What if mom said you were a loser?

For over 30 years, I’ve been writing this weekly message. My audience – from the beginning – was Christian leaders; most with careers in the marketplace, but over time, that’s broadened to include leaders from across the spectrum of careers in our culture: marketplace, ministry, military… the works.

Known first as the Fax of Encouragement (fax machines predated email), we re-branded when distribution moved on-line; recast as the Point of View, that’s been the banner over this piece for 20+ years. We were blogging before blogs were a “thing.”

Our niche: inform the challenges of today with the insights found in biblical yesterdays. Paul said that God planned it that way: “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 12:4-6).

Twenty years ago, my friend Bruce Wilkinson did that in an easy-to-read book that became the fastest selling book to that point in history. Within a year, two million copies of The Prayer of Jabez were in the hands of people who became aware of a till-then obscure man, hiding in a long-winded genealogy in the opening chapters of 1 Chronicles. Robust sales continue today, two decades later.

The details of descendants within the family of Jacoband the tribes who were fathered by his 12 sons – provide a mind-numbing assembly of names who multiplied across generations as the nation known as God’s Chosen People, evidenced by God’s faithfulness to the promises He had made to Abram when he and Sara were old and barren. Why did Jabez’ entry stand out? Why was his story remarkable enough to warrant a book – and an explosion of fame – thousands of years later?

Here’s the whole enchilada, in two verses: “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, ‘I gave birth to him in pain.’ Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.’ And God granted his request.” (1 Chronicles 4:9-10).

Bruce made Jabez’ experience with God come to life; in 92 pages – in a book that’s about the size of a CD case – he makes you wonder why you don’t take God up on His invitation to “pray without ceasing.” The upside of Heaven’s promise of provision – when attached with His will being done – is a breakthrough that puts faith into powerful alignment with life this side of Eternity.

In the next few weeks, I’m going to devote the Point of View to Jabez. If you want to revisit Bruce’s book – from your own library, or from an online order – go for it. I’ll benefit from Bruce’s writing, but I’ll serve-it-up for us – today – ala 2020 with a side of Great Depression 2.0. Why give this ancient minor leaguer from Israel’s Ancestry.com report another at-bat?

Let me give you a teaser: Jabez had no citation in his high-school yearbook in the “Most Likely to…” pages. His name – given to him by his mother – doomed him from childhood. “I gave birth to him in pain” was the reason for her choice of his name. Jabez means – to inject our cultural lingo – “Pain in the Butt” (sanitized for Christian decorum).

In the Jewish cultural context, names projected the parents’ anticipation of their kids’ future. When your name on the roster in school – and on every nametag in a business meeting – declares the dour horizon presumed by your family of origin, you begin life with an almost irreconcilable deficit.

Unless… you appeal to a Higher Power. Jabez did, and his story can stimulate endurance and encouragement in historic ways. Stay tuned…

Bob Shank

What if the majority doesn’t ensure victory?

Are these Hard Times, or what?

We’re convening a mid-week briefing called Hard Times Heroes every Wednesday morning, from 7:00-7:15a (Pacific) on the Facebook Group platform (you do not need a FB account to view). Click here to catch the last four in the archive, or to sit-in on Wednesday this week. Join us…

Over the last few weeks, I’ve led a tour to a battlefield – from 3,150 years ago – where the confident Midianite military swarms were outmaneuvered by a hayseed farmer called by God to become a valiant warrior who would lead a vastly-outnumbered militia to an historic victory.

Gideon had no standing when the story began in Judges 6, but within days his name was striking terror to the sleepless Midianites: “This can be nothing other than the sword of Gideon… God has given the Midianites and the whole camp into his hands.” (7:14). That nightmare – shared between Midianite fighters around the campfire – was a prophesy that became reality before sunrise…

Last week, we saw that Gideon’s recruitment of a defensive cohort to oppose the Midianite attack and preserve Israel was an exercise in military ignorance. Gideon’s four-step vetting process – coached by God – measured four critical factors. Proof that the recruits were missional, then courageous, then strategic and – ultimately – collaborative would pare the volunteers from 32,000 to 300, while the Midianite force of 135,000 seasoned troops waited to strike.

With pitchers, torches and trumpets, the 300 caused 120,000 deaths from friendly fire. The remaining 15,000 were on-the-run when Gideon and his special forces traded their deceptive hardware for conventional weapons and went on the attack.

There was work to do before the conflict would be concluded. A contingent of fleeing Midianites were heading into the Jordan Valley, toward the tribal lands of Ephraim. Gideon sent messengers to the men of Ephraim with orders to block their path in support of the victory. The forces from Ephraim provided that firewall and eliminated Oreb and Zeeb, two Midianite kings and their followers.

Their response to Gideon was telling: they were offended that they were not included in the original call-up for the initial battle, and their face-to-face encounter with Gideon was tense: “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn’t you call…” (8:1). Gideon’s masterful response was statesmanlike: ‘“What have I accomplished compared to you?… What was I able to do compared to you?”  At this, their resentment against him subsided.” (8:2-3).

At the moment when most would have felt they deserved accolades for the overwhelming early-stage victory, Gideon was able to demonstrate compelling humility that secured the ongoing cooperation of another Jewish tribe – the Ephraimites – to align with Manasseh, Zebulun and Naphtali, the tribes from whom the 300 had been drawn.

There were more details surrounding the final disposition of the Midianite threat, but – as the dust settled from this epic story of overwhelming victory – the 12 tribes of Israel came together with a profound proposal toward Gideon: “Rule over us – you, your son and your grandson – because you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” (8:22). They offered Gideon the opportunity to set up a dynastic monarchy… and he turned them down: “I will not rule over you, nor will my son.” (v. 23).

He did, however, become the Judge – the highest cultural leader during that 400-year period in Israel’s timeline – and, for 40 years, realized God’s reward for accepting and fulfilling his calling.

“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4). Gideon’s story is there for us to find encouragement and hope.

God’s still calling frightened farmers to become valiant warriors, propelling them into epic confrontations, delivering victories and promising rewards for faithfulness – to be bestowed in the Eternal Kingdom – and providing compelling stories like Gideon’s to prove that it’s possible…

Let’s blow our trumpets, on three…

Bob Shank

Will you make the cut?

Fear is the soil into which we sow the seeds of faith, and the fruit of faith – ultimately – is hope. Hope is the nutrition that allows us to manifest courage, and courage stimulates the confidence that allows us to run into the battle with the certainty of victory.

Right now, we’re under attack from an invisible enemy. The onslaught of CV-19 has taken our country – and, the world – under a dark cloud. It’s like living in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings fantasy; the Dark Lord Sauron casts darkness over Middle Earth. Our circumstances aren’t fictional, but it is exposing the field of fear where most around us are prone to live.

To gain insight and inspiration for our own Kingdom influence and eternal leadership during this time of the coronavirus pandemic, we’ve looked back 3,100 years into God’s book of notable history and the life of Gideon: the man who went from frightened farmer to valiant warrior in the span of days. You can revisit the prior installments here: pov.mastersprogram.org.

We’ve already seen the reciprocal interview process: God had to gain Gideon’s confidence while Gideon had to prove his all-in commitment to God. Gideon turns into his leadership lane, and then accelerates into confidence: “Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulon and Naphtali
” (Judges 6:34-35).

There were 135,000 Midianites encamped on Israel’s territory; Gideon moved to mobilize a civilian militia from some – though not all – of the tribes of Israel. In response to his challenge, 32,000 show up to serve. A minority force from a handful of the Jewish tribes, with a 4:1 numeric disadvantage. What would a military commander – in his first-ever active battle encounter – choose to do?

If you’re taking your orders from the Pentagon, your orders would come from experience. If you’re taking your lead from Heaven, the counsel that comes from Omnipotence can be disruptive. What was Gideon to do, given the obvious deficiency in troop strength?

The 32,000 were Missional: kudos to them for just showing up. They were more distinguished than the guys who heard the trumpet and, in reply, retreated to their safe rooms. Under God’s orders, Gideon addressed the 32,000 and invited anyone who was afraid to go back home
 and 22,000 left.

For 10,000, courage trumped fear, but God wasn’t finished culling the herd. “There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will thin them out for you there
” (7:4). From their personal posture at the pond, the force went from 10,000 to 300: they were Strategic, non-stop.

Now that God’s Special Forces were recognized, the last distinction remained: they must be Collaborative. This would not be an every-man-for-himself game plan: Gideon distributed clay pitchers, hand-torches and battle trumpets. The orders: 1) separate into three groups of 100; 2) light the torches, hide them in the pitchers and, in the dead of night: 3) surround the Midianite camp; 4) on cue, shatter the pitchers – revealing the torches – and blow the trumpets.

In battle, trumpets were used to convey orders to the troops. In that era: one trumpet commanded 1,000 troops. The groggy Midianites, awakened to the blinding light of 300 torches heard what they calculated to be the attack blast to 300,000 troops surrounding them.

In their panic, they swung swords at anything that moved, and 120,000 died in the frenzy. Gideon’s 300 pursued the remaining 15,000 and completed the utter destruction of the Midianite military pandemic. God was faithful, and Gideon was victorious.

God is still faithful. He’ll prevail, but He still calls his troops in, on the same terms. Missional, then Courageous, then Strategic, then Collaborative. Then, He brings victory, for which He gets credit.

Most are huddled in their virtual safe-rooms today; hiding from the pandemic. God is vetting leaders for the coming Kingdom victory. Will you make the cut?

Bob Shank

Easter Week? Prove it!

Do you have a minute?

We had our moment yesterday – my Point of View comes on Mondays – but, it’s Easter Week, and we’re all sheltering-in-place. Some of us live in communities where the directives have become even more strict and limiting. For you – and, for me – this is a very extraordinary season


Every day seems to be the same as the last; it’s now officially Spring, but the cultural gloom that casts a dark shadow over every news report says that this will likely be the darkest week, yet.

I want to send you three invitations, to fill some of your time during these days leading up to Easter 2020. My best advice: click on all three of them; you can thank me later.

Chris Tomlin: one of the remarkable worship leaders of this generation, Tomlin has called the hearts of many to deep levels of faith. Daily – in my office, connecting with leaders by text, phone and email – I take regular breaks to get another Keurig fix
 and let Chris lift me from the pandemic funk to a place far more flooded with hope. My gift to you: seven minutes that will lift your spirits.
Click: Is He Worthy?

