Cancel the party – no plans to retire

“Are you going to retire?”

We’re such a literate society that there are people who are working to master the art of reading between the lines. Some of them are recipients of my Point of View; they replied to last week’s edition with that question: was I announcing my retirement?

No! My retirement will be announced in the newspaper, on a page called “Obituaries.” This is the calling that will take me to my transition, from the onramp into Eternity. I have no plans to retire…

I am, however, working hard for my next promotion. For the last 20+ years, I’ve been in front of the room, leading the quarterly mentoring sessions for The Master’s Program, across America. Today, more than two dozen men and women who are doing that – across the country, and around the world – as they lead the mission in cities outside Southern California. Into the future, I’ll be in front of the room – still – in SoCal, and in front of the movement everywhere else. Stay tuned…

Dozens of people replied to last week’s PoV, answering the question that I posed: if TMP did not exist today, would you (re)create us? And, if “yes,” why? (click here to read some of their “why” answers).

The polls have closed. The votes have been counted. Here’s the conclusion, based on the tribe.

Tribe? That’s what entrepreneur/author/business guru Seth Godin calls the formations of the future: “A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate.” (Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us). We’re part of a tribe; I’m just one of it’s leaders…

The group of people who connect through The Master’s Program have embraced a tight collection of concepts that, put into practice, are changing the way they operate – and, lead – in the Kingdom. What are some of those concepts?

  1. Every tribe has followers and leaders; the Kingdom has followers (disciples) and leaders.
  2. Churches exist – biblically and practically – to mature converts into disciples (tough duty).
  3. Every disciple has a personal calling: to follow their leader (Hebrews 13:17). Every leader has a calling: it is their lifetime mission that glorifies God (John 17:4; Acts 13:2).
  4. All church leaders are Kingdom leaders… but not all Kingdom leaders are church leaders.
  5. Seminaries exist to prepare church leaders to lead churches.
  6. The Master’s Program exists to help Kingdom leaders explore, expose and – ultimately – exploit their personal, unique Kingdom Calling, in and – often – beyond the walls of church.

Seminaries prepare men and women to lead Kingdom efforts that already exist (local churches); The Master’s Program prepares entrepreneurs – men and women – to launch and lead efforts that expand the footprint of the Kingdom.

Retire? From that mission? Leave the tribe that is pushing the fulfillment of the Great Commission – “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14) – which could be realized in our generation? They’ll have to carry me out in a body bag…

Scroll to the bottom of this e-blog; you’ll see lots of onramp opportunities to expand our TMP tribe – among your friends who have been discipled by church, but are leaders by God’s design, and are ready to find their place in God’s Kingdom mosaic…

Is it time to pull the plug and create?

If it didn’t exist, would you create it?

I spent the first half of my adult life trying to come up with the right answers. I’ve spent the second half trying to find the right questions. That’s one of the best questions I know to ask…

I have a good friend – and, Master’s graduate – who serves on the board of a well-known ministry organization. Still led by their founder – in his 60s, but still healthy – the word “succession” is whispered among directors, when the CEO isn’t nearby. Could the enterprise continue without the Originator at the helm?

The issue raised by my friend was summarized in my response: if the enterprise didn’t exist – knowing what you know, today, about the need it addresses – would you create it anew, without the Founder?

If current and future circumstances don’t validate the mission, it won’t survive the extraction of the Entrepreneur. If it has merit apart from the man, it’s worth investing the energy to reframe it for the future. If it’s a custom enterprise dependent on him, bury it under his headstone and distribute the assets.

Almost 350 years ago, that issue was raised by a French philosopher whose name you don’t know, but whose thoughts you’ve pondered. François-Marie Arouet; known to us – and, to history, as Voltaire – put it this way: “What is faith? Is it to believe that which is evident? No. It is perfectly evident to my mind that there exists a necessary, eternal, supreme, and intelligent being. This is no matter of faith, but of reason… If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.”

Voltaire was not a Christian; he was a theist, as were other influencers of his period – notably, Thomas Jefferson. He didn’t know God, but he recognized the essential value of mankind finding its place under the superior sovereignty of a credible Creator. In his view, if God did not exist, His vital contribution to life and culture would require an emergency search to find or create one…

Creation flounders without a Creator; it motivates some to invent a deity in their own image instead of honoring the One who set their life in motion. Modern, accomplished humans – self-elevated to a place where no god is needed above the executive penthouse – have no up-line to instill life with transcendent meaning. The result: opposing cultures invest in war instead of worship.

