n 
        "A strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring   determination and hard work."

Well, what if we, as followers of Jesus, turned on ambition? What if ambition became an expression of conviction, passion, and drive? What if ambition was more about saying "yes" to the things that God is up to and inviting us into?

Being ambitious might expose us to failure, scrutiny, misunderstanding, and conflict. But it might also thrust us into excellence, leadership, impact and meaning. 

What say you?

Failure is inescapable. Every single person on earth fails at something. You will fail in this life. A lot. And often. 

What does failure say about you? What does failure mean? Why did you fail? Will you fail again? 

Our response to failure is extremely important. 

Failure, on one hand, is a matter of perspective. As a generation, Gen Y (later teens and twenty somethings) has experienced very little failure. 

Parents are prone to blame coaches and teachers if their kids don't do well.

Showing up to class and doing the assigned reading basically guarantees at least a B. 

Very few Gen Y'ers have had jobs (and have never been fired or reprimanded at by a boss).

What happens if you haven't experienced failure before? 

For seniors in college, lack of failure experience can paralyze, because for the first time, the stakes are REALLY, REALLY high. 

You might choose the wrong career path. Maybe no one will hire you. Your parents might be disappointed with what you choose. You might not get a good score on the MCAT, GMAT, or GRE. Grad schools might not accept you. You might not become who you think you should or could become. You might not reach your potential. 

Wow- that's frightening. 
Self-assessment: how do you normally respond when things don't go your way? Blaming, justifying, grieving, pretending, trying harder next time, depression, negative self-talk...

Upcoming post: Jesus and failure

I just devoured Amy Sherman's new book, Kingdom Calling, by InterVarsity Press in about an hour and a half. LOVED IT! She's providing the missing language and framework for what we're trying to do with InterVarsity Faith@Work. Thank you, Amy!! 

One of the biggest insights she gives is about the type of character that we followers of Jesus need to embody in order to make the most impact in the workplace. Here they are:

1. Servanthood: being willing to do what no one else wants to do. Servanthood is about raising your hand on Friday afternoon to take the weekend assignment. It's about anticipating the needs of the people around you and serving them, even though it's not in your job description or perhaps "beneath you". 

2. Responsibility: doing what you promised to do, doing what you're expected to do, figuring out how to do what you're supposed to do. 

3. Courage: saying the honest but dangerous word, asking a "dumb" question, raising your hand to offer your opinion, speaking up against injustice, sharing a hunch.

4. Humility: sharing powers, putting others first, seeking to meet the needs of others and not your own, giving compliments and sharing praise. 

If you were to pick a character trait that you would like to grow in or think God might be inviting you to grow into over the next quarter, what would it be? How can you creatively grow in that trait?

If you're anything like me, getting yourself stuck is a frequent experience. Sometimes I feel stuck in the caliber and quality of the friendships I have. Sometimes I've felt stuck in my career path and current job situation. Sometimes I feel stuck in bad habits and characteristics that hurt the people I love. Feeling stuck is a common human experience, and it sucks. 

One of the scariest moments of my life was getting stuck in an underwater cave on an island off the coast of Italy with my wife. We swam into the cave and within a few seconds the mouth of the cave was closed with waves crashing into it. People were screaming, getting hurt, and panicking. Little did we know that the waves were caused by a boat cruising by outside the cave, but at the time we felt like our lives were in danger. Feeling stuck is scary.  

Does being stuck have to be the end of the story? I don't think so. 

Here are three things you can do when you get stuck:

1. Reality check: get clear on your situation. What's the problem? What's the problem beneath the problem? What's really going on? Sometimes this means you have to step back, get perspective, examine the problem. Journalling might help, so might talking it through with a non-judgmental friend. 

2. Set goals: when I feel stuck, sometimes it's because I'm feeling overwhelmed by the immensity of the change that I'm trying to undergo, and I don't know what to do. Setting goals is a way to break down a gigantic change project into small, manageable steps. 

3. Hire a consultant: God has designed certain people to be uniquely wired to offer counsel, wisdom, and strategy. Do you have a few friends like that? The most helpful consultants are those who offer advice only after they fully understand the problem, and they offer suggestions without condemnation or judgment. 

What works for you when you feel stuck?

Servant leadership is a buzz-term used a lot in leadership circles- books, conferences, talks, etc. Someone recently said to me, "I don't understand what servant leadership means. How can a servant be a leader? That makes no sense!"

It's true, I think. Servant leadership can be a nebulous concept and sound fluffy. Here's a quick attempt to put some teeth to it:

The classic story in the gospels told about Jesus that exemplifies his life as a servant leader, comes from the gospel of John, in chapter 13. It's where he takes the initiative to wash the feet of his disciples, a humiliating act that only servants or slaves would perform. There's no slave present, and typically the lowest person on the social status ladder would be obligated to wash the feet of the other guests. Even though he's clearly in charge as a respected rabbi, Jesus shocks the dinner party and does the unthinkable. Here's what he says as he wraps up:

"I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him."


That's what servant leadership looks like. It's those moments when you're presented with a difficult choice, and although everything inside says, "I should have to do that!" (I have a college degree! I was the head of my sorority! This is an unpaid internship!), you do it anyways. 