The Jesus Film: you’re probably reading books, watching movies and binge-watching favorite series of the past with your off-time, but – it’s Easter, for Heaven’s sake – and the networks are probably not going to follow some of the long-lost traditions of offering faith-friendly “religious holiday” fare this year. The Jesus Film is a great gift – from me to you, then, from you to your     household – that will capture the “reason for the season” in a timeless way. It’s the Gospel of Luke; nearly six billion people have seen this movie in their mother tongue (now translated into 1800+ languages). Over the last four decades, over 600 million people have indicated their decision to
accept Jesus’ offer of salvation after watching the movie. It’s a powerful dose of hope at a time
when we all need more. Two hours well spent. (disclosure: I co-chair the board of The Jesus Film).
Click: The JESUS Film

Bob and Noah: now in our third week, we’re offering a 15 minute mid-week reinforcement devo on Wednesdays called Hard Times Heroes. Over 1000 people have seen last week’s edition; it’s           archived on the Facebook Group platform where it’s hosted (note for holdouts: you do not need to      have a FB account to join us there!). You can catch Weeks #1 & #2 that are archived there, and – then – join us “live” tomorrow (Wednesday) from 7:00-7:15a (Pacific) for some mid-Holy Week           encouragement. How do we prep for these unscripted conversations? About 15 minutes before we go “live,” we listen – again – to Tomlin reminding us that, He is Worthy.
Click: Hard Times Heroes

We’re all figuring this out, together. Let me suggest that these unusual days are allowing you to invest your time in keeping with your own best life agenda. In about 2.5 hours (these three invitations, en toto), you’ll transform this week into the kind of inspirational experience that only the Resurrection – and its consequential dose of Eternal Hope – can offer.

You’re welcome!

Bob Shank

Are you holding on to a Second Bull?

Crises – of every type – have always been the backdrop for extraordinary leaders to emerge from obscurity and find their place in history. As we do everything we can to rise to this difficult moment in our generation, we’re examining the model God gave us from Gideon’s life, c. 1160 BCE.

Over the last two weeks, Gideon went from hiding in a winepress threshing wheat into a two-way exchange with a visitor whom the text reveals to be the Angel of the Lord (likely Jesus pre-Incarnation). God reveals Gideon’s calling: “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” (Judges 6:14). Gideon’s immediate reaction was to ask for a sign that this was a bona fide divine summons. He brought an abundant meal to the Angel, which He quickly incinerated with fire that flared from the rock (v 21), sufficient to elicit Gideon’s conclusion: “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the Angel of the Lord face to face!” (v 22).

This is not a story of love-at-first-sight that led to an instant bonding. Gideon needed to be assured of God’s credibility, but that same proof was required in reciprocity. God was willing to prove Himself to Gideon
 but Gideon was going to have to do the same, with God.

Read on: “That same night the Lord said to him, ‘Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old. Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper kind of altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second bull as a burnt offering.’ So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.” (v 25-27).

When the Jews returned to the Promised Land after 400 years in Egypt, they had to reclaim the land from the Canaanites who had populated their birthright during their absence. Though defeated as the Jews reclaimed the land, their cultural residue – along with their pagan worship of Baal and Asherah – were a continuing toxic effect of God’s truth being abandoned in the region. Whenever Israel turned away from Jehovah, their embrace of the Canaanite deities marked their unfaithfulness.

Before Gideon could pursue his heroic mission, a test of his devotion had to be conducted. The compromised faith of his family had to be resolved before God would move him into position.

Back at the ranch, God wanted the altar to Baal – and the wooden pole dedicated to Asherah – taken down, and a proper altar to Jehovah erected in its place. The wood from the pole would be put atop the altar, and his father’s second bull would be slaughtered and burned as a sacrifice to God.

What’s the “Second Bull?” For cattlemen, the first bull is the prime male used to impregnate the reproducing cows in the herd. When calves are born, males are castrated. Some would be beasts of burden; most would be slaughtered for meat; both required neutered males. The one exception was the Second Bull: the rancher’s back-up in the event of calamity for the First Bull, or his sure retirement.

The point: God would not accept spiritual compromise in His chosen leader. Baal and Asherah had to go. Those were the opposing deities in Old Testament times; with the New, Jesus cited the idol that draws our attention: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Mammon.” (Matthew 6:24). Before Gideon could engage his calling, he had to demonstrate fidelity; same with us.

And
 about that Second Bull. If you’re holding on to anything as a back-up plan – security in the event that God doesn’t come through – it needs to go. Sacrificed, on a proper alter. You’re going to depend on God? Prove it; if you’d like to make your mark in Eternity’s History, there are protocols


The story is going to get amazing, but it takes courage. For Gideon
 and for us.

Bob Shank

Heroes, like Gideon, pay full price…

Hard Times Heroes. That’s the way we’ve branded the mid-week devo that Noah Elias and I launched last Wednesday on our Facebook Group platform. (Note: you don’t have to “be on Facebook” to view that. Click here to view the March 23rd Facebook live post without having to “join”.)

Here’s the BFO (Blinding Flash of the Obvious): heroes are born in adversity. There are no Purple Hearts awarded in peacetime. War is Hell
 but that’s where Heaven invades to confront the Enemy and to rescue the prisoners. Warren Buffet may be the Oracle of Omaha, but at Omaha Beach there were Medals of Honor bestowed on 12 soldiers when they and 130,000 Allied troops invaded the beaches around Normandy on D-Day. That set in motion the beginning-of-the-end of World War II. Buffett may be a financial genius, but heroes are cut from very different cloth


We’re spending a few Mondays revisiting the story of Gideon; you can read it firsthand in Judges 6-8. His life, before his historic notoriety, was anything but meritorious: a frightened farmer, trying to refine and protect his meager wheat harvest by threshing it in a protected winepress. The Midianites were the marauding military force that had Israel under the cloud of terror; Gideon was doing his best to stay in the shadows. Success – for him – would be to simply survive.

“The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” (6:12) Though quickly realizing that the Angel of the Lord was Almighty God himself, Gideon’s instant push-back against the disclosure of His explicit plan was evidence of his longtime musings about the sad condition of his own life and his nation’s despair. He had a hamper full of dirty laundry to air with God, calling out His failures


“Why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders? The Lord has abandoned us
” For Gideon, the charges against God were clearly articulated and presented as uncontestable, as if God was the defendant in the courtroom of history. Then as now: when people decline into circumstances that always reveal the infection of sin and the cultural rejection of God’s requirements, the blame is pointed toward the Holy Creator rather than the unholy creation.

After hearing Gideon’s multi-layered argument claiming that God’s call in his life was at odds with all of the evidence available to him, humanly, God does not relent: “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive” (6:16). 

God started the conversation with the ultimate headline: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” But, for Gideon – as with all whom God calls to greatness – the path leading to courage would include some stretching steps. “Gideon replied, ‘If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign
’” God – whose patience is seen throughout this account – replies, “I will wait
” (v 17-18).

Remember that the backdrop for this drama is a food shortage caused by Israel’s turn away from God. He removed His protection from Israel, and the Midianites exploited the situation – by God’s design – to prove God reliable: “If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 8:19-20). The penalty had been clearly prescribed; God’s warning had been dismissed.

Gideon went to his home and prepared a take-out banquet: a young goat, soup and bread. He brought it all out to the Angel. In the shortages caused by the Midianite invaders, nothing was more precious than a gourmet meal. The instructions he received: lay it all out on the rock. The Angel touched the meal with the tip of his staff
 and fire came out of the rock and utterly consumed the food.

Before God could elevate Gideon, he had to prove his utter dependence on God. How would that happen? Take what was in shortest supply – that had the greatest value – and bring it to God.

Then, as now: God doesn’t need what we bring Him
 but He needs to see us prove that He is the source of our security rather than our inventory of valuables that we’re trying to protect.

Gideon saw his precious meal – brought as a sacrificial gift to God – go up in smoke. This, the first of a series of tests that would clear Gideon for hero duty.

God has big plans for you, as well. But, as with Gideon, there is a process that unleashes your destiny. In a time of growing shortage – with fear brewing on the horizon – the need to prove your trust in God may require the sacrifice of some high-value securities that He doesn’t really need to receive but you really need to release.

What do you have to prove
 to Him?

Bob Shank

Hard times

Hard times are hard.

There’s no way to sugar-coat that reality. We have some tag lines from the past – “When the goin’ gets tough, the tough get goin'” – that might work in a two-minute time out on a football field, but when the economy shuts down and there is no certain horizon of normalcy, the cloud of fear begins to envelope everyone and everything.

Terror shouts; hope whispers. Any screen that’s on – with a “live feed” – is screaming bad news, 24/7. For most people, that will be the unrelenting megaphone shaping their posture, moment-by-moment. An emotional fetal position will be widespread; followers need leaders, not prophets of doom during a worldwide pandemic and national emergency, with a pungent dose of presidential-election-year politics lathered on top.

Break from that; listen clearly: God has a history of raising-up remarkable leaders during the times when the populace has sequestered and the streets have emptied. Challenging circumstances birth champions; the Hard Times Heroes become the stuff of legend.

We – the leadership community that, together, comprise the movement surrounding The Master’s Program – are listening for the whisper of hope while tuning out the manipulative and macabre that are the stuff of Breaking News. The markets are in a free fall
 but God is in Heaven, He has a plan, and that plan will engage a crucial contingent of men and women who are going to claim the high ground for the Kingdom. Call it His “still, small voice” if you’d prefer. The truth is: when you’re all-powerful – and eternally on the throne, commanding the universe to do your bidding – you don’t have to scream: the whisper of the invisible, invincible God wins every time.

Beginning tomorrow – Wednesday, March 25th, at 7:00am (Pacific) – we’re launching a new, live ,midweek, leaders-only reset via the platform we have on Facebook for Master’s OnLine. Hosted by me and Noah Elias – my comrade in the MOL effort – we’ll be streaming 15 minutes every week.

A dose of biblical history (featuring the men and women who have come before us, emerging as game-changers against the backdrop of chaos). Some conversation about what we’re hearing from the real-time members of this movement from across the country and around the world. A blast of very focused prayer for the challenges we’re all confronting during these unprecedented days. We’ll be watching the comments/questions that will be coming in – live – from the group participants. We’re in it, together; that’s hard to remember if we’re sheltering-in-place and away from the congregating opportunities that we’re used to having.

We’ll be live from 7:00-7:15a (Pacific); it will be accessible through the same group portal – recorded live – if you can’t make that window. This isn’t scripted; we’ll be pioneering some new ground (for us), but – as always – seeking to make us all better, together, as we continue to be on the Offense, in a world that is settling for Defense.

Here’s how to find us and get in on this encounter:

To access the Master’s Online Facebook Group  follow these instructions:

Follow these 3 simple steps below to easily locate and “like”  The Master’s Program Facebook Page to ensure you don’t miss the weekly LIVE event hosted by Bob Shank and Noah Elias.

“Hard Time Heroes” – Every Wednesday at 7am PST.

*A Facebook account is not required to view content on the public Master’s Program Facebook page. However, we recommend you create one to ensure you receive notifications for when LIVE events are happening. 