Back to the question: if it didn’t exist today, would you create it? That’s an alternative that leaders usually avoid; doing so may lead to unsettling conclusions. Status quo often suggests that leadership has gone on holiday, with no plans to ever return and really lead.

We talked more… and concluded that the organization in question still has potential value, with or without the Founder at the helm. It’s great with him there, but greatness is no longer dependent on him alone. He’s free to stay… but he’s also free to go, or grow, as the future unfolds.

Caution: if you’re married, don’t ever ask that question of your covenant relationship. “Til death do us part” is in the standard contract, written in Heaven. That’s God’s prenup; no editing allowed…

But, have you asked that question about your career life? Whether you own the organization – or, you’re a box in the org chart – it’s worth exploring during your summer break. Knowing what you know now, would you advise yourself to pursue the career spot you occupied when you left on vacation? If the honest answer is, “Probably not…” what breakthrough – to reinvent your current assignment, or create a new role – won’t happen until you trigger it?

Let me take a consulting selfie: given what you know about the work we do at The Master’s Program, after a 21 year run… if TMP didn’t exist today, would you create us? Hit “reply” and give me your opinion. Whether “yes” or “no,” give me your reasoning, in 50-words-or-less!

Bob Shank

Are you comfortable taking unnecessary risks to sin?

Does sin knock at your door? Are you in a dangerous place?

Some locales are noted for their high-risk locations. Track your terror: whatever you fear, there are places more susceptible than others. If earthquakes are the source of nightmares for you, Tehran, Istanbul and Los Angeles are off your bucket list. Tsunamis are very isolated: only coastal regions facing oceans that can be stirred by seismic activity are on alert. Tornados tend to threaten regions with high densities of mobile homes (an anecdotal observation). Floods can be predicted based on history; fires usually result from heat, wind and low humidity, all of which are often localized. “Acts of God,” journalists and claims-adjustors say, when those destructors come to town.

A new report has captured a significantly different roster of cities, based on very different qualifiers. The research has been done by WalletHub, a “personal finance website” that tracks human behavior through credit card transactions. Their data crunchers must have imagination and time on their hands: they’ve created a list of America’s Top-10 Sin Cities, based on cashflow. An intriguing study.

What are “The Seven Deadly Sins?” According to the Thomas Aquinas – Catholic priest/ philosopher/saint – they are: pride, greed, envy, lust, gluttony, wrath and sloth. (Summa Theologica) From Solomon, the inspired list of sin: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community. (Proverbs 6:16-19) According to WalletHub, they are: anger/hatred, jealousy, excesses/vices, avarice, lust, vanity and laziness. 

Their conclusions: the cities most likely to accommodate unrighteousness are 1) Las Vegas; 2) St Louis; 3) Cincinnati; 4) Orlando; 5) Springfield; 6) Miami; 7) Richmond; 8) Baton Rouge; 9) Pittsburgh; and, 10) New Orleans. Vegas has spent millions trying to secure the uncontested title of “Sin City,” but – according to WalletHub – they’ve got competition closing in.

“Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent… ‘And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.’” (Matthew 11:20, 23-24)

The guys/gals at WalletHub didn’t check with the Boss. He says that all of the sins (definition: any failure to live up to God’s righteous standard) that find their way onto the Lists are runners-up to the ultimate shortfall. His #1 Sin: to be aware of God’s divine power – exhibited in the miraculous – and not responding with repentance and faith.

He did a bunch of miracles in Capernaum – his adopted hometown, during his ministry years – that were significant… but his greatest miracle wasn’t a neighborhood event: his resurrection was staged just outside the capital – in Jerusalem – and attested by more than 500 people.

It might be important for the populations in the Top-10 Cities to reexamine their lifestyles – against God’s timeless measures of integrity – but there’s an even bigger question on God’s mind. The wicked population of Sodom – a city defined by its immorality and destroyed by an Act of God – was less heinous to God than a person/city who was aware of the indisputable evidence of Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God and Savior of the World… and then turned him down.

