– This morning Pastor Travis kicked-off a fresh new message series:
– This journey is about serving others.
– When we serve others we serve Jesus.
– It’s about changing and growing and developing as leaders.
– A leader doesn’t just materialize overnight.
– A leader is cultivated and nourished.
– A true leader reproduces himself / herself in other people who need Jesus.
– God created us to be His disciples – His leaders here on His Earth.
– Leaders get their followers from where they are to where they need to be.
– Leaders equip their followers to be leaders who equip their followers …
– Leaders lead and are led.
– Position within the hiearchy is irrelevant.
– It’s really about building relationships with those we lead and those who lead us.
– Leadership is a journey and a destination.
– The journey will get messy at times.
– The journey should not be easy.
– The journey will not be a straight line.
– The journey will curve – sometimes sharply – when you least expect it.
– The world should never tell us how to navigate the journey.
– The world should never tell us what the destination should be.
– We set the rules on the journey.
– We bring others with us.
– We lead those who need Jesus by the hand and set them free.
– You in ?
Luke 9:46-48 (NLT, 2ND Ed.) The Greatest In The Kingdom 46 Then His disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest. 47 But Jesus knew their thoughts, so He brought a little child to His side. 48 Then He said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes Me, and anyone who welcomes Me also welcomes My Father who sent Me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”
On this exact date 17 years ago – the 22ND of August of 1992 – also a Saturday – we were given our final instructions and orders to evacuate the air base as quickly as possible due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Andrew. We had no idea what Andrew would bring, and it ultimately brought a once-in-a-lifetime storm of mass destruction to the base and the surrounding South Miami-Dade countryside.
It was the most horrific experience of my entire life – a Sunday night / Monday morning that I never went to sleep. I never wish to relive that night or the nightmarish week that followed. I don’t like to write about it, and I don’t like to talk about it. A lot of good ultimately came out of that storm. I’m pretty sure that I wouldn’t be living and working here in Homestead today 17 years later if it weren’t for Hurricane Andrew. I’d be elsewhere. But it happened, and here I am.
One song in particular was receiving heavy airplay on the radio during the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew. It’s the duet of Patty Smyth and Don Henley. Together they sang “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough”. Patty co-wrote the Grammy-nominated song that played out like a post-love song. It was the story of two former lovers who were moving away from their relationship together and moving on with life.
I interpretted the lyrics in a slightly different manner:
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‘I don’t wanna lose you.’
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‘And I don’t wanna hate you.
I don’t wanna take you.
But I don’t wanna be the one to cry.
That don’t really matter to anyone, anymore.
But like a fool I keep losing my place.’
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‘It makes a sound like thunder.
It makes me feel like rain.’
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‘And there’s no way home.
When it’s late at night and you’re all alone.’
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‘There’s a reason why people dont stay where they are.
Baby sometimes love just ain’t enough.’
This was treated at the time as my farewell love song to Homestead. I didn’t want to leave. But I had to. The Homestead that I had known for nearly 5 years prior to that was all gone. She was completely destroyed. My home was inhabitable. My job was non-existant. I looked at Homestead one last time in my rear-view mirror, as this song played on the radio and made me cry.
WELCOME to another wild and crazy edition of the ‘Disco Party’ on this (soon-to-be) Friday night. I actually won’t be home tonight, so this is going out to the world just a little bit early today.
This week we’re gonna get down and get funky with a classic jam that you simply can’t sit down to and watch as a spectator. You’ve gotta get up and activate yourself. Get yourself up and dance like a maniac. Go forth. It’s all good. I guarantee that once you do so it’s gonna be real tough to get this hook out of your mind for hours to come. It is that addictive.
I give you the Detroit Spinners – still going strong after nearly 50 years in the biz. Here’s their 1976-1977 # 2 gold Disco smash that’s all about the infamous “Rubberband Man”. Here’s how they stretched it out on NBC-TV‘s legendary “Midnight Special” on the 17TH of September in 1976:
CountUp 