Step 1. Create or Log in to your Facebook account. To create an account you can do so from the mobile app or from a desktop by visiting www.facebook.com and fill out the short form.

Facebook Sign

Step 2. Visit The Master’s Online Facebook Page via the search option or by simply clicking the link here:

  https://www.facebook.com/mastersprogramonline

Step 3. “Like” our page and you’re done!

facebook like

If you choose to opt-out of creating a Facebook account, be sure to make note of our weekly LIVE event every Wednesday at 7am PST on your calendar and visit the link below to join us!

https://www.facebook.com/mastersprogramonline

Do you think God’s still involved?

It’s fitting to find inspiration in some of the Heroes who have emerged in the Hard Times.

The Master’s Program launched in 1997. Now in our 24th year, we’ve weathered multiple storms that could have been game-enders. From ’97 to ’03, the markets experienced gyrations from the collapse of the overloaded tech sector to the aftermath of the 09/11 attacks. Birthed in December of ’07, the Great Recession became an international calamity.

As the longest-running Bull Market in history  fostered consumer confidence at all-time highs, the world was blindsided by the catastrophe of the coronavirus and the multi-faceted destruction that is ravaging populations and portfolios around the world. No one – no one – has the crystal ball to see life on the other side of the pandemic


History is the record of Hard Times, and the leaders who emerged from those conditions to become exemplary proof that widespread woe does not disable the dramatic opportunity for game-changers to break from the pack and lead the way to out-of-nowhere victory.

If we believed in Patron Saints, I would nominate Gideon to fill that position (editors note: for our Catholic friends, patron saints are now-dead humans who are believed to lobby Heaven on behalf of select groups of the living). Talk about the poster kid (more our style than Patron Saints) for leadership emerging from chaos


Each time we’ve had devastating marketplace scourges that took the air from our lungs and wind from our sails, I’ve found Gideon’s story to be worth retelling. Better than familiar comedy series to binge on Netflix by a long shot; his elevation from frightened farmer to valiant warrior runs for three chapters, from Judges 6 to 8. It’s too good to squeeze into a single page/week; count this Week #1 of a multi-part series that drops into our lives today, with precision.

The story happens against the backdrop of a tragic period in Israel’s history. Between the triumph of the return to the Promised Land under Joshua and the popular demand for a human king that resulted in Saul’s failed administration was a 400-year span called the time of the Judges.

God was their King, invisible but invincible. Their law had been delivered through Moses, inscribed on tablets and in text and perfect in its first version, eliminating any need for a legislative body. Judges were human administrators raised-up by Heaven’s King to focus the attention of the Jewish nation on their God’s will for their life on earth; that model ran for four centuries.

The Judges were not smoothly successive; as one would pass without replacement, the culture would erode and become unfaithful to God. His blessing would be withdrawn, and their national condition would plummet until, in utter despair, they would call out for solace and solution. God would answer with rescue through men and women raised up to restore them to health. Hard Times Heroes


Deborah had been the Judge of Israel, and God had – through her – granted 40 years of peace. She died, and
 “the Israelites did evil in the sight of the Lord, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.” (Judges 6:1).  That wasn’t just a spiritual funk: their economy and security were destroyed by the marauding Midianites who constantly looted and sacked the Jewish tribes.

The Pivot of Providence begins with God encountering Gideon in an embarrassing position: threshing wheat in a winepress, the action of a coward convinced of his impending destruction by the superior forces with the Reign of Terror over Israel.

God’s greeting to Gideon at his lowest point: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior!” (v 12). Gideon’s response was honest but unfounded: God had let them down (though He hadn’t), and Gideon had no capacity to make a difference (though he did). Who was right?

This is Installment #1 of the Gideon Saga; we’ve got more to explore together. But, before we leave this first scene, face the question: Does God have plans to move you from playing defense in the winepress to leading a comeback – against overwhelming odds – and becoming a Hard Times Hero?

Gideon could have said, “No, thanks.” So can you. What will you say?

Bob Shank

Confidential: the Leadership Game Plan

What is leadership? What’s a Leader to do? That’s no rhetorical question today. What are you supposed to do?

We’re all in a wartime posture; rather than a military engagement, it’s biological warfare, but the battle is being waged on political, professional, scientific and economic fields of engagement. We’re all under orders


Shelter-in-place. Social distancing. Essential business. Self Quarantine. Those terms were head-scratchers just 30 days ago; right now, they are the boundaries for behavior. Not yet enforced rigidly by the law enforcement agencies that keep the peace, the possibility of that happening is not unlikely.

In the community gathered under the banner of The Master’s Program, the distinction between Managers and Leaders is often clarified. Both groups are essential, but their contributions to life and progress are very different. With the vast majority of the world wired as Followers (about 85%), the dynamic download of instructions from the influencers (Managers and Leaders) is crucial.

Managers are wired for Defense. By definition, that’s reactive. When the threats posed by ever changing circumstances are destructive and debilitating, the Manager creates a Defensive Posture, designed to preserve the status-quo and the safety of the Followers behind and beneath them. All of those current bullet-phrases – Shelter-in-Place, et al – are Defensive firewalls against the viral attacks. In an operational environment, Managers limit services and conserve resources as they hunker-down.

Leaders are different; they’re the authors of an Offensive Game Plan, that is designed to both anticipate (in advance) and survey (in real-time) the opposition, and create strategies to accomplish their objectives despite the obstacles before them. While supporting the Managers who are safeguarding the Followers, they create specialty teams whose task is to move into the line of fire while the less prepared are dropping back from the front lines and into safety.

At The Master’s Program, we’ve had 10 days to develop an Offensive Game Plan, and – as part of our community – I’m disclosing it to you so that you’ll know how we’re advancing through the battlefield as we create new ways to serve you and sharpen your leadership during this time.

If your connection to us is through my weekly Point of View, that every-Monday post will continue. My focus – beginning this week – will not be “business as usual.” I’ll be reminding you of the historic examples of men and women whose leadership through tough times was highlighted by Heaven.

And
 a new Offensive strategy for you: beginning this Wednesday morning at 7:00a (Pacific), we’ll be hosting a weekly live video devo called Hard Times’ Heroes – presented as a Facetime Group offering – that will be < 15 minutes of inspirational encouragement. In cahoots with Noah Elias – one of the leaders in our Master’s Community – we’ll have a conversation you won’t want to miss. Watch your inbox for more info on how to sync-up.

If you’re a graduate of The Master’s Program, we’re opening our vault of IP resources to you so that we can refresh the spiritual challenges that God inserted into your soul during those Master’s days together. Our Alums will be getting an email in the next couple of days with the onboarding instructions to access Master’s OnLine: a binge-worthy collection of videos created to remind you of the leadership-level learnings from your days in TMP


If you’re currently in the three-year journey through The Master’s Program, you’ll be hearing from us in the next week to tell you how we’re going to keep your cohort together and moving forward. If the life-from-home mandate continues beyond the next month, we’ll move your quarterly sessions from the Room to the Zoom, but you’ll have even better interaction with your Coach and your TMP buddies than before as we learn – together! – in these unprecedented times.

We have an Offensive Game Plan for our team to serve you with even more going forward than we had before the world changed around us. And
 that’s not to conserve our resources, but to invest them in enhanced services to you.

Defensive Posture? It’s important. Offensive Game Plan? Even more important. That’s one powerful distinction between Managers and Leaders. Allow us to continue to coach and mentor you as you refine your own Leadership and leverage your Kingdom Calling.

To the Front Lines, with a Plan!

Bob Shank

The antidote for the deadliest plague

It is no laughing matter.

For some, it was easily politicized. Some linked it to a racial conflict; classic xenophobia. Could it be a power play between two leaders vying for dominance? Whatever its origins, if the situation scaled to the level that was predicted, pandemic would not be the term with enough weight to capture the gravity of the impact on the population.

Lift your view from the constantly-updated headlines of 2020; run the clock of history back nearly 3500 years. The political firefight was not between Trump and Xi Jinping – or, Trump and Biden – but, rather, Moses and Pharaoh.

The conflict had been underway for nearly two months. What began as a policy dispute – after 400 years in Egypt, as a non-indigenous population, had the Jews lost their freedom to leave the country? – had become a game of chicken;  a show of force. 

In Egyptian culture, the Pharaoh figures had claimed god-level status; for the Jewish family, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob would not tolerate the delusion of polytheism. Moses had history with Pharaoh, dating to their respective childhoods. Their life paths had diverged, four decades earlier; now, Moses was back in town and carrying a message to Pharaoh from the God-without-equal.

“Let my people go” sounds simple enough, but – in a country of 4 million Egyptians (estimate) – losing 2 million subjected people was consequential. Reduced to a slave class in Egypt, the Jews had become the labor force allowing massive public works projects and the elevation of the Egyptians to be a privileged and served population. Let them go, with no compensation? Not at all likely


Ten plagues – delivered in succession over a period of nearly two months – had been ordered by God, and articulated by Moses. The resistance of Pharaoh through the tumult of ten terrifying displays of God’s power – all of which could be dismissed as natural phenomena by the deceived skeptics – caused the 10th Plague’s devastation to be declared: the firstborn of every household – both people and livestock – would die the same night, as God Himself executed the sentence He had pronounced. Estimates of the deaths among the Egyptians hover around 400,000 people, plus the animal assets


God gave His people their opt-out action: each Jewish family was to take a lamb from their personal flock, slaughter it, then swab its blood on the top and side frames of their front doors as the sun went down. Prepare the evening meal using that select lamb, shelter in place until morning, while packing for travel.

Today, Passover remains an annual reminder to the Jews of God’s protection for them from the death-sentence that was delivered on Pharaoh and the people of Egypt. Pestilence is a tricky issue: it can be dismissed as yet-another evidence of life in a fallen world, or – on occasion – it is a manifestation of God’s supernatural selection, blessing some and cursing others. Some purport to speak for Him when hardship is unleashed, though – through history – His thoughts and ways are above ours, and remain a mystery.

Coronavirus: we’re all becoming amateur  know-it-alls in a complex matter that is still defying the experts. Is it just yet another reminder of our mortality? Or, is it something put in motion with a message from Heaven? Be careful of anyone claiming an inspired answer


Here’s a sure bet: the Passover lamb was a precursor for the Lamb of God who would someday die to provide His blood as the solution to the inevitable sentence of death from sin. And, that would be done for the entire human family on Earth.

Wash your hands; avoid unnecessary social contact… and do what God has prescribed as the ultimate antidote for death: accept the blood of His Son, the Lord Jesus, to escape His wrath.

Bob Shank

Are you a Fraidy Cat?

The numbers are terrifying.

So far this year, 105 children in America –  infants to 17-year-olds – have died from the disease. Why isn’t someone doing something about that? Should we shut down the schools and shelter kids in place until the crisis passes?