The testimonies of the witnesses to his resurrection have been entered into evidence. You’re part of the jury. How do you find?

Bob Shank

Mustard or Ketchup isn’t the Question… as we celebrate Independence

Are those hot-dogs a fraud as Americans recognize the Declaration of Independence on the 4th of July?

Tomorrow, over 150 million hot dogs – and incalculable burgers – will hit the grills across America, as Americans celebrate the 241st anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the document certifying the agreement of 13 colonies to break from the most powerful nation in the world and stand alone, for values they no longer found applauded in their country of origin.

Declaration of Independence

It’s relatively easy to sign a petition; it’s another thing to put on a uniform and face the most powerful army of their generation on the battlefield. To declare independence is bold; to fight for it – at the risk of life and limb – is both bold and brave. Without the bravery, boldness is untested; it’s easier to run your mouth than to run into live fire.

The barbecue frenzy on the Fourth will be joined by millions of Americans who – if transported back in time to the conditions that led to the federal holiday – would opt-out of the movement. The question on the table: would you be willing to fight for your country?

It’s an intriguing proposition; Gallup has put their survey sophistication into the mix, and have results from countries across the globe. What did they find?

If this was an Olympic event, the Gold goes to Morocco: 94% are willing to enlist. Fiji takes the Silver, with a photo-finish 94%. Bronze is a tie between Pakistan and Vietnam, with 89%; apparently, Muslim oppression and Communist suppression engender deep loyalty.

Selected call-outs: Afghanistan at 76%; Israel at 66%; Russia at 59%; Palestinian Territories at 56%; Serbia at 46%. Way down there – finishing at 39th position – is the United States, with only 44% of the population willing to put themselves in harm’s way to defend the country they’re taking a holiday today – or, reaping holiday pay – to commemorate. For the 56% majority of Americans today, their hot-dogs and hamburgers are frauds…

Tom and JoAnn Doyle are great friends and ministry partners. Tom’s ministry resumĂ© looks pretty generic. Accepted Jesus through Young Life, in high school. Biola University for undergraduate; Dallas Seminary for grad school, then pastoral positions in churches across New Mexico and Colorado. The new Millennium opened a new ministry for the Doyles: they left their safe spot – as senior pastor in a church where the malicious sniper fire came from the back rows in the sanctuary – and joined the front-line troops bringing the Gospel to the Mideast (Israel, and 40 Muslim-majority countries in the neighborhood).

Tom’s books – among them, Dreams and Visions, Killing Christians, Standing in the Fire – chronicle some of the stories that come out of real spiritual combat, where following Jesus can get you in front of him, fast. The Revolutionary War lasted for eight years; the Redemption War has been running for nearly 2000 years, and may be close to the ultimate victory.

Tom and JoAnn reflect on the journey that led them to their wartime assignment. Their leadership pastoring Christians in America was – too frequently – engaged in moderating trivialities that preoccupy church life in suburbia. Music styles; Sunday morning dress codes; predictive speculations over the exact order of prophetic events in the future, about which God has chosen to be frustratingly fuzzy. The misery attached to the minutia became burdensome…

Today, where a personal testimony of faith in Jesus is enough to cause an honor killing by a fanatical family member, the questions they pose are far more foundational:  1) do you love Jesus? and, if the answer is “yes,” 2) would you die for him? Two affirmations, and you’re “in,” for them.

Today, on the c, the qualifying questions: 1) do you love America? and, 2) would you fight for it? If that was payment for the picnic, most dogs and burgers would be unclaimed.

Everyday, the questions: 1) do you love Jesus? and, 2) would you die for him? If those questions got you a seat next Sunday at church… how full would the auditorium be?

Bob Shank

It’s the Two Minute Warning… in the Second Half

You’re in the Second Half.

You might want to stay-up on Friday night, so you can feel it: you’ll be finishing the first half of 2017, and all of your plans for this never-again year will be re-evaluated by your current status. If your objectives have been achieved – or, are within sight – you might throttle-back and relish your good fortune. If headwinds have slowed your progress, it might be time to double-down and pick up the pace.

If strategic assessment at the halfway point makes sense in a calendar year, it’s no wonder that the same evaluation can become a preoccupation in the mid-section of life.

