Day: April 22, 2012

Remembering the Legacy of Chuck Colson (1931-2012)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Cor

via Remembering the Legacy of Chuck Colson (1931-2012).

Dear Manhattan Declaration Signers, Supporters, and Friends,

Just as Jesus wept at the death of his friend Lazarus, we who are our Lord’s disciples weep at the death of Chuck Colson, our beloved friend and brother in Christ, who passed away this afternoon. We grieve but not as those who do not know that Christ has conquered death. We mourn the loss of a great leader but we confidently entrust him to Jesus Christ who is our hope in both life and death.

Chuck lived the principles of the Manhattan Declaration long before it was drafted. When humbled by his own failings, Chuck was born again in Christ in 1973. Continue reading “Remembering the Legacy of Chuck Colson (1931-2012)” →

PDL 3 – What drives my life?

“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”
Isaiah 26:3 NLT

“A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.”
Proverbs 13:7 MSG

Day 3 of 40: My life right now is pretty “plain and simple” but it doesn’t feel very full.

The driving principle of my life has changed over the years. BC – it was all about me… success, money. I can remember riding my motorcycle through Beverly Hills thinking “one day one of these houses will be mine.” At the time, I was out of work, a stranger in a strange land – Southern California.

AD – it was about bringing people into a living relationship with Christ. But it was also about “competence.”

My personality tests out as an INTJ (Myers Briggs) and people like me (there’s not a lot of us, only 1-2% of the population) value competence highly. We do not “suffer fools gladly” (2 Cor 11.19 KJV) And we do not make friends easily. We are “visionary leaders” – sometimes others catch the vision, and sometimes they don’t. We can accomplish great things, but we can also be pushy, driven, proud, stubborn and insensitive. Is it any wonder we don’t have huge Facebook followings?

We also learn from our mistakes, so that by the time I neared retirement… I was reasonably competent and the last couple of years of ministry were highly successful – as measured by changed lives and commitments to Christ.

But that was then and this is now. I’m retired and life has moved on. My life was never “pretentious and showy” (with one exception I can think of), nor has it ever been more “simple.” But I’m not feeling very fulfilled either.

That’s why I’m re-reading the Purpose Driven Life. I’m seeking that promised place of “perfect peace” for those who trust God. And writing this blog is an opportunity to process it all.