“The crisis” is the flu, and there is a vaccine for the flu that is updated every year in America. Public service advertising encourages people to take the proactive step of getting a flu shot – available from their primary care physician, or, often, from a local pharmacy – and it is universally affordable. Few – if any – of those childhood deaths occurred among the vaccinated…

The death toll in America from COVID 19 is 21 people, as of last night. COVID 19 is the latest version of a coronavirus, a family of viruses first detected in the ‘60s, and fairly common. COVID 19 is a mutation of that virus family, first detected in China, and now spreading, internationally.

The death rates among those who have contracted COVID 19 vary greatly. Currently, no children under 10 have succumbed to the disease; for people from 10-50, the death rate is below .04%. Get that: find 2000 people under 50 who have COVID 19, and one is likely to die from it. At age 50, the risk grows – from 1.3% for those in their 50s, 3.8% for the 60s, 8% for the 70s – resulting in a higher fatal incidence of 14.8% for those 80 and above. Existing health factors among the aging make them more likely to die from COVID 19, which is why a nursing home in Washington was more toxic than any cruise ship on the high seas – which, at this time of year, would have few guests under 50…

So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the thing we have to fear is fear itself – nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes efforts to convert retreat into advance.

I cannot take credit for that powerful sentence: it comes from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inaugural address, in 1933, when America was in the depths of the Great Depression. Reality can often be bad enough, without compounding its effects with unfounded fear that eliminates the widespread ability to make cogent decisions and renders the impact footprint of the original genesis of fear far greater than was ever necessary.

Fear of death can destroy social order; it has the power to create desperation and negate common sense. Isolation and terror will percolate in the atmosphere where illogical fear becomes the default assumption. What – or, who – can overcome that human condition?

You don’t have to go far to find the answer to that search: His name is Jesus: “He too shared in their humanity so that by His death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” (Hebrews 2:14-15).

Held in slavery by their fear of death? Listen in on Jesus’ advice in the face of a worldwide pandemic: “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.    But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” (Luke 12:4-5).

From a friend, here’s my encouragement to you today: wash your hands, avoid people who are sneezing… and, then, demonstrate courage and confidence founded in the fact that you have been inoculated with the ultimate antidote to death – the redemption you received for free, from Jesus – and can live without the dark cloud of terror blocking the light of God’s truth from your life’s path…

Bob Shank

Never bet against this family…

Faithfulness: strict or thorough in the performance of duty; true to one’s word. That should be qualification #1 to look for when vetting a leader.

Today, there are approximately 15 million Jews in the world; about 80% live in either the United States or Israel. They represent less than 2% of today’s American population… yet, two of the frontrunners for the Democrats’ presidential candidate are Jewish.

One is an avowed capitalist, and is the 9th name on the Forbes 400 list of billionaires. The other is a self-described democratic socialist, who lived – briefly – as a young man on a kibbutz, and took his bride to the Soviet Union on their honeymoon. One is divorced with a live-in partner, who visits the synagogue on Jewish holidays; the other has a long-term marriage and does not practice any religion. Their common denominator: if 23andMe has a comprehensive search algorithm, both would trace their origins to an obscure Middle Eastern herdsman who had a Divine Encounter on a dark desert night.

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.’” (Genesis 12: 1-3).

Later, as the unilateral relationship was in its earliest stages, God doubled-down: “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.  I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” (Genesis 17:3-8).

In legal terms, God established an “everlasting covenant” with Abraham and his heirs. And, it was unilateral: a promise that was not founded on any worthiness on the part of the beneficiaries. The offspring of Abraham/Isaac/Jacob – the race that we know as the Jews – would be born into benefits that were promised by God to their forebears. His blessing… and a land of their own, forever.

So what is it that makes Jews – with only two-tenths of one percent of the world population – win 23% of all Nobel Prizes? The fact that Jews are disproportionally successful in many fields of endeavor is undeniable. The statistics simply speak for themselves: Jews make up less than half of one percent of the world’s population, but they consistently have made up more than 20% of the Forbes 400 list. But, it is not just about making money; 30% of Nobel Prize winners in science are Jewish. In virtually every industry successful Jews are disproportionally represented. Some attribute these anomalies to tradition or culture; could there be more to it?

In the financial world, “the Invisible Hand” is often referenced as the unseen force that moves and benefits free-market economies. Could there be an Invisible Hand that is the unseen force that controls people – as individuals, as groups – through the flow of history?  Is the Chaos Theory behind what seems to be an out-of-control world with virulent viruses and plunging international markets, or is there an Almighty God who is, in fact, moving the players on the board in keeping with His intentions?

God promised Abraham that his future family would be unusually advantaged; but, “from everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48).

Faithfulness: strict or thorough in the performance of duty; true to one’s word. That’s the way God rolls; would that we would have leaders available to us with the same winsome quality…

Bob Shank

Have you burnt your ships?

February 18, 1519. The date is underscored in history; the 501st anniversary of the events from that day came and went last week. Any clue what happened?

Hernan CortĂ©s – we know him as Cortez – was a young Spanish man with a heart for adventure. His family was nobility but economically modest; he had read the exploits of Christopher Columbus as a teenager in Spain, and began his own journey to the new world at 19. By age 26, he had become the mayor of Santiago, a city on the island of Cuba. 

With 11 ships, 100 sailors and 500 soldiers, he left Cuba to venture west, on behalf of Spain. They sailed into the Veracruz harbor; their landing on the Yucatan peninsula happened February 18, 1519. Cortez was intent to colonize – not just conquer – the frontier they had discovered. 

His mission included the intent to convert the indigenous people to the Christian faith. As they swept through Cozumel, he learned of the pagan ritualistic religious practices of the Mayan and Aztec cultures: human sacrifice was a key component of their search for their gods’ favor.

As the Spaniards learned more about the Aztec Empire – with its capital in Tenochtitlan and their leader, king Motecuhzoma – his men knew they were vastly outnumbered. Cortez recognized the risk of mutiny among his troops if fear became their dominant emotion. In a dramatic leadership maneuver that has been recounted for five centuries, he ordered their ships burned and scuttled, removing any option of retreat. They would advance and succeed
 or be martyred.

The history of the period – as European exploration driven by political and religious fervor swept from Mexico into Central and South America – was a time marked by cultural domination and human tragedy. Conversion by conquest was a practice sanctioned by Rome; it left a stain on missions that created a sharp contrast to the message of love and peace that beats at the heart of the Gospel.

The expansion of the footprint of evangelism in the last half-century – disconnected from the power centers of government or religious institutions – has happened because of men and women whose courage and commitment matched Cortez’ and his contemporaries, but whose methods have shown the graciousness of God as they march forward into opposition and danger.

I’ve spent the last few days with a handful of Kingdom leaders who are leading outnumbered cohorts of passionate Christians in strategic initiatives that are breaking through the barriers that have isolated the 1.7 billion Muslim followers of Allah from any chance to encounter the Gospel.

One team is focused on the 1.5 million Muslim refugees currently in Germany. One team is engaging the trans-national Muslim tribe – stretched across sub-Saharan Africa – from which Boca Haran is lashing out at any and all Christians within their reach. Another is tracking epic breakthroughs as they reach influential cultural and tribal leaders in Muslim countries who are bringing their newfound faith back into their clans and communities and reporting dramatic stories of transformation.

They all had one strategic element in common: all are using The JESUS Film in their work. Soon after establishing a connection, their next move is to use this dramatic retelling of Luke’s Gospel – now translated into 1816 languages – to let God speak for Himself. At the end of the movie, the opportunity to declare allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ is offered. The results are astounding…

Cortez and his men had ulterior motives; they plundered the peoples they came to convert. The current wave of Kingdom warriors have no motive but to give the gift that God has extended to all. There is, however, a common resolve: the commitment to burn the ships – to be all in – is evident in the lives of men and women God is using to attack the Gates of Hell with the Love of God…

Bob Shank

When people of influence have had enough…

What is a Tipping Point? According to Merriam Webster, it’s “the critical point in a situation, process, or system beyond which a significant and often unstoppable effect or change takes place.”

Happy Presidents Day. Since American History was retired – along with wood shop and home economics – from the school catalogs of the 21st Century classrooms, the holiday celebrated on the third Monday of February has been disconnected from the birthday of George Washington. He – and, his legacy – have now been scaled-back; his inclusion in a supporting role in Hamilton, on Broadway, may be the only direct connection that some modern Americans have to his contribution to the country.

The view from above history’s timeline would see Washington as a key figure in a small cadre of leaders who were cast in the drama of political progress that gave birth to the United States. Using modern terminology to describe events that became known, collectively as The Revolution, men and women of influence used their combined capacity to create a Tipping Point. Change happened because they disrupted their personal lives and allowed their convictions to stimulate actions that led to progress and transformation that continue today, nearly 250 years later.

“Are you still in California?” As I travel across the country, I’m asked that question frequently. The exodus around us is underway; while the growing populations of undocumented aliens and unfortunate street campers makes the national news, people from the upper end of the socioeconomic bell curve are vacating the state. Though blessed with the best weather climate in the Lower 48, the political and cultural conditions have become hostile to people who are reversing 100 years of westward migration in search of environments more palatable to their family’s wellbeing. For them, it’s reached a Tipping Point.

We’re still here, but we understand the reasoning of friends whose home address is now in a different time zone. Looking beyond today – into the future generations of their family – the high-cost of relocation has become, for them, an investment in the long-term sustainability of the things that matter most, to them, passed to their progeny.

“Are you still at Calvary Church?” It’s been our home church for 50 years. Why would that come up?

In the same way that choosing a home state is foundational for establishing a healthy family legacy, determining one’s home church has importance that is even greater than selecting a domicile.

Does your church believe what you believe? That may sound odd, but it warrants consideration. “Your church” doesn’t have beliefs
 but your pastor does, and his belief system is being transferred to the congregation gathered under his continuing oversight.

New reports regarding the convictions of Protestant pastors in America have exposed a conflict: nearly 50% of pastors in mainline denominational churches embrace same-sex marriage; less than 10’% of evangelical pastors hold that position. Widen the survey to include questions like: do you believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God? Do you believe that Jesus is the only surety for Heaven? Do you believe that life begins at conception and is to be protected? Are pastors’ beliefs important?

Paul’s counsel to Timothy, as a pastor: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage – with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.” (2 Timothy 4:2-4).

“Are we still at Calvary Church?” Yes. Why? Our pastors are holding fast to “sound doctrine.”

It’s a vital exercise to ask the key questions and confirm the convictions that are underlying your church’s teaching. If the answers move away from the Scriptures
 how far must they go before you reach a Tipping Point?