Almost 25 years ago, I was presenting at a conference for high-capacity Christian couples organized by my friend, Bob Buford. My talk – a TED-styled address, before TED – was titled, “How to Win in the Second Half of Life.” When Bob and I talked later, our conversation explored that concept – that the first half and second half are often remarkably different – and potential for a halftime reset. When Bob sent me the draft of his signature book a year later – Halftime: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance – it was his thoughtful and provocative visualization of a life well lived. That book – followed by additional musings addressing this powerful concept – launched ministry initiatives led by me (The Master’s Program) and, later, by Bob (the Halftime Institute).

For some, early success can result in a midlife opt-out, choosing to enjoy the benefits achieved from first-half wins and to “retire young” – the ultimate achievement for a huge demographic. That trophy can become toxic for some who find themselves surrounded by the trappings of victory… and then feeling trapped. Success in youth is great… but, what if there’s more?

John Sculley became CEO of Pepsi-Cola at 38, and – in the next six years – made Pepsi the largest selling consumer packaged goods brand in the USA. With the average lifespan for American men born in 1939 estimated to be 86.2, halftime would be just after one’s 43rd birthday. That’s when Steve Jobs posed the question to Sculley: “Do you want to sell sugared water for the rest of your life? Or do you want to come with me and change the world?”

Sculley left Pepsi, and became the CEO at Apple. Together with Jobs, they launched the Macintosh. The next few years brought upheaval – Jobs left, Apple stumbled, Sculley left, Jobs came back – but the motivational power of new pursuits, bold visions and managed risks were embedded in the DNA of these now-historic entrepreneurs.

Jobs is dead; Sculley is still making waves at 78. You can web-search him; you won’t find him in an assisted-living facility, under the care of institutional custodians. His most consistent title in recent years: “Co-Founder.” New ideas – new initiatives, new enterprises – continue to define his life, far beyond the vital horizon that marked the finish line for most of his contemporaries.

Sculley’s memory of his developmental days – at mid-life – is instructive: “I’d only been at Apple a few months and I was hearing Steve Jobs and Bill Gates talking about their ‘noble cause.’ I had just left one of the most competitive markets in the world (at Pepsi), and I had never heard about having a noble cause in business. For me, it was about gladiatorial competition – someone wins, someone loses. But here were Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, two young guys under the age of 30, talking about their noble cause of empowering knowledge workers with tools for the mind, making them incredibly productive and helping them to change the way things were done in our world…”

It reminds me of another firebrand, who recruited a dozen mid-lifers in the 1st Century with the same kind of mind-blowing challenge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life…” (Matthew 28:19)

You can finish the first half in the lead, but the game isn’t over until the second half is finished. Are you watching your game clock tick down? Are you selling sugared water… or changing the world?

Bob Shank

Leader: How do you spot the real deal?

Kingdom Leader.

In the internet era, we learn something about concepts and categories by Googling. Perform a web search to determine proximity – what something is like – and proliferation – how far it has spread.

The concept of a Kingdom Leader (316,000 results) doesn’t come close to competing with a Christian Leader (4,910,000 results). And, it’s perhaps telling that the top listing on the first page of search results for Christian Leaders is ChurchLeaders.com. The next is a “List of current Christians, each a leader” – ala Wikipedia – which reads like a program from a Sunday sporting event, with all of the pros listed by weight and height (they’re church leaders who rule over systems or denominations, with titles like Pope, Patriarch, Archbishop or President in front of their given names). Church Leaders? Is that all there is?

What’s a Kingdom Leader? What does it take to rise to greatness in the Kingdom of God? Are those designations reserved only for what we call the “clergy?” Or, does the criterion for inclusion allow non-ordained people that possibility?

Since we’re talking about a Kingdom – the Kingdom – it might warrant an interview with the King. What are his requirements? How does he vet people under consideration for elevation to the higher reaches of his organization?

From his iconic address, later dubbed the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:17-20).

In modern competitions, the field narrows to victory based on a series of tests and trials. The criterion for Kingdom Leadership is not modern, but timeless: the men and women who warrant inclusion in that august category have to come through a gauntlet of distinctions.

First: are they even in the Kingdom? Nicodemus was presumed – because of his religious status – to be among the Kingdom elite. Jesus shocked him: “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (John 3:3). Nicodemus’ Platinum Card from the Temple would not give him entry to the coming Kingdom: “no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” (vs 5).

