jeff gibson

Samson and the Pirate Monks

I just finished reading Samson and the Pirate Monks by Nate Larkin and recommend it to any guy who is struggling with sin in his life.

Okay, that's all of us.

Nate tells his story of addiction and sin, and how it led him to a group of guys that started calling themselves the Samson Society.  It's based on the premise that we all have some Samson inside of us, meaning we:

• tend toward isolation from other guys.  If they knew the real me, they would think less of me.
• are rovers.  We don't like to be tied down. 
• operate on reflex, rather than reflection.
• depend on the big things to make our lives right, rather than doing the little things faithfully.

The Samson Society gives men a chance to expose the things that we don't want to tell anyone, helping us to bring things to the light and deal with them.  It also lets guys connect with a Silas, a traveling companion, who will listen and give you a perspective outside yourself.

Central had Nate speak at our Men's Challenge, and his story was impressive and definitely a challenge to deal with the crud in our lives.

Great book.  A must read.

Final Thoughts on "The Shack"

We were privileged to have William P. Young, the author of The Shack, here at Central this weekend.  He spoke about what in his life led him to write the book, why he wrote the book as he did, and the reaction to the book.  Some of the moments that struck me.

• His life was filled with secrets, as opposed to his wife who lived openly and out loud.  When his wife found out that he had been having an affair, he had to make the decision, he said, whether to kill himself or face the music.  He decided to live, and it was an eleven year process of restoration.
• At the end of the eleven years, he wanted to write this story as a Christmas present for his children.  God is called Papa and is portrayed as a large black woman, because he didn't want his kids saddled with this vision of God as an "annoyed Gandalf."  Plus, as a child, he was abused by men, but women showed him love.
• I picture Papa as the Oracle from "The Matrix."
• The Holy Spirit's name in the book is Sarayu, which is an eastern word for "wind that refreshes".
• Jesus is called Jesus.
• He has corresponded with several pastors who have criticized the book, none of whom had actually read the book.
• Last week, at a church in Orlando, he had his first protesters.  He said it was a hot day, so he took them some water bottles.  One of them asked if he was one of the pastors, and he took delight in telling them that he was the author of the book they were protesting.
• After this period of restoration, he finally feels free.  No more secrets.

You Need to Read "The Shack."

Since sarcasm is lost on some, I'm rewriting my previous post to be more obvious.

You need to read the book, "The Shack."

It's a fictional book that introduces us to a character named Mack who suffers a grievous loss and is invited to a shack to meet God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  In the conversations that follow, Mack finds healing and restoration.

But....you should read it, because the author is being unfairly criticized.

Critics say that it's heretical because:

• It makes a graven image of God.  It takes the invisible God and tries to insert him into Creation. We can make images of Jesus, because he became man, and we can make images of the Holy Spirit because it came as dove.  Never mind that Genesis 3:8 tells us that "Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day."
• It's goddess worship.  It makes God a woman.  Jesus calls God "the Father" so clearly he's God, not Goddess.  Never mind that Genesis 1:27 says, "So God created man in his own image,
  in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."
• It's modalism.  The books says the Father is the son and is the spirit, and clearly they are separate beings.  Never mind that Jesus also says in John 10:30, "I and the Father are one.”
• "They are in a circle of relationship, not a chain of command."  There is no heriarchy.  Jesus says the Father sent him, therefore God's in charge.  He's to defer to God the Father.  Never mind that John 1:1 says, " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

Oh, and while you're at it, read these examples of using earthly illustrations of attributes of God:

• The Parable of the Lost Son.  It portrays God as a man with two sons when clearly God only had one.
• The Parable of the Lost Sheep.  It portrays God as a shepherd and we know that's not true.
• The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.  It portrays God as a master who has servants. 

 

Get the details here.

Made to Stick

Okay, I know I'm about two years behind, but I just finished reading Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath.  It really made me think about the message that we send people about why community is important to people.

Other things that resonated with me:

• It turns out that most creative ideas fall into six categories or templates.
• The “Curse of Knowledge” makes it impossible to imagine what life was like before you knew something.
• Sticky ideas have to carry their own credentials.
• It's hard to make ideas stick in a noisy, unpredictable chaotic environment.  If we're to succeed, the first step is this: Be simple.
• Being simple is finding the core of the idea.
• Core messages help people avoid bad choices by reminding them of what's important.
• Proverbs are the Holy Grail of simplicity.   Use them to get your ideas across.
• Use the unexpected to get your idea across.
• Curiosity happens when we feel a gap in our knowledge.
• Credibility is made up of statistics, details and the Sinatra Test (if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.)

Tribes pt. 2

I just finished reading Seth Godin's book Tribes.  Here's a few of the pertinent points I got out of it.

• Tribes are about faith-about belief in an idea and in a community.
• Fear of change is built into most organisms, because change is the first sign of risk.
• For the first time ever, everyone in an organization-not just the boss-is expected to lead.
• Real leaders lead volunteers.  
• Leadership, on the other hand, is about creating change that you believe in. 
• Leaders must become aware of how the organization works, because this awareness allows them to change it.
• It takes only two things to turn a group of people into a tribe: a shared interest, and a way to communicate.
• Fans, true fans, are hard to find and precious.  Just a few can change everything.  What they demand, though, is generosity and bravery.    
• The one path that never works is the most common one: doing nothing at all.
• Through your actions as a leader, you attract a tribe that wants to follow you.
• Heretics are the new leaders.  The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements.
• So if tribes reward innovation…and if initiators are happier…then why doesn’t everyone do it?  Because of fear.  The only thing holding you back is your own fear.
• Religion at its worst reinforces the status quo, often at the expense of our faith.
• Facebook surfaces what some are calling the social graph.  Who you know, how you know them, who knows whom.  It takes the hidden world of tribes and illuminates it with bright digital light.
• Leadership is a choice.  It’s the choice to not do nothing. 
• Ultimately, people are most easily led where they wanted to go

The Age of Speed

I just finished The Age of Speed by Vince Posente.  I took a long time to read it.

It had a few good pointers:

• Answer all emails once or twice a day, when you won't be interrupted.  Do not handle them as they come in.
• Have a "trusted destination".  Someone you can send things to and then forget about them.
• Delegate everything that someone else can do better than you can.  Be humble.  You're not the best at everything.
• Identify your authentic purpose.  Do the things that have brought you the greatest moments of fulfillment.
• Find your focus.  What is your destination and are you working toward that.  And is it worth it?  Does it match your authentic purpose?