Washington and the Founding Fathers took the tough road to Freedom.  May Christians with integrity in America, in 2020, do the same thing with our churches


Bob Shank

Are you one of us (Evangelicals)?

Punch-drunk: “stupefied by a series of heavy blows to the head.”

Are you feeling it this morning? Last week, we were cornered in the ring, and the headlines were unrelenting. Are you starting this week a little punch-drunk?

The Iowa Caucus meltdown: political suicide by an untested app. The Impeachment: the political equivalent of the mix between British Cricket and a Mixed Martial Arts to-the-death match. The State of the Union: civility and decorum have moved into the Smithsonian, as relics of an earlier age. The National Prayer Breakfast: with the sound turned off, it resembled a court-ordered, last-ditch couples’ therapy session between two people suing for divorce based on “irreconcilable differences.” The Post-Impeachment Show at the White House: like the baptism scene from Godfather; when the heads roll…

With the Election season now in 24/7 – for the next 266 days – the coverage will be incessant. A term is already being tossed around with academic arrogance mixed with biblical ignorance: evangelical. Cited as a voting block or a special interest group by the media hacks, the designation has missional implications that warrant clarification. Who – really – are the Evangelicals?

Evangelicals are not fly-over voters who hibernate between election cycles; they (full disclosure: we) are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ who have three defining points of convergence. What are they? And, based on those core convictions, are you one of them (us)?

Vital signs for Evangelicals are crucial to confirm; without them, those tagged with the term are imposters. The test is fairly easy to administer; no special skills are required. Here are the essential minimums:

The Authority of Scripture. Evangelicals believe that the Bible is the Word of God. It doesn’t contain the Word of God; it is the Word of God. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,..” (2 Timothy 3:16). If that’s true, then life begins at conception and abortion is murder; if that’s true, then sanctioned intimacy is within the covenant of marriage between heterosexual adults. Those aren’t political differences; they are truths based on the Word of God and not subject to political debate.

The Necessity of Conversion. Evangelicals believe that, to be a Christian, one must make a conscious determination that they are sinners in need of a Savior, and the decision to enter into a redemptive relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is essential: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)  Family faith, infant baptism or cultural appropriation are not substitutes for personal conversion. Militant Muslims attack America based on a false assumption that all Americans are Christians; God has different standards for inclusion in the redeemed-by-Jesus community of faith.

The Responsibility of the Great Commission. Evangelicals believe that the Lord Jesus left his followers with an explicit mission to fulfill before his return to earth to establish his Eternal Kingdom: “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…” (Matthew 28:19-20). Based on Barna research in 2018, only 17% of Christians who go to church even know what the Great Commission means. The next question – “knowing the mission, are you pursuing it?” – wasn’t asked. How many “knowers” are “doers?” The issue of one’s Kingdom Calling exposes the role that God intends for each Christian in pursuit of the Great Commission…

Note to the political world and the mainstream press: Evangelicals are not a political faction; we’re a force to oppose and defeat the God of this World while incessantly proselytizing everyone…

Bob Shank

May the best team win…

If you want to be strategic with your time, there’s a smart way to watch Pro Football. Wait until the first Sunday of February to dial-in; set the whole game to record (so you’ll be able to enjoy all of the commercials)… but wait until the 4th Quarter to get serious and to focus.

Yahoo Sports put it this way: “What happened in the final, furious minutes of Super Bowl LIV here was Patrick Mahomes in full. The confidence that defied sense. The plays that defied belief. The 44-yard flick to Tyreek Hill during a third-and-15 that defied physics. The tour de force that broke the other side.    San Francisco had spent the night curbing and containing the most dangerous man in football until all of a sudden it couldn’t. And the Niners knew it. And that’s when Mahomes pounced the way the great ones do. Ten plays, 83 yards for one touchdown. Seven plays, 65 yards for another. A final two-play, 42-yarder for good measure. It was like some kind of avalanche, everything just rolling downhill on the Niners, No. 15 just eviscerating it all…”

Something happened in the huddle, before the Chiefs broke out from under their deficit. Again, from Yahoo: “The Chiefs were getting the ball back though, less than nine minutes to play, on their own 17, maybe last chance, or at least close to it. If there was sagging confidence or growing nerves, Mahomes didn’t show it. Instead he gathered his offense and offered up a prediction. ‘They are going to talk about this,’ he said, ‘for a long time.’”

Mahomes left the game last night as the MVP. What was his perspective about the win? “We never lost faith, that’s the biggest thing. Everybody on this team, no one had their head down and we believed in each other — that’s what we preached all year long.”

Before the Chiefs left Kansas City for Miami, the hometown press caught Mahomes’ verbal pass: “The 24-year-old said when he’s out on the field, he’s not just putting on a show for Chiefs Kingdom. He’s also playing for God. ‘Obviously I want to win every game, but I’m glorifying him every single time I’m out there,’ he added. Mahomes said his walk with Christ has shaped him into the man he is today and the star player so many around the league admire. ‘As long as I’m doing everything the right way and the way that he would want me to do it, then I can walk off the field with my head held high and be able to be the man that I am. I understand that he’s given me a lot of blessings in my life, and I’m trying to maximize them and glorify him.’”

It was a big win for the Chiefs; it had been 50 years since they had performed in a Super Bowl and come home a winner. There was lots of historic SB coverage surrounding the game last night, but the very first Super Bowl didn’t even come up.

The site for that contest was Mount Carmel, in Israel. The reason for the face-off was clear: the reigning king and queen of Israel – Ahab and Jezebel – had embraced the false gods of the surrounding culture (Baal and Asherah), diverting the Jews’ worship from Jehovah. God had reached his limit, and commissioned Elijah to go up against the pop culture religion sponsored by the Royals.

It wasn’t a fair fight. Baal had 450 prophets; Asherah had 400. Elijah told Ahab to bring ‘em all to Carmel, and he would take them all on. The stands were filled; the crowd was assembled.

The rules were set: each side would construct an altar, put firewood on top of the stones, and an ox would be slaughtered by each to put atop the wood. How would they “score?” Elijah’s ground rules: “Call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire: he is God.” (1 Kings 18).

Elijah was outnumbered, 850:1. That didn’t matter; he won MVP, Jehovah scored with fire from heaven… and the clergy for the false gods didn’t make it past the post-game.

There are times when God really is involved in the final score. “When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, ‘The Lord, He is God…” (v 39).

Bob Shank

What’s the worldly Point of View?

On Friday, I broke away from the spell-binding coverage of the Impeachment to join dozens of men who had come from around the country to spend the weekend in the Wild Adventure Reunion.

Their initiation to the WA fraternity happened in Montana, when a dozen men – over the course of nearly a week – blend world-class fly fishing with a facilitated discovery of who God made them to be, and what the Enemy has done to compromise that divine design.

On Friday, WA’s founder – Jan Janura – led an exchange with Hugh Hewitt. Hugh’s time in Montana made him one of the guys; his public press cites his travels through Harvard and law school at the University of Michigan, his roles in the Nixon and Reagan administrations, his teaching at Chapman University School of Law, and his daily syndicated radio program. One question from Jan to Hugh: beyond and above the fray of what’s swirling within the Beltway today – and bouncing from blue-coast to blue-coast – what are the real issues of life?

Hugh’s thoughtful response was spot-on: “Four things: death, judgment, Heaven and Hell; if you don’t get that right, nothing else matters…”

I had to leave the Reunion before the finale; Sunday morning, I flew out of my home airport – John Wayne, in Orange County – heading for the session I’ll lead for The Master’s Program today. My flight left at 7:45a


About an hour later, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter left John Wayne headed for Thousand Oaks with nine people on board. It’s 81 miles on the road, about 60 if you’re flying. The marine layer over the Southern California coastline was dense the last few mornings; the weather caused the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to ground their helicopters, but the Sikorsky was in the air
 until it wasn’t. Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna were among the nine who were on their way to Kobe’s Mamba Sports Academy for a basketball tournament (his nickname in the NBA was “Black Mamba”).

“Words can’t describe the pain I am feeling. I loved Kobe — he was like a little brother to me,” retired NBA great Michael Jordan said. “We used to talk often, and I will miss those conversations very much. He was a fierce competitor, one of the greats of the game and a creative force.”

Bryant retired in 2016 as the third-leading scorer in NBA history, finishing two decades with the Lakers as a prolific shot-maker with a sublime all-around game and a relentless competitive ethic. He held that spot in the league scoring ranks until Saturday night, when the Lakers’ LeBron James  passed him for third place  during a game in Philadelphia, Bryant’s hometown.

He was the league MVP in 2008 and a two-time NBA scoring champion, and he earned 12 selections to the NBA’s All-Defensive teams. He teamed with Shaquille O’Neal in a combustible partnership to lead the Lakers to consecutive NBA titles in 2000, 2001 and 2002. All of those stats and history became irrelevant to Kobe yesterday: for him, the only issues that mattered were death, judgment, Heaven and Hell.

Kobe was raised in the Roman Catholic tradition; he didn’t address faith often, publicly. At 9:45a yesterday – when the helicopter went down – his personal position regarding Jesus Christ became the only question before him. Paul put it this way: “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.  And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.” (2 Corinthians 5:14-16).  News reports will focus on the worldly point of view as they cover this tragedy; what’s the bigger story?

I’m with Hugh Hewitt and the Apostle Paul: death, judgment, Heaven and Hell; anything else is temporary and trivial. I hope Kobe was on a first-name basis with the Lord Jesus


Bob Shank

Without a Dream, you’re wasting your time

Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated 52 years ago, at age 39. The impact of his life is undisputed. Few presidents warrant national holidays; one King scored that distinction 18 years after his death. Washington and Lincoln’s birthdays were merged into one day’s observance; King is the only person in the American era whose birthday evoked a work-stoppage for honored remembrance.

King died at 39. Most notable figures in history are, at that stage of life, just getting started. Major accomplishments typically occur in life’s second half… and the vast majority of people bracing for their 40th birthday strongly resist the notion that they are at Halftime (trust me on that one).

Do your own research. Find someone in their early 40s and pose the question: “What’s your Dream?” Avoid the temptation to rescue them from the embarrassment of the silence that follows. Here’s what you’ll find, quickly: despite claims of leadership, people who are often regarded as exemplary live – day by day, year after year – with no Dream.

Don’t get me wrong: they can have lots of dreams (note the lower case). These inadequate substitutes complicate the conversation with frivolous alternatives to the significant distinction of a real Dream. Get the promotion; launch the business; marry the trophy spouse; buy the hilltop house; pay Singer to get the kids into the elite university; book the private expedition that costs what you paid for your first home; retire to sloth before your country club buddies: those might be stimulating goals that win the Envy Cup at next year’s round of holiday parties, but they don’t hold a candle to a real Dream.

