The Bible is a story.

Correction, the Bible is the grand story of the universe; it is the one story that gives all other stories their meaning and definition. I can recognize the bad guy or the hero in any story I read, hear or watch because another story, the Bible, has already defined the concepts of good and evil, hero and villain. No matter how hard the storyteller may try or no matter how dark or perverse his/her story may be, it can only be understood in light of God’s story. And this story has been given to us in four parts:

Over the previous few years I have been privileged to be a part of a few writing projects thus adding ‘author’ to my resume. I thoroughly enjoy the writing process with all of its twists, turns and challenges. I believe people write books for many reasons. Some write to simply make money, while others want to position their influence in some strategic way. Still others usually resonate with both the money and influence motivations. There is another reason that is altogether idealistic but worth mentioning: a message so burns in your heart and soul that it must be shared. In other words, there is a sense of calling involved in creating a manuscript for the purpose publication. My latest writing project called ‘Reimagine: What the world would look like if God got his way’ falls in such a motivational category. Now don’t get me wrong, I hope it helps me continue to influence for the glory of God and provide a living for my family but at the end of the day I would have written Reimagine even if it didn’t accomplish those two goals. The idea is one intimately related to my own spiritual journey. It kept me up at night scribbling away in my journal hoping that by putting my thoughts down it would somehow afford me the ability to turn my brain off and sleep. I found myself inevitably drawn to the idea behind this book in my preaching, teaching and conversations. Simply put, the book is the combination of several ideas that culminate in a (hopefully) profound and life altering question. Consider the following:

Should Christians apologize for their faith? Absolutely! Every Christian is called to apologize for what they believe. The Bible makes this clear. Now, you might be thinking, “Wait a minute, where does the Bible say we’re supposed to say we’re sorry for our beliefs?” It doesn’t, but that is not what we mean by apologizingfor the faith. We have something entirely different in mind. Let us explain.

The Apostle Peter said,

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.

In the original language of the New Testament (Greek), the word translated here as “defense” is apologia. This is where we get the term “apologetics,” which means providing a reasoned defense for what we believe.

In this sense, all Christians are supposed to apologize for their faith! As you can see, this has nothing to do with being sorry for our beliefs. Rather, it means providing good arguments for our beliefs as well as responding to the tough questions others raise about our faith.

Last week’s blog titled ‘Negotiating Catastrophe’ was quite heavy in subject matter and a bit unusual for the first blog of the year. Therefore, I would like to go in a completely different direction this week by suggesting three steps towards having a greater influence and making a significant impact in 2013. In other words, if you will do the following, I believe you will expand your capacity this year in both areas.

1. Follow and Learn from a Different Kind of Leader

One of the fortunate aspects concerning a digital and social media driven age is the access afforded us to so many different leaders. I am suggesting we take advantage of this access and utilize it for our own leadership development. Focus on a leader that is outside of your typical realm of activity and study how they influence, make decisions, develop relationships, and personally discipline themselves to become better at fill in the blank. Also, when I say a different kind of leader, I mean someone outside the genre of your typical activities. For example, if you are an athlete who loves competition through sports then study a leader who excelled in competing in a different arena (i.e.: politics; business; humanitarian work). By studying someone ‘different’ it affords you the ability to see life from their viewpoint and thus gain a different perspective on your own goals and dreams.

Well, let’s admit it; this has been a year littered with tears and tragedy. A child molester brought to justice a decade too late; a child killer left an entire nation grieving at what was supposed to be the happiest time of the year; and on the opening night of arguably the best movie of the summer, a psycho unleashes a deadly dose of his craziness. I could go on, but really, what’s the point?!? This is a question that no person throughout history has ever exhaustively wrestled to the ground, ‘how could unspeakable tragedy befall seemingly innocent people’ better known as ‘the problem of evil’.

This week is our third and final installment of the series entitled Support Cast, where we are examining some of the characters surrounding the Christmas Story. This week we look at the Angel Gabriel and the significant role he played in communicating God’s intentions to Mary. In this blog you will discover the meaning the of Gabriel’s name. On a personal note, this character so impacted Christina (my wife) and my thinking that we named our son Gabriel in hopes that he would grow to be a man of God and a messenger of the Good News.

There is often a great deal of attention given to the main characters at the heart of the Christmas story: Mary, Joseph and, of course, Jesus. It makes perfect sense doesn’t it? An engaged couple from the back-side-of-nowhere parents the Son of God and can’t even get a hotel room for Mary to give birth in a somewhat sanitary environment. The story has an insane-with-anger king who wants to kill the child and leaders from his own administration who worship the child. I mean what about this story doesn’t capture the imagination?!? It has been told and retold through the ages, it is the story that never gets old with the passing of time. Over the next few weeks we will focus on the supporting cast surrounding the greatest story ever told. Those characters that are often referenced but rarely described. We begin with Elizabeth.