I'm sure Jesus could have easily gotten away with not washing the feet. But what a powerful example he made. True leaders who influence towards the greater good don't hide behind their positions. They don't operate from ego or power or coercion. They anticipate needs of others. They raise their hands on Friday afternoons to complete the weekend project. They bring in coffee for their teammates. They run to make copies. They ask what else they can do to help. 

True servant leadership always pushes past the "Why should I?" feeling and into the space that challenges the ego of others. And, true servant leadership comes from a servant heart- not from a strategy to be more influential but from a heart like Jesus'. A servant leader has the innate character to serve others. 

Where in your life do you need to raise your hand and go first?

Do you know who you really are, from a spiritual point of view?

The Apostle Paul (who wrote a lot of the New Testament) makes it pretty clear: "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells within you?" (1 Corinthians 3:16)

There's a great scene in one of the Narnia movies (someone told me that those movies were first books?), where two of the characters, Edmund and Lucy, vent their frustration that nobody in 1940's London knows that they are really kings and queens. In the mythical land, Narnia, they are a royal priesthood.

That's a great image for what Paul is trying to communicate in his letter to the Corinthians. You aren't who you appear to be!

In the Jewish understanding of the temple, that was where God's spirit lived. The temple is where people visited to encounter God. That's where they reconnected with him. That's where they experienced freedom and reconciliation with God. 

Paul says, you and I are God's temple. That's a profound statement, and should shift how you view yourself and how you participate with other people. Everywhere you go, God's presence goes. Every person who bumps into you has the opportunity to bump into God. 

How do you and I live into that reality? How do we maintain a moment of insight and stoke the flames of our awareness to continually live up to the implications of God's spirit dwelling within us?

Very difficult, if not impossible, to do alone. So who's the person that reminds you of who you really are? And are you playing that role in your friends lives?

The uprising of young professionals in the corporate world often leads to confusing symbols of success for the seasoned corporate executive.  

This Gen Y Workshop  is designed to help the attendees, both Gen Y and seasoned professionals, to understand the culture codes of the two generations, the motivations related to their vocations, and how we can integrate the varied generations into a successful matrix that will maximize profitability, people, and the planet. 

In an informative and interactive conversation between committed professionals, we will understand through servant leadership the keys in accessing and developing the potential of Gen Y leadership and how to ignite and release Gen Y professionals to become more effective leaders in the foundations created by current positional leaders.


For more information and how to register, go here.

When it comes to discovering your calling, there's always a caveat. Your passions, interests, strengths, abilities, unique story and value will converge to have specific applications to the workplace. 

BUT....it's not as simple as we tend to think it is. 

You and I are complex creatures. We have both triumphs and tragedies, victories and bruises in our stories. 

I wish it was as easy as figuring out what you're called to do and then finding a place to express yourself. But it's not. 

You and I need some healing. And transformation. 

Somebody said something to you that changed the way you saw yourself, for the worse. Somebody forgot to tell you something that you needed to hear along the way. The people in your family and life have shaped you. They weren't perfect, and they hurt you- unintentionally or perhaps intentionally. 

I know we're tempted to think our lives are plug-and-play. Figure out our calling and then go for it. But the deeper we go on the journey, the more we realize that we CAN'T become the best versions of ourselves without walking through the dark valley of healing and transformation. 

We need new operating systems. We need new character, a new nature. Not a new personality or new gifts or strengths or a different story. But we need to deal with the bruises and warts, they insecurities and fears, the negative thoughts and harmful reactions, the dysfunction in how we relate to people, and surrender our self-centeredness to something bigger. 

• What would your life be like if you were completely healed, freed, and released to be who you're supposed to be? What do you need to do to get there?

Deep inside, beyond our rational and safety-seeking brains, lies an inner pirate. A non-conformist, bent on breaking the rules and entering "unacceptable" territory. 

Riffing from a blog post from a creative leadership guy, Shawn Parr, Guvner and CEO of Bulldog Drummond, there's an opportunity today for college students to break out and take risks in career choices that will be heretical to the older guard. 


What would you do if you weren't worried about what your parents thought?

What would you do if you weren't afraid of being considered a failure?

What would you do if your sole concern was chasing your dreams and passion and not practicality?

Let me just say what your parents, professors, or safe inner voice might not say: be a maverick. Pursue unorthodoxy. Throw your passions and dreams against the wall and see what you can create. You'll figure out how to pay the bills.  

Jesus, by the way, is a good guy to model for breaking the status quo. Walk in his footsteps. 

If you're one of the fortunate few to discover your calling, passion, and purpose, what are you going to do about it? Chances are, the perfect fit for a job description is not within your grasp at your age and depth of resume. You're going to need long-term vision, focus, and tenacity. The question is:

Are you willing to do whatever it takes to live into your calling?

Tenacity is a characteristic that isn't easily faked. Tenacity and focus are born out of conviction- you can't act tenacious, you need to become it. 

It reminds me how the author of Hebrews in the Bible challenged his readers to follow the example of Jesus:

"And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3)

So, are you willing to become like Jesus and do whatever it takes to follow your call?

- Will you seek a job that will grow your ability to be a blessing to others, even if you don't like everything about the job?
- Will you listen to mentors and surrender to your current assignments with total commitment and zeal to do your best?
- Will you study hard on the side to pass the test you need to become certified in that field?
- Will you develop an obedient lifestyle of seeking out God's voice and heeding his direction?

The world is influenced, for better or worse, by people who go above-and-beyond to pursue their dreams. Are you willing to do whatever it takes?