If God allows human history to run another century – and, if America avoids the political implosion that is underway now – King will still be remembered for his signature message: his Dream Speech that will still be echoing through the canyons of culture.

He was 34 when his voice rang through the Capitol Mall: “…I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal…’ ”

Allow me a moment of personal coaching: if you allow short term goals – most of which are insignificant in the eyes of Eternity – to preoccupy your life, you’ll outlive your notoriety and leave your Eulogizer grasping to find bullet points at your Memorial Service. Without a Dream – with your life, from now until then, invested in that Dream becoming reality – the footprints of your life will have been left in beach sand, destined to disappear with the next wave.

What qualifies a Dream? John Maxwell: “A Dream is an inspiring picture of the future that energizes your mind, will and emotions, empowering you to do everything you can to achieve it.”

People follow Leaders; Leaders pursue a Dream. The day the Church was launched, Peter quoted the Prophet Joel when he described the power of the Holy Spirit operating through those who would lead the Movement birthed by the Son of God: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17).

Here’s God’s Dream, for you and me: find and fulfill your Kingdom Calling. Live like the leaders who came before us. It was true for Paul: “…the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’  So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off…” (Acts 13:2-3). Paul’s Dream was to fulfill God’s Calling.

King had a Dream; he died while pursuing it. What’s your Dream? Is it worth dying for?

Bob Shank

Have you forgotten something?

“It’s not how much money you make, it’s how much money you keep,” (Robert T. Kiyosaki).

His brand is “Rich Dad; Poor Dad.” As Dave Ramsey rose to the top of the personal financial training roster, Kiyosaki was circulating in the same arena with some frequent cross-overs of common sense good advice for people who believe that they need to learn as an adult the things that were never taught with consistency at the family table as they were growing up.

Both specialists shine light on the enigma: increasing cash flow is often no indicator of growing net worth. “Trading dollars” isn’t a hobby; it’s a squirrel cage where too many people live. It may seem curious, but making money doesn’t assure having money; each requires learned expertise.

There is a parallel reality worth exploring. In the first half of life, money is often the prize sought. In the second half of life, memories are an even-greater asset to amass.

To put it simply: cash and time both come and go, and the speed at which they pass through life seems to accelerate with maturity. Net worth is the residual of positive moves in one’s past; positive memories are the lasting archive of impacting experiences in the same history. You probably know how to accumulate and organize the pieces that – together – paint the picture of your financial standing: do you have a methodology by which you can assemble the gallery of the high-value days of your past?

Here’s a reveal: God knows that there are noteworthy scenes rich with timeless discoveries that you’re at risk of losing unless you proactively renew those experiences so their lessons are not lost.

Moses was wrapping-up his 40 year career as Israel’s human deliverer from Egypt’s bondage when he wrote Deuteronomy as his final challenge to God’s people. Listen in: “You may say to yourselves, ‘These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?’ But do not be afraid of them; remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt. You saw with your own eyes the great trials, the signs and wonders, the mighty hand and outstretched arm, with which the Lord your God brought you out. The Lord your God will do the same to all the peoples you now fear.” (Deuteronomy 7:17-19).  Your future will be fraught with fear if you don’t recall God’s care and provision for you in the past!

He continued his projection of their prosperity as they settled into the Promised Land, but also knew the risk that emerges with achievement and success: “When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God
” (Deuteronomy 8:10-14).

Nearly 400 years later, Asaph – a musical partner of King David – expressed the continuing importance of reflection: “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:11-12).

From Genesis to Revelation, nearly 250 times God paints the importance of memories – from the past – that will give confidence and hope for the future. Revisiting what God has done for you is a great way to establish your certainty for what he will probably do for you, again, in your tomorrows.

Give yourself a five-minute break: click here to hear my friend Tommy Walker encourage your heart about God’s lifetime of care and provision for you.

Bob Shank

Where can I find my Friends?

Friends: “I’ll be there for you!”

Yeah, right. Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross and Joey: where did you go? We’ve known where to find you: in SitCom World, you’ve been at Central Perk; in the Real World of on-demand television, you’ve been on Netflix. Now that we’re in the ‘20s, you’re still locked-in-time in your West Village apartments, but the contract with Netflix has gone away, and it’ll be July before Warner Brothers provides solace to the Friend-less with their new streaming service…

They were virtual unknowns in 1994, when NBC took a shot at creating a weekly installment aimed at Baby Busters who couldn’t relate to the more-typical family settings that had been the Boomer basis for real-life revelry. They paid them $22,500/episode for their individual contributions; by Season 10, the individual rate had climbed to $1 million/episode. By then, the on-screen picture of struggling singles in New York City was tough to reconcile with their real-life fame and fortune in Hollywood.

Where can you go to find Friends? If you subscribe to cable or satellite television, that’s not a dilemma worth your worry: it seems that the 10 seasons/236 episodes are still offered in a daily dose to the bingers whose relationship with the cast is deeper and more transparent than with any flesh-and-blood acquaintances in their own, real world.

Howard Schultz launched Starbucks a decade before the Friends’ debut; when NBC introduced the gang to America, there were 425 coffee houses with green umbrellas. By the time the series ended, there were 8,569 Starbucks within walking distance. Schultz’ social theory was to create the “Third Place” – between home and work – offering an experience that went beyond the coffee-in-paper-cup. Having Friends – whose lives revolved around the orange couch that is now an iconic relic of an era – as the onscreen ambassadors for a chain offering a venue for relationships to be found and fostered was a marketplace masterstroke.

New generations have now come onstage; the Millennials have taken their place behind the Busters, and things have changed. Though Starbucks now boasts over 15,000 outlets in 50 states, the people inside aren’t talking. Everyone’s glued to a screen… and they aren’t watching Friends. Social media is a platform as fictional as the Warner Brothers studio in Burbank. Eye contact, handshakes and hugs are disappearing as tweets and texts become the script for the shrill interchanges of the modern era. No one is singing “I’ll be there for you…” these days.

Families are fractured; employment has returned to saturation; the Two Places aren’t working the Third Place isn’t cutting it. Scratching the itch that can only be assuaged through meaningful relationships creates a frustration that runs deep. The epidemic of loneliness won’t be solved with 5G…

God knows that every person needs people; leaders and loners, winners and losers, extroverts and introverts: there are no exceptions. Tom Hanks couldn’t survive alone on a desert island without a soccer ball – named Wilson – with whom he could establish a pseudo-bond: to be alone is to be dead with a heartbeat. Where can one find the friends that are necessary for life?

Someone is praying for you to have those relationships: “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one – I in them and you in me – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (John 17:20-24).

The appeal of the Christian faith? Eternal life in Heaven, with God. Until then, an amazing provision: the real Third Place is the local church, where we can be “one,” like the Father and Son…

Bob Shank

Ready or not: Your Year in Review

In 36 hours, it’s all over.

I continue to speed down life’s highway. In 36 hours, 2019 will be another year in my life’s rearview mirror. You’ve heard it from others; perhaps you’ve thought it, yourself: your life is accelerating. Each year comes-and-goes at another record pace. Just 10 years ago today, 2009 was in its final hours: do you remember anything from that year of your life? Could you recount the significant days – or, meaningful investments – that were part of your 2009 never-again year of life?

Moses had some great counsel for me – and, you – to post at the top of our Year-at-a-Glance calendar: “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures; yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:10,12).

If you were programming the TED Talks for life planning – against the backdrop of God’s eternal perspective – you would schedule Paul on the program after that challenge from Moses. His input is immensely practical: “I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care…  If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.  If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward.  If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved – even though only as one escaping through the flames.” (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).

Moses’ caution is priceless. You’ll live forever because you’ve been adopted into God’s eternal family, but your time on Earth is extremely limited. As you execute your offense in the game of life, keep one eye on the scoreboard, because when it’s over, it’s over. Manage your life clock with wisdom.

Paul exposes the daily challenge. Once saving faith has been established as the only viable foundation for life, the task of building your life stretches to your mortality horizon. Every day, the choices are real: where will your time, talent and treasure be allocated? Those decisions are binding: at the end of the game, there are two categories into which everything will be divided. Temporal pursuits will burn; the eternal will be rewarded. And, within the stack of eternal wins, God will stratify between good/better/best. His commendations will be commensurate with the outcomes of that delineation.

I’m looking back on my 2019 year, trying to use God’s assessment criterion to determine the real answer to the question we’ll be asking one another as New Year’s Eve stimulates a moment of reflection. How was your year?

My personal annual report is critical to consider. Though far from perfect, I did nothing – publicly or privately – that would bring disrepute to God’s Kingdom. The responsibilities that God gave to me for my family – to submit to Cheri, to convey God’s blessing on our progeny – have been critical and intentional pursuits that warranted my A-game. I continue to emphasize my Kingdom Calling – to help Christian leaders find and fulfill their Calling – as the focus of God’s will for my life. And, the stewardship of all God has entrusted to us – as shrewd investors acting as fiduciaries on behalf of the Master – continues to compound. The joy of giving trumps the brief buzz of consumption; we ask for more so that we can compound our contributions to the things that advance His Kingdom.

Most of 2019’s days are already a blur… but they’ll be brought back into view someday, when God sets fire to our lives to expose the things that really mattered. That future reality magnifies every year as the sand in life’s hourglass continues to pour through. So… How was your year?

Bob Shank

When it couldn’t get any darker… Light

The background music for the human race was written in a minor key. People woke every morning to a tone of tension, knowing something was wrong but not having a solution. The deep longings of the soul had no resolution; darkness prevailed; the need for light was universal…

Johnthe longest-living Apostlewrote his version of the Christmas Story against the backdrop of that despair: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind… The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1).

Lifewithout the Creator of lifeoffers no peace or hope. Existence becomes empty when the horizon of Eternity is unreachable in the darkness. Mangers and shepherds – angels and Wise Men – are all great for the reenactment of the drama… but the satellite view offered by John focuses on the Big Picture: the darkness has been pierced by the arrival of The Light. We now have The Way, in Jesus.

Merry Christmas, my friend. Thanks for allowing me to challenge your thinking again today, as we head into an amazing week, understanding the Big Picture. Would you allow me a short, personal moment?

We’re all reflecting on the year almost past as we set our sights on the year just before us. During 2019, my time has been spent on two principle themes: through The Master’s Program, we’ve helped Christian leaders discover ways to enlarge their commitment to give time, talent and treasure to the fulfillment of the Great Commission and the expansion of Jesus’ Kingdom. And, alongside that, I’ve spent dozens of days – partnered with other Christian organizations – helping them raise money from their constituents to advance their Kingdom missions. Steve Douglass – president of Cru – told me recently that he knows that I’ve been involved in helping to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for the Kingdom – and it’s an honor for me to serve our common cause in that way.

