The Top Three Lessons I Learned in 2014

 

Well, it’s a new year and a time we all tend to do some reflecting. What went right in the last year and what went wrong? Where were we successful and where did we fail? What would we do differently if given the chance?

And, what lessons did we learn?

In the spirit of a little self-disclosure and with the hopes of encouraging you, here are the top lessons I learned last year.

1. Rest matters.

If you have been following my blog a while or if you attend Austin Christian Fellowship, then you know that I hit a major wall back in August and took a three month leave of absence from my job.

Bottom line? I was really, really tired and battling depression.

Watch Susie’s and my message about my depression here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read my previous blog about it here.

Looking back now, I realize that I hadn’t managed my life well. I had ignored the little hints my body kept giving me and, more importantly, I had ignored God’s commands on the subjects of rest and Sabbath.

Today I’m healthier and much better, but as I step back into my roles I have to work very hard to stay balanced. I’m sure it will be an ongoing learning process.

Lesson for you? Rest matters. Rest isn’t a sin, it’s a command.

 

2. Truth sets free.

Part of my inner struggle before I collapsed in August was with much pent-up frustration. I’m a classic people pleaser and am often guilty of stuffing my feelings or not being completely honest in the name of unity, good leadership or just the need to be liked.

Bottom line? Those stuffed feelings and frustrations rebelled. I ended up being a grumpy guy carrying a lot of old news/hurts/concerns around with me.

 

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head,

that is, Christ, Ephesians 4:15

 

So part of what I processed while I was out dealt with why I wasn’t being fully honest and how to start, albeit tactfully. I’m getting better at it. I’ve had several occasions already to lean into how I was feeling and speak the full truth in love. Yes, it’s created some short-term chaos, but I can tell that’s it’s serving me and those around me much better.

Lesson for you? Speak the full truth, and speak it in love.

 

3. God answers prayer.

This one obviously isn’t new. But I got some powerful reminders of it in 2014.

The first was my daughter’s wedding. Emily Davis married Kenton Boone on October 26, 2014.

Susie and I have been praying for Emily’s husband since she was born. She’s a few months older then Kenton, which means we’ve been praying for him all of his life.

God answered our prayers—not just for Emily to get married, but for her to marry a mighty man of God. Kenton loves Jesus and is everything we’ve asked God for. And, Emily’s giddy. She’s having a really hard time not levitating everywhere she goes.

God answered that prayer in a huge way.

I feel so strongly about praying for your kids (and their spouses) that I write an entire book about it.  Click here to check it out.

Two other huge answers to prayer have to do with the church I lead, Austin Christian Fellowship.

One of our elders has been praying for many years that someone would gift $1 million to our church. This year that happened, it it obviously made a major difference for our church. It also increased the amount of money our church gets to give away.

And that leads to the final major answer to prayer.

Way back in 2003 our elders felt led to become a 50% giving church. Simply put, we felt called to move towards giving half of our receipts away. At the time, we were only giving 1% away and were sitting on a $3 dollar debt.

Fast forward to today. Our church is debt free, we built a youth building and paid cash for it, we’ve planted three new congregations with two more in queue for 2015, and last year we gave away over $3 million, 45% of our receipts.

And January 1, 2015 we started giving away at the 50% level. Yea God. Only God can do that. We’ve prayed for twelve years for God to make us a giving church, and he’s answered our prayers in miraculous fashion.

Lesson for you? God answers prayer. Never, ever, ever stop praying.

So, do you care to weigh in? Can you list some of your top lessons from 2014?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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