The penultimate question: does their life demonstrate adherence to the teachings of the Word of God? The directive of Jesus was to become his Disciple: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:24).

And, finally, the promotion to Kingdom Leader hinges on the grand prize question: having become a practitioner of the life modeled by Jesus, are you exercising your influence over others to replicate that life in them? The long-term assignment: “Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Kingdom Leaders: that’s our measurable outcome. Unless we can see growth in that niche, we’ve failed our mission. What’s your measurable outcome?

Bob Shank

It’s Sad when Winners are Losers for a father

Fathers. King of the Hill. Top Dog. El Supremo. The Godfather.

Informal titles carry almost no weight, but there’s an implied gravitas that attaches, depending on whether they’re bestowed in jest or in sincerity.

This is “the week.” In the next few days, preparations for Sunday’s annual focus on fathers will go from casual (Monday-Friday) to desperate (Saturday). Some will easily avoid the formalities; for them, dad was never part of their life, or – if he was – they’d just as soon forget him, at the advice of their friends or therapist.

For others, father was a figure who “did his best,” but his performance was – at best – amateur status. Dedicated to high-levels of achievement in career or recreation, dad earned his chops in non-family pursuits, but never seemed to rise to the world-class level around the dinner table. He gets the annual necktie – or, Starbucks card – but the Hallmark card that comes with it has no handwritten affirmations…

The few – more likely humble than rightly proud – are the men who embraced the assignment given to them by the all-time leader of the category, who goes by the name “Heavenly Father.” His commission to earthly dads: “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4).

An announcement by a father

Phil Mickelson shook up the golf ghetto with his announcement that he’s missing this weekend’s tournament – the U.S. Open, the only major tournament he’s never won, though finishing in second place on six occasions – because of his daughter’s high school graduation.

In the culture of the culture, that excuse doesn’t warrant a pass. Something else must be “up,” in the minds of the success-at-all-costs American ethos. “She’s the school president; she’ll be giving the commencement speech” falls on deaf ears…

“Obviously, the U.S. Open is the tournament that I want to win the most, and the only way to win is if you play. But this is one of those moments where you look back on life, and you just don’t want to miss it. I’ll be really glad that I was there (at his daughter’s graduation).”

Is Phil a Christian? Through 25 years as a PGA professional, he’s managed to keep his personal faith positions out of public view. He and his wife, Amy, have been a rock-solid picture of commitment. It hasn’t cost Phil his golf prominence: he’s spent over 700 weeks in the top-10 of the Official World Golf Ranking, and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012. He acts the part… including father.

There’s something about acquiring trophies and titles that stirs the heart of men; most of those achievements happen away from the homestead, out of view of the generations who operate outside the view of paparazzi and adoring crowds. Fans are fickle, and tend to drift from today’s champion to tomorrow’s contender pretty quickly; who are the folks who will be around to tell the story of long-term impact and consistent encouragement?

Families are paramount; they can also be virtual: “But, brothers and sisters, when we were orphaned by being separated from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you – certainly I, Paul, did, again and again – but Satan blocked our way. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy.” (1 Thessalonians 2:17-20).

Dads like Phil are wise when they see their family – their progeny – as the source of their “hope or crown – glory and joy” when the Lord Jesus comes back to award the trophies for what mattered most…

“Table for One” isn’t strategic… what’s the ultimate gift?

The Ultimate Gift.

In our consumer world (proof: you may have already thought of a movie title), two things dominate: 1) buy something for yourself, because you deserve it!; and/or, 2) buy something for someone else, because they deserve it! “Need” is ancient history…

It’s now June, and the Big Three will keep you up at night, scanning Amazon for options: Dads, Grads, and Brides/Grooms. Each category is a unique buying challenge: what will you do?

Graduates are already out in full force. Elementary, Middle and High School are relatively easy; any electronic device – or a gift card from the Apple Store – and you’re good-to-go. College/University is where it gets challenging: what could you possibly deduce for the new graduate who has a fresh diploma – with a decade of monthly payments attached – as they return their cap and gown?

Here’s the Ultimate Gift: line up an appointment for them with a Placement Professional, and gift them the first hour of consultation.

