I HOPE you like this.

Last week was my final week of Kadesh here at Leadership Camps. We spent the summer talking about hope and I was able to see it in so many of the stories that I heard not just from speakers but campers as well. Working at camp we hear many of the same stories each week and you'd imagine that at some point they'd begin to get old, but they haven't. Each week something new seems to stand out; like watching your favorite movie for the hundredth time and finally noticing that random gas tank in the back even though it's set in the 1600's.

The thought I took away from last week was simple yet I've found it in many ways to be profound. Bob Strader was speaking on a Thursday afternoon and said, "You are going to change the world because of the hope you have in you". I sat there for a moment tired, willing myself to stay awake and then what he said ran through my mind again. When it clicked that he used the words "change the world", I quickly grabbed my notebook and wrote it down because I started this blog to do just that. To write about small and large ways we can each change the world, believing that one day it will be a better place because of the things you and I have done.

As I sat there thinking about this idea of changing the world through the hope we have in ourselves I realized something. Everyone desires hope. Hope for something better, for something more. It is a universal desire even if it manifests itself in different ways for each individual. The middle class American hopes that one day they can retire and not work quite so hard, or that the stock market wasn't doing so poorly because their kids are about to leave for college. The woman in the Sudan wakes up hoping that she can find food for her 3 children and that she has not passed along HIV to them. We hope for peace. We hope for prosperity. We hope for clean water. We hope for shelter.

We all hope, and bringing hope to the hopeless will change the world. You see hope is contagious, you can not keep it to yourself. Imagine getting that one thing you desire most in the world and then not telling a soul about it. You couldn't do it. It's impossible to not share with others and hope is the same way. The way we live our lives each day can bring hope to those around us. Taking the time to hold a door open or smiling as you pass a stranger on the street. Finding time to call the friend you know could really use it or writing a letter of encouragement to someone in your life. Sponsoring a child through World Vision is a great way to bring hope to someone in need. When we view hope in this way and realize the life changing impact it can have on someone, we are struck with an amazing fact, there are hundreds of opportunities before us each day to change the world.

In Shawshank Redemption there is a famous quote that says, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies". Tomorrow as you live your life I challenge you to open your eyes to the opportunities that are before you each day to spread the hope you have inside of you, and to stretch yourself in finding new ways to bring hope to the hopeless. Because by doing this you truly can change the world one person at a time.

"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." 1 Peter 3:15

The Burden of Leadership

A few weeks ago one of my close friends and I were talking about our future plans and the different positions that we might hold when our plans come to fruition. He asked me if I thought I was up to the challenge, if I could handle the pressure; stress; time commitment; and sacrifice that leadership positions require. We'd had this conversation before and my answer then was "Of course I can. It will be tough, but everyone knows it's lonely at the top. It's just what you have to deal with", but after reflecting on leadership and the burden that it brings I've come to a different conclusion. I'm not ready and most likely never will be ready to do it by myself.

Whenever I have a question about leadership and what it should look like I go back to (in my opinion) the greatest leader of all time, Jesus Christ. As I looked at Jesus' life I came to realize that he did not handle everything on his own either. Quite literally he had the weight of all humankind on his shoulders and he still allowed others to help bear the burden when they could or when he simply couldn't any more. "They spit on him [Jesus], and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)" Matthew 27:30-33. You see, even as Jesus went to bear the burden of sin for all humankind Simon carried his cross because he wasn't able to do it on his own after the beating he had just taken.

I believe one of the greatest fallacies that young leaders today believe is that to be a leader you must do everything, handle everyone's problems, be the best at it all, and suffer the burdens leadership brings alone. Many times as a leader you will take emotional and psychological beatings that lead you to the place Jesus was, broken and hurting, but still with more to do. It is during these times you must realize that to reach your potential and to truly be successful you must invite others into your life and allow them to walk with you and bear some of your burdens.

Yes, there are some things that as leaders only you can handle. For example, despite crying out to his Father and asking if there was another way, only Jesus could bring life to humanity be dying on the cross. But during his journey he took others with him; in the Garden he took Peter, James, and John; and on the day of his death he allowed Simon to carry his cross. As you find yourself in leadership positions remember that the burden does not have to be yours and yours alone to bear. Surround yourself with wise counsel, good friends, and seek strength from God and you will be able to do things that alone you would never have been able to achieve.

Life got you down? Grab a snickers...or read this.

After my last post I was reading Genesis with my middle school guys during our morning T.A.G. time (Time Alone with God). As I read through Joseph's story I thought, "Wow! What a story of hope for people my age." and so here I sit to tell you a little about what I see in Joseph's story.

Joseph's life growing up was pretty typical. He had a father and mother who loved him; several brothers who gave him a hard time; and most everything he could ask for. After being given a cloak of many colors by his father, his brothers become jealous and sell him into slavery. Joseph is a young man at this point and unlike me or many of the people I know at that age he doesn't let this serious setback stop him from fulfilling God's plan for his life. Instead he takes his God given abilities, works hard where he is at (even if it wasn't where he wanted to be) and achieves great success becoming the overseer of Potiphar's house.

But, calamity strikes Joseph again as he is pursued relentlessly by Potiphar's wife. I like to compare this time of Joseph's life like the present day college experience. We grow up with our parents providing for us, get to college and are doing well because of our God given abilities, and then the temptations start pouring on. Joseph is strong enough to persevere in the face of these trials but is still thrown in jail! Maybe you are in this same position. You've worked hard during college making good grades, staying away from distractions (at least for the most part!), and yet you find yourself with a degree and no job. You feel imprisoned by your loans and the fact that everything isn't working out the way you had planned.

What is Joseph's response to this unfair treatment? He continues to use and strengthen his God given abilities where he is at and before long is put in charge of all the prisoners. Even in your "prison moment" you can continue to develop your God given abilities and skills and serve God in whatever way possible where you are. If Joseph hadn't done this imagine how miserable he would have been because he spent over 2 years in prison! But these were not wasted years because of the preparation and faithfulness to God that Joseph had he was ready when he was called on by non other than Pharaoh himself. After interpreting Pharaoh's dream Joseph was made second in command of all of Egypt at the age of 30!

Think about what it would be like to not have a job from now till you were 30 and then become the CFO or COO of Wal-Mart or Exxon. This is what Joseph was experiencing and I doubt he ever imagined that was where he would be as he sat in prison helping those around him for over 2 years. So why did Joseph always seem to succeed even in the most hopeless of situations?

• Joseph had a close relationship with God and sought his wisdom in all things, while remaining faithful to him despite his unfair breaks in life.
• Joseph put 100% into every position he was given. It didn't matter if it was overseer of Potiphar's house or head of the prisoners.
• Joseph never gave up hope no matter what the circumstances.
• Joseph helped and served those around him even if they had nothing they could do for him in return.

Remember Joseph's story and example as you live the next few years of your life. Have faith in God and know that he has a plan for you even when you are in the prison and life seems hopeless.