Missing from my 2019 calendar: any event involving our TMP community organized to secure contributions for our ministry. Our primary work with our Master’s friends creates ever-greater commitments to give to causes to which they feel called; my ancillary work for other ministries helps to catalyze their donors for Kingdom investing. Our efforts – year-round – are in support of other ministries; the funding to support our TMP leadership infrastructure comes from ministry partners who understand our ethos of service to others as our primary pursuit…

For two decades, our experience has been consistent: we run at a financial deficit for 11 months, and, then, God provides through friends like you at the year-end to recover those reserves and eliminate the shortfall.

We came into December needing about $300,000 to restore our operating capital, allowing us to end the year in-the-black. We’ve received about $120,000 so far; a gap of $180,000 remains. We have no way to know who might be planning to make a last-minute gift, but we’re praying.

If you’d like to help us start 2020 with the same two-part agendahelping Christian leaders elevate their engagement in advancing God’s Kingdom, and helping Christian ministries procure the resources to enable their missions – you’d be multiplying your giving toward 100x returns.

Can you help? Click here to see your options. We’re confident that God will come through… through friends like you.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  Merry Christmas!

Bob Shank

A case of mistaken identity?

Joy to the World, the Lord has come; let Earth receive her King!

The triumphal ecstasy voiced in many of the songs we’ll hear this month is not genuine for many of the hearts in the crowds of Christmas. As the slice of the culture in an ongoing relationship with the Lord Jesus shrinks, the shrill retort of the skeptics becomes more prominent. Cities are decorated right now to celebrate the birthday of One whose very existence is now contested.

At the center of the maelstrom is the essential human question of identity. Who was He? And
 who are we? The formation of identity is no accident of evolution; it defines what it means to be human, and separates us from the rest of creation. 

Identity moves through four milestones. It begins with Identity Diffusion: these people haven’t thought deeply about who they are, so they lack confidence plotting their future. Move on to Identity Foreclosure, when one absorbs the condition of the culture around them, without challenging or owning it. That leads to an Identity Moratorium – often, a Crisis – where the answers from the past no longer hold weight for the future, and a new definition is demanded. Identity Achievement is a point of resolution about one’s authenticity, and makes whole-hearted forward progress possible.

Christmas – the celebration of the birth of Jesus – recognizes the sole exception to the fallen state of humankind,  born into the fallen state passed from Adam and Eve to each generation. The extraordinary story of his Advent begins before he was conceived. The advance work was done by emissaries – angels – sent to brief both Mary and Joseph.

The disclosure to Mary: “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” (Luke 1:30-33).

And, the reinforcement offered to Joseph: “
do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21).

Billions of people, from Eden to now, all born with the same question: who are they, really? And, based on the resolution of that haunting existential issue, what is the underlying agenda for their life, today and going forward?

Jesus’ identity – Son of the Most High; King, destined to reign forever on David’s throne; Savior for sinners – was clarified before his conception. He lived out his identity while he was here; his essence as King of Kings and Lord of Lords is the mystery in the manger


For thousands of years, God has written the story of history using people whose discovery of their true identity – crafted by their Creator – set them on course to be extraordinary, themself.

The Angel of the Lord, in the Burning Bush, said to Moses: “ ‘I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.’  But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’” (Exodus 3:10-11).

The same Angel, appearing as a man to Gideon: “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, ‘The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.’” (Judges 6:12).

Wise Mordecai, cousin and mentor to Esther: “And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Holidays expose personal realities that get buried all year long; unresolved questions will taint the festivities for too many people. Embrace your true identity in the eyes of God: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.” (1 Peter 2:9).

Bob Shank

What do you give a kid who has everything/nothing?

What’s the best thing you could give a kid for Christmas?

Erica Komisar is a clinical social worker, psychoanalyst and parent guidance expert who has been in private practice in New York City for the last 25 years. She’s an active participant in her local synagogue. A graduate of Georgetown and Columbia Universities and The New York Freudian Society, Ms Komisar is a psychological consultant bringing parenting and work/life workshops to clinics, schools, corporations and childcare settings. She is the author of Being There: Why prioritizing motherhood in the first three years matters. In this important and empowering book, she explains why a mother’s emotional and physical presence in her child’s life – especially during the first three years – gives the child a greater chance of growing up emotionally healthy, happy, secure, and resilient.

She was featured last week in the Wall Street Journal; the headline on her article drew you in: “Don’t Believe in God? Lie to Your Children.” What?

Quoting a recent study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, researchers from Harvard did a longitudinal study involving 5000 people to conclude that “children or teens who report attending a religious service at least once per week scored higher on psychological well-being measurements and had lower risks of mental illness.” They also had higher rates of volunteering, a sense of mission, forgiveness and a lower probability of drug use and early sexual initiation. Komisar’s counsel to parents: if you love your kids, you’ll take them to church.

A famous Jewish king put it this way: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). A Jewish tentmaker named Paul – writing a thousand years later – seconded that motion: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4). A Jewish man who claimed to be the promised Messiah – who had no wife or children himself – had a heart for kids as well: “People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.’” (Luke 18:15-16).

Robert Raikes was a newspaper publisher in Gloucester, England in 1780, who – alongside his career – spent time doing prison ministry in his community. He realized a common denominator among death row prisoners: they didn’t grow up in church. He imagined organizing ministry to children as a preventative solution to the prison ministry dilemma, which came too late.

In that era, there was nothing for children at church on Sunday. Kingdom entrepreneurship envisioned a radical solution: Sunday School began as a parachurch initiative launched by Raikes. First focused on the poor, it challenged class distinctions that were accepted in British society; in its early days, it was disparaged and fought against prejudices to gain a foothold.

Sunday School landed in the United States after the War of 1812; it was the first ministry of D.L. Moody, when he was a shoe salesman in Chicago. Moody was converted to Jesus Christ by his own Sunday School teacher, Edward Kimball back in Northfield, Massachusetts. Moody’s work with street kids in Chicago was his start; he became the most powerful evangelist in his generation.

Churches used to run buses to get kids to church from homes whose parents missed the boat. Today’s trend is to insulate children from church and isolate them from faith and hope.

The best gift you can give a kid is Jesus. Take your kids to church. Take your friends’ kids to church. Take your neighbors’ kids to church. Or… you can get involved in prison ministry.

Jesus left Heaven to rescue the human race; it’s time to rescue another generation…

Bob Shank

Without something to die for, what’s to live for?

Does America Still Have a Common Creed?

That headline stretched across an article that dominated the Opinion Page in the Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition, two days ago. In it, Jason Willick – the writer for the Journal – highlighted his interview with David M. Kennedy, the aging Stanford historian who wrote Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. The book won him a Pulitzer Prize in 2000.

In the weekend piece, Kennedy reflects that “in this big, throbbing, pulsing, kinetic, diverse society, a sense of common purpose and common belonging is being lost. Incompatible views of identity and immigration are fracturing politics
” He sees the evolution of American culture emerging at odds with our common past: “The dominant view until the late 20th Century was that we welcome all kinds of people, but we expect them to assimilate into some range of standard values, behaviors, aspirations and ambitions. Now, diversity itself has become the paramount value in parts of American culture. When celebrating differences replaces creedal values like liberty, fair play and respect for the Constitution that undercuts the project of assimilation
”

The net perspective offered by Kennedy, as an informed observer of America’s traverse of time at a societal level is troubling: he submits his concern that, if confronted by the economic crisis that became the Great Depression or the international threats that drew America’s sacrificial involvement in World War II, the national response to those monumental calamities would be anemic, at best. The reason, in Kennedy’s view: we – as a nation – no longer have agreement regarding a national creed.

That’s an interesting word choice. “Creed” is most often used in relationship to one’s faith foundations. Creed is the essence of doctrinal certainty; whether for God or country, it is the hill you’re willing to die defending.

In a modern era when America’s Founding Fathers are being dismissed from our history – joining “God” as the now-unwelcome influences within our American story – the idea of “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” is now disparaged as a unifying pledge.

As the Christian faith matured and spread across countries and cultures, the importance of a comprehensive values vault within which the treasure of truth could be defended became obvious. Over time, the development of a description of the beliefs that defined what it means to be a Christian – with biblical clarity – resulted in what we know, today, as the Apostles’ Creed. Though there are various versions with phraseology tuned over time, the historic summation goes like this:

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

“Catholic” means universal, not Rome. The point, however, is powerful: Creeds unify people around what’s most important. They define the place we’ll die to defend, the values we live to advance.

As we head into Christmas mode, remember that the Baby in the Manger is The King whose rightful place has been challenged, since Eden. Our Creed warrants our allegiance, and sacrificial loyalty. He’s the cause worth holding high in a world that is still out to dismiss him


Bob Shank

Every day matters (or, no day matters). Do yours?

Giving Tuesday. Thankful Thursday. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The next week is crowded with focus days calling out a culture that has come to live in an alternate reality of 24/7/365. These days, we’re living Groundhog Day: not the Punxsutawney Phil version, but the Bill Murray model where it’s the same day – every day – in an evitable do-over continuum, ad nauseam.

Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y (the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Assn) and the United Nations Foundation. Their goal: get people to spend a day on generosity, before the entire consumer world invested a month in buying-wrapping-trading gifts. 

Thankful Thursday dates back to the Pilgrims and Squanto in 1621, made official by George Washington in 1789. Time out for “what are you thankful for?” before the food-fest begins


Black Friday has been acknowledged – since 1952 – as the brick-and-mortar retail world’s pivot from red to black on their financial reports. Christmas spending redeems 11 months of losses, about the time the turkey and mashed potato left-overs run out. 

Cyber Monday went live in 2005: shoppers who didn’t get full satisfaction on Black Friday could go back to work the following Monday and keep spending – using their employer’s high-speed internet connection – as long as their monitor was not visible to their co-workers.

Days do matter; they always have. Are those the “big days?” or, are there some more important days that ought to get our attention?

Three biggies come to mind: This Day, the Day of the Lord, and That Day.

This day is consequential, for all of us. It holds great promise, but it encompasses great responsibility. It comes packed with urgency that is wisely embraced. Here’s God’s input on This Day:

“Acknowledge and take to heart This Day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.” (Deuteronomy 4:39-40). Every day we live is another This Day, and what we do with it has profound importance to us and all who come after us.

The Day of the Lord is a looming future feature on God’s calendar. He’s planning to undo and redo some of his work product from the Six Days (Creation) that kicked-off the Genesis account. Listen in on His plans for the future: “But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.” (2 Peter 3:10-11).  Peter’s clear: getting a peek at God’s agenda for the Day of the Lord changes how we handle This Day.