The ultimate of undergraduate programs transfer the knowledge of the ages – through print-on-paper books or digital volumes on iPads – and create examination experiences that test the speed of recall to earn honors and certificates, but when the family who came to town for commencement head for the airport, where does the graduate go? What’s waiting for the young adult without a next semester?

Two options loom large on the horizon. Politicians think the two are employed, or unemployed. For them, the only issue is a paycheck. That’s just a statistic; it doesn’t reflect the pulse of real life…

The real fork-in-the-road, for everyone, separates the work world between sweat shops (the unfulfilled majority) and sweet spots (the fulfilled few). The Placement Professional is a mentor-for-hire whose specialty is helping people find the answer to Right Person/Right Place/Right Time.

The fireside fable paints the picture of a solo operator who goes-it-alone and climbs to the summit of success as a self-made superhero, with no one to blame for failures and no one to thank for victories. The celebration dinner – after the ultimate conquest – happens at a table-for-one. Really?

Invite God to be the commencement speaker (unlikely: he isn’t a political has-been), and listen to what he would likely counsel the young guns in the rows before him: “It is not good for the man to be alone…” (Genesis 2:18) “There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. ‘For whom am I toiling,’ he asked, ‘and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?’ This too is meaningless – a miserable business! Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” (Ecclesiastes 4:8-10) “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body… If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12)

Alone? Productivity: 1=1. Sweat shop? Productivity: 1+1=2.  Sweet spot? Productivity: 1×1=10. Throw people together, and you make some minimal progress. Place people – based on the mystery of their unique divine design – alongside one another, and there’s no limit to what can happen.

Forty-six years ago today – that was June 5, 1971 – I joined a field test of this concept. Cheri and I were married that day – in her family home, with 26 people in attendance – and we became another lab study of the “1×1” formula.

Thanks be to God (and, to her!): the match was made in heaven. We’ve seen productivity – and an amazing journey, together – that confirms the ultimate plan: we’re better, together, every time…

Bob Shank

Memorial Day – The War with No Conscientious Objectors

Memorial Day.

Often confused with Veterans Day, Memorial Day honors the men and women who died while serving as members of America’s military forces; Veterans Day honors the service of the living.

One of the newest – and most striking – tributes to the fallen is the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the National Mall, in Washington D.C. There, the names of 58,315 men and women who were either KIA (killed in action) or MIA (missing). There are no plots or tombs there; only names. Visiting the two-acre site is both sobering and thoughtful; it brings home the reality of humanity at the core of conflicts between countries and ideologies…

Included among those names are the 257 recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Since the Civil War, 3515 brave warriors have been awarded that recognition. It is the highest decoration, recognizing the distinguished men and women whose acts of valor earned that designation. War brings out the worst – and, the best – of character: the same field of battle exposes both cowards and heroes.

The war of longest duration – in American history – is the war in Afghanistan, starting in October of 2001 and declared “over” in December of 2014 (though American casualties continue). Wars that stretch across time seem to lose urgency for those not directly involved in the fighting; that indifference disappears on the front lines.

There’s a war that never makes headlines in the 21st Century, but it is the reality behind the headlines most days: it’s the Great War. Launched as a rebellion in Heaven (date not recorded), the front line moved to earth, with the first battle in the Garden of Eden. From then to now, most people have been casualties, but, in every generation, a small percentage have answered the call to actively engage against the evil enemy, wearing the uniform of faith and carrying the flag of the Kingdom.

God has constructed a virtual memorial wall for the men and women whose service earned eternal recognition. His description of that site is captured in Hebrews 11; this is the plaque at the entrance that frames the monument: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” (vs. 6)

The American Medal of Honor measures valor; the Kingdom Medal of Honor measures faith. Wars are usually fought for land or power; the War in Heaven – brought to Earth – is fought for souls and righteousness. Victory in natural conflicts usually requires troop strength and superior war technology; victory in supernatural conflict requires divine power and human obedience.

Check ‘em out, in Hebrews 11: Abel. Enoch. Noah. Abraham. Sarah. Issac. Jacob. Joseph. Moses. Joshua. Rahab. Gideon. Barak. Samson. Jephthah. David. Daniel. Jeremiah. Elijah. Elisha. Zechariah. Isaiah. Each name evokes an amazing story of triumph in the face of evil opposition.

It’s that obedience factor that sets them apart; this is his description of the valiant whose names are inscribed: “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country – a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (vs. 13-16)

It’s a promise: God’s Medal of Honor ceremony will be held just after the final victory in the Great War. The plan: to reward his brave warriors – personally – for what they’ve done, in sacrificial service to his Kingdom. His commitment to that moment has inspired feats of faith, for generations.

Will you be recognized for your service, on that amazing day?

Bob Shank

Your subpoena to testify has been served

May 22, 2017

What will you do if you’re called to testify by subpoena?

That’s a question that you probably don’t have to ponder, but if you worked anywhere near the last election, and operate “inside the Beltway,” it’s something you might have to answer. There’s a Special Counsel in town, and he’s going to be looking for answers…

Congress has been calling for audiences with high-visibility players, as well. It’s often confusing to the people with real jobs: they ask people to appear before committees, but their appearances seem to be elective. Though there are provisions for subpoenas and contempt citations, it often appears to be a dog-bite from a dachshund with dentures.

When called to court as a witness, there are a handful of opt-out provisions. The stay-quiet conditions include:

  1. The classic 5th Amendment option: avoiding self-incrimination
  2. The witness is a defendant in a criminal case
  3. The witness is married to a defendant in the case
  4. The witness is the defendant’s attorney, therapist or priest/pastor
  5. The witness is not competent because of age or defect

Without one of those exclusions, a person called to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth – may God help them – has no choice but to testify… or, risk going to jail for their refusal.

In the courtroom of life, it seems that people who are called to take the stand have often added one more reason not to speak the truth. It’s their rendition of the famous quote from St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; use words if necessary.” Quote? Or, mis-quote?

There’s a reason that exclusion won’t work: there is no record of Francis ever saying – or, writing – those words. He must shudder – in the parallel universe of Eternity – each time he is credited with what has become a get-out-of-being-obedient card for followers of the Lord Jesus.

Here’s the idea: in the courtroom of life, if you don’t want to take the stand and share the Truth that has transformed your own life and given you the promise of forgiveness from sin, you can just sit in the gallery and express sentiment about the proceedings rather than offering your own affirmation to the case, using non-verbal facial expressions and body language to infer your opinions to the jury.

I think that St Francis would concur with St Paul, regarding the matter at hand. While Francis’ quote is disputed, no one disputes Paul’s inspired-by-the-Holy Spirit phraseology in Romans 10: “ ‘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? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?…” (vs. 13-15)

Hear this: no one – ever! – was “saved” by a silent witness. Anything short of a believable testimony about the facts that God calls “the Gospel” will not enable the response of faith, to “call on the name of the Lord to be saved.” Paul argues that the unredeemed are dependent on someone being sent to them, to preach. Without that, they cannot be “saved” (Paul’s claim, directly quoted).

Someone must be sent: that requires a Sender, and direct-reports who are under his/her authority. Paul and Francis both recognized their orders: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore 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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Jesus, in Matthew 28:18-20).

We’ve been called to testify. Will you reject the subpoena, plead the 5th, or… speak the Truth?

Bob Shank

Things are not always as they seem

May 15, 2017

Hacked!

I’m a well-connected guy (apparently). I only have 1685 “friends” onFacebook (I have a FB page, but it’s my social media version of a timeshare: I pay the annual dues, but I never visit). LinkedIn is higher in my SM world: over 5300 “connections,” but I’m a LI deadbeat (I build my network, but do little/nothing to “service” them), and ought to be voted off the LinkedIn Island…

About 10 days ago, I started getting texts from some of my real friends (people I really know, but are in my FB roster as well). Their message to me: “I think you’ve been hacked…”

It seems that I was sending them messages – via Facebook – regarding my good fortune, and their amazing opportunity. My “good fortune?” Little did I know that I had been chosen by a Nigerian prince to be his agent-of-record to move massive sums of money out of Nigeria and into America. In return for my willingness to help them with the fund transfer, my commission was going to be an immense payday.

And, I was willing to share my great fortune with my Facebook friends! In fact, I was saving a chunk of the treasure for them. All they had to do was reply, and we would put this great opportunity in motion…

My friends – at least, the ones who texted me! – aren’t fools. They knew me, and they knew the Nigerian scam… and they came in my back door (a text to my mobile) to warn me.

Grab a photo of someone on the internet (like me); use it to open a new Facebook account in Great Britain, in the name of the person in the photo (in this case, me). And, then: use Facebook’s ‘People You May Know’  feed and scoop up all of his FB friends. Last, send them all the Nigerian scam, and wait for the fish to take the bait. Did you, by chance, get any funny messages from Bob Shank about 10 days ago?

My new discovery: it takes more to defeat a hacker than it takes to be one. With Facebook, I had to prove I was me before I could get them to eliminate someone claiming to be me. I satisfied their validation criterion – proving that this Bob Shank is the one who matches the photo – so that the Bob-in-England version of me would be silenced. Let me know if you hear from me, in the future, about any too-good-to-be-true opportunities…

This isn’t a new problem, apparently.

When Jesus visited this planet – on his missions trip from heaven – he gave us some insight about the scams that would make it all the way to the threshold of Eternity. Here’s what he warned:  “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’  Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)

The counterfeit version of conversion makes a mockery of the ministry modeled by Jesus. He was known for his messages, his power over evil, and his ability to do the impossible. Wouldn’t someone who does those same things be able to claim that they were associated with the Savior?

Facebook used a scan of my passport to confirm my validity; Jesus uses motives to filter the faithful: “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.  Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.  Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” (John 7:16-18)

Assumption based on face value is dangerous; false identities run rampant, all the way to heaven’s gate. The tough question, for us all: are we really who we claim to be?

Bob Shank

Why not go it alone?

Revolution, or Independence?

The answer to that question depends on who’s asking. Ask a Brit about the conflict that spanned eight years – from 1775 to 1783 – and they’d say revolution. Ask an American, and they’re more likely to see it through the lens of independence.

 Are we in a similar period? Launched as the United States of America, we continued to expand beyond our original 13-colony footprint with land acquisitions – through treaty and through takeover – to become the 50 state federation that has set the international model for advancement and prosperity. But, today, there’s tea in the water of the harbor…

INDEPENDENCE ?

We haven’t filed for a name change, but we’ve become the Divided States of America. “Not my president” sells t-shirts; public colleges are offering courses on resistance; sanctuary cities are declaring their independence; states are looking across their borders at “the other 49” and exploring clauses in the constitutional contract that might allow secession. Everyone has become a math specialist:   division is the only function in the modern social arithmetic with headlines that sell. North and South Korea are the model for modern America: a heavily guarded border is now in place between the extremes of the political spectrum. There seems to be no ideological “middle ground.”

God’s account of history – not the unabridged version, but the executive summary he wrote, called The Bible – has fascinating math milestones. In Eden, God created Adam and Eve and asked them to multiply: “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’” (Genesis 1:27-28)

You know the story: after some time, sin entered the atmosphere of Paradise, and it divided Adam and Eve from God. The infection spread until God used a flood to purge the environment, and Noah & Family to reset the plan: “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” (Genesis 9:7)

Within generations, Babel is a gathering of rebels, and God divides humanity – by language, by territory – to isolate the spiritual virus. God chooses Abraham, then – through Isaac and Jacob – a family line through whom God would provide the ultimate antidote to sin. Jesus – the Son, himself God – to interrupt the mutation and restore the original intent: redeemed men and women, back in relationship with their Creator. The division caused by sin was neutralized; the conditions for multiplication were restored. The renewed assignment: “…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. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

The admonition to Adam: multiply. To Noah: multiply. To Abraham: multiply. To the Apostles: multiply. God only uses division as a disciplinary tool; his primary strategy is multiplication.

It’s no wonder that the Evil One – the Contrarian – is the polar-opposite in his effort to disrupt the divine. His specialty: division. “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought… Is Christ divided?” (1 Corinthians 1:10-13)

It shows up, constantly: marriage, or divorce? Church plant, or church split? Positive progeny, or prodigal son? Friends, or mortal enemies? Together, or separate?

When principle forces disconnect, separation can be the grievous conclusion: amputation is never the first – or preferred – option. But, apart from the rare exception: sin divides, while love multiplies.

Bob Shank

On your horizon: regrets, or riches

May 1