Death In His Grave

Another one from JT that moved me. That's real. That's what it's all about right there. Here's the words by John Mark Mcmillan:

Though the Earth cried out for blood
Satisfied her hunger was
Her billows calmed on raging seas
for the souls on men she craved

Sun and moon from balcony
Turned their head in disbelief
Their precious Love would taste the sting
disfigured and disdained

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

So three days in darkness slept
The Morning Sun of righteousness
But rose to shame the throes of death
And over turn his rule

Now daughters and the sons of men
Would pay not their dues again
The debt of blood they owed was rent
When the day rolled a new

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke holding keys
To Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

On Friday a thief
On Sunday a King
Laid down in grief
But awoke with keys
Of Hell on that day
The first born of the slain
The Man Jesus Christ
Laid death in his grave

He has cheated
Hell and seated
Us above the fall
In desperate places
He paid our wages
One time once and for all

Death In His Grave (Performance Video) from john mark mcmillan on Vimeo.

The Authentic Witness of the Officer Christian

Military Professions
· The leadership imperatives have not changed: Competence and Character manifested in presence, decisions, and actions (from Iraq research)
· The practice of the military professional: repetitive exercise of discretionary judgments amid a complex and uncertain operating environment
o For the strategic leader, most such judgments are highly visible and of high moral content (i.e., they influence directly the lives of many other humans – troops, families, enemies)
o For the strategic leader most such judgments will, of necessity, be communicated publicly and thus under broad scrutiny; leadership by presence is limited
· Thus, the leader’s daily practice must consistently be one of “professional excellence,” clearly reflecting both the leader’s military competence and moral character:
o Competence - Do the discretionary judgments you announce move the organization’s ethos to match its ethic, both in what is done (effectiveness) and in how it is done (rightly, with moral excellence)?
o Character - Do your leadership actions, verbal and non-verbal, consistently reflect integrity with the profession’s ethic; have you assumed and announced the role of moral exemplar as part of your leadership within the profession?

Under Your Christian Calling - The Imperative to Be a Witness
· “And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
· “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. James 1:22-25 (ESV)
o Notice that these passages do not allow closet Christians, those who hide their faith; nor do they indicate a preferred form of witness…

The Authentic Witness of the Officer Christian (Pt 1)

This will begin a series in which I share one of the best short articles on military Christian wsitnessing I have read. There is great wisdom contained in it by a godly man, named Dr. Don Snider. Let me know your thoughts.

The Authentic Witness of the Officer Christian
By Don M. Snider, PhD

It is simply not the case that, in an environment of persistent cultural wars as exists in America, every well-intentioned attempt to witness to your faith as an Officer Christian will be successful or even well received. There are real, substantive challenges to be overcome if you are to be so well integrated in your personal approach to witness that the Kingdom is advanced while your professional standing is undiminished.

Thus, the Challenge:

Your challenge is to create an understanding and practice by which, as an Officer-Christian, you can meet the challenge of integrating authentically your witness as a Christian with your responsibilities under Oath as a strategic leader within one of America’s military professions.

Mastering the Context (Bennis, On Becoming a Leader)
· Dual callings, God and Country
· Compartmentalization of roles prohibited Biblically; your faith is to be, and will be, known by all
· Officer-Christians within military professions are free to witness appropriately to their faith
· Ethics of the dual callings are mostly compatible, even reinforcing
· Increased secularization in America, including within the military; even some overt hostility toward Officer Christians from secularists, legalists, and atheists as part of the ongoing cultural wars

The Peace of Wild Things

But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds. ~Ps. 73: 28




The Peace of Wild Things

by Wendell Berry

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Mirror At The Grand Canyon

Piper got me thinking the other day when I heard him say:

Nobody takes a mirror to the Grand Canyon. I mean a person wouldn't stand before the Grand Canyon and admire themselves as they view the magnitude of the Creation before them.

Stand on the edge of Magnificance and forget yourself!

Do you think there will be mirrors in Heaven?

'Til They Come Home. . .

Pray protection and thanks.

Your Only Authority

Andy Stanley argues in this clip that moral leadership is THE foundation of our influence in people's lives. Continuing, he says, "When people see a gap between what we say and what we do, it erodes our moral authority and our influence in their lives." I agree with him. Watch the short vignette at Catalyst and let me know what you think. Have you ever served under a leader that continuously created such a "gap" that you had to jump often. How do we prevent asking our followers to "jump the gap" that we create in the ways that we practically lead? How do you ensure the "gap" is minimized?

Go to the above link and click on the article entitled, "Video: Your Only Authority" to learn a powerful truth that may translate to functional wisdom.