There’s that third day we need to remember: it’s That Day. Paul was pretty savvy: before he finalized his agenda for each day, he measured it against That Day to make sure that they jived. His self-disclosure was clear: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on That Day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (1 Timothy 4:7-8). There’s a Great Day coming for people who lived This Day with profound respect for the Day of the Lord, realizing That Day will validate all of their sacrificial efforts for the Kingdom


By the way: if you plan to participate in Giving Tuesday, we would welcome your support! Click here to make a profound investment – on This Day – that will be rewarded on That Day!

Bob Shank

Foolishness is at an all-time high…

Confession: some might call me a conference junkie (Google: 4.1 million results).

I’ve always eaten my fill at church… but, from my early days, I’ve found myself hungry for more. Meat and potatoes are the mainline menu for most congregations; to expand your pallet and discover some of the rich – but, still nutritious – options often requires a little effort.

It’s a good thing I was pre-committed to leading all-day sessions for The Master’s Program last week in Orange County; had I been free, the big doin’s at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Frisco, Texas might have caught my attention.

The banner over the two-day event is worth saluting: “Finding the Creator through Creation.” We’ve got an outpost for TMP in that neighborhood; maybe I could have maximized myself in North Dallas and stopped into the convention…

Wait: the group behind the event is the Flat Earth International Conference. This was their third annual gathering; about 600 folks came. They aren’t wacko; they just believe that space does not exist, the world sits still and the moon landing was faked. The jury is out, for them, on gravity: no one has ever seen it. Flat Earthers – most of them faith-based – are of one-mind. I’ll miss their 2020 meeting.

Why do people believe what they believe?

University of Oxford developmental psychologist Dr. Olivera Petrovich has spent years researching a single question: Are children predisposed to belief in a transcendent being?

In a cross-cultural study of British and Japanese children who were shown photographs of manmade and natural objects and then asked to explain how those objects came into existence, children predominantly chose the theological explanation. According to Dr. Petrovich,

The pattern of responding among Japanese children is highly significant in this context seeing that those children live in a culture that does not in any way encourage a belief in God as creator. Yet, the most common reply given by Japanese preschoolers about natural objects’ origins was “Kamisama [God]! God made it.” Whilst there is growing research evidence that children from across different religious and cultural backgrounds consistently attribute to god the existence of natural objects, what is so interesting about the Japanese participants is that this particular causal inference is not a product of their education but a natural development in their understanding of the world.

The tenets of a specific religion must be taught, but her research strongly suggests that God has made children ready to receive that instruction. By contrast, unbelief is unnatural. Dr. Petrovich says, “Atheism is definitely an acquired position.” You have to work at eliminating God from your thinking.

You won’t miss heaven because you believe the earth is flat, but you will if you don’t believe that the God of heaven created the universe and holds it on His terms. Paul explored the question of belief before Dr. Petrovich did: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)

Interesting, isn’t it? Kids “get” God before their minds are hijacked by grown-ups whose decision to reject Him makes them fools…

Bob Shank

There is no treaty possible; only victory or defeat…

“Happy Holidays.”

Get ready for the mindless repetition of that compromised greeting. Minority voices have worked to silence the faith-founded expression of “Merry Christmas,” so generic substitutes are now in vogue. Today is another day of remembrance that has the potential to expose deep-seated differences


“We are the World” is the heartfelt anthem of people whose longing for peace is based on a sincere desire for war and weapons to become obsolete. The promise of God is a future when swords and weapons will be repurposed as farm implements, and the need for battles will cease, under the endless administration of the Prince of Peace, who will be the King of Kings forever.

As Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt met to create the Atlantic Charter – before they joined forces against the evil behind World War II – they expressed foundational agreement in a hymn that mirrored their hearts. Churchill’s account: “We sang “Onward, Christian Soldiers” indeed, and I felt that this was no vain presumption, but that we had the right to feel that we were serving a cause for the sake of which a trumpet has sounded from on high. When I looked upon that densely packed congregation of fighting men of the same language, of the same faith, of the same fundamental laws, of the same ideals, it swept across me that here was the only hope, but also the sure hope, of saving the world from measureless degradation.”

When was the last time you heard that oldie-but-goodie on a Sunday morning? We’ve scrubbed our song lists from some of the standards that used to be committed to memory:

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.

Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; forward into battle see His banners go!

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before.

The Christian faith is a reality that parallels the visible world; it is the eternal certainty that makes sense out of the temporary insanity that exists in inevitable conflict with the holy reign of Almighty God. We are part of a spiritual universe that is in a time of active warfare.

Scripture defines history as an ongoing battle between good and evil – personified by God who is good and Satan who is evil – with angelic and human forces engaged in the skirmishes.

Paul was a field general in the 1st Century, extending the boundaries of God’s righteous Kingdom into territory held captive by darkness. His gospel began with redemption from sin, but quickly matured to recruitment into Heaven’s army.

Here are some out-takes from Paul’s letters to one of his young officers; hear the open disclosure of war: “Timothy, my son, I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well, holding on to faith and a good conscience… But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses
 Join with me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer… I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith…” (1 and 2 Timothy).

Today is Veterans Day. All Americans are not soldiers… but all Christians are. The question, today and every day: are we fighting the battle well, or surrendered to the enemy?

Bob Shank

What could a couple of business leaders do, together?

It’s amazing what a couple of committed people can do.

Were you groggy when you woke Sunday? You probably reset your clock before retiring; you shifted time-zones without leaving home. Cheri and I watched the sunrise from our hotel room in Malaga, Spain (that’s another story); the morning sun lit the ship that had docked beneath us, overnight.

The Octopus is a 414’ mega-yacht – one of the world’s largest – and it’s over-the-top. Two helicopter pads on the main deck, a 63’ tender docked in the transom (one of seven tenders on-board). It houses two submarines, used for scientific exploration. It was launched in 2003 for owner Paul Allen, co-founder – with Bill Gates – of Microsoft. (Allen died last year at 65 from septic shock, caused by Hodgkin lymphoma). The boat is currently for sale; asking price is $295 million Euros…

Amazing what a couple of techno-friends could accomplish. Childhood friends, Gates and Allen were both into computer programming when they launched their first venture – “Traf-O-Data” – in 1972. Their fledgling efforts led to the formation of MicroSoft in 1975 in New Mexico; they moved to Washington in 1979. Gates and Allen were partners, but company growth strained their friendship; Allen left the company in 1983 after his cancer diagnosis. He lived another 35 years; his estate was valued at $22 billion. He never married and left no progeny…

Sunday morning, my attention shifted from the yacht in the harbor to the book by my bed. How did that Bible get into a Marriott hotel room in Spain?

In the autumn of 1898, John Nicholson was a traveling salesman from Janesville, Wisconsin, at the counter of the Central Hotel in Boscobel, Wisconsin – 100 miles from home – without a reservation. The hotel was crowded, and the proprietor suggested that he share a room with Samuel Hill – another businessman, from Beloit, Wisconsin. Both consented to the arrangement, and they moved into the two-bed room.

They lived 13 miles apart, but they quickly found a key connection: both were serious Christians. They spent their evening in conversations about faith; their discussion naturally led to some time in prayer before retiring. Their stay at the Central Hotel ended the next morning, but their relationship had just begun…

Six months later, their respective commercial travels took them to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin (75 miles from home). While there, they conceived the vision for a collaborative fellowship of Christian businessmen who would benefit from mutual recognition, personal evangelism and Kingdom service. They decided to call a meeting in July – in Nicholson’s hometown, Janesville – at the YMCA to engage the concept.

Some meeting: their ranks swelled by 50%. William Knights – a traveling salesman as well – came to the meeting and embraced their core mission. In that meeting, the three men founded The Gideon Society, which continues today as Gideons, International, now the oldest association of Christian business people in the United States.

The vision to produce and provide Bibles to hotels – at no cost to the hotel owners – was a strategy launched in 1908. Today, they distribute over 80 million Bibles annually; in 2015, they crossed the two billion mark. Today, there are Gideons active in 190 countries…

Gates and Allen changed the world with their business careers. Allen has moved on; Gates will join him someday. They’ll leave positive results behind from their extraordinary professional efforts.

Nicholson, Hill and Knights built God’s Kingdom with their Calling. They’ve all moved on; their faith assured their eternal destination. But, beyond their respective careers, they made the Gospel accessible to billions of people over the last 120 years.

The yacht outside the window looked pretty impressive; the Bible in the nightstand was even more incredible.

It’s amazing what a couple of business leaders can do when they put their efforts together…

Bob Shank

Saved by Internet Tech?

Saved by internet tech?

Al Gore’s invention (“During my service in the United States Congress, I took initiative in creating the internet
”) has a checkered history. Internet Tech has become as ubiquitous as Starbucks in the world of 2019, but it’s gone from simply a tool, to a political one.

Since the 90’s, Internet Tech companies continually have increased in number in Silicon Valley and Seattle, but now their leaders are hard to miss on Capitol Hill.

You likely have heard of Microsoft’s win of a landmark Pentagon multibillion-dollar Internet Tech contract, which gives them a bigger seat in Washington, beating out Amazon. Yet, what does Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon Web Services have to gain by spending millions of dollars in Washington, DC in lobbying expenditures each year?

This week’s news also captured FaceBook’s leader, Mark Zuckerberg, increasing his political endeavors. FaceBook’s Capitol Hill lobbying efforts tally over $12 million to date in 2019. Does a 25% increase (when compared the same period in 2018) in lobbying expenditures to sway politicians to FaceBook’s agenda seem like a major increase to you?

Mr. Zuckerberg also took to the podium for a speech at Georgetown University, where he further described the methods FaceBook employs to tighten controls on who can run political ads on their Internet Tech, limiting first amendment rights for some, while still preserving Facebook’s commitment to freedom of speech for others.

Yet, then there’s Walt Wilson. He has an interesting mix of past-life assignments, from his stint in the US Marines to his early career experience with Apple Computer as managing director of US Operations. Four decades of experience – working mostly from Silicon Valley – kept Walt on the front line of Internet Tech.

Before the internet replaced direct human interaction, Walt saw the potential to exploit technology with theology. The Apostle Paul wrote to the sophisticated Christians who lived in the Capitol of the World, Rome: “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?” (Romans 10:13-14). If salvation is the objective, communication is the imperative. How could the followers of Jesus use the world wide web to get the word out, about Jesus?

Global Media Outreach is Walt’s brain-child. In 15 years, they have seen over 200 million people indicate their decision to follow Jesus Christ from their various websites (track ‘em on their dashboard, witnesstoall.com). They match inquirers from around the world – many from some of the world’s most closed countries – with “online missionaries” (Christians just like
 you) who meet the inquirer via a website, and usher them into early steps of the faith.

Saved by Internet Tech? Obviously, the internet cannot save anyone; Jesus saves. I just said that to get your attention.

What world-changing idea might you have that could grow God’s Kingdom and be a game-changer against the backdrop of Eternity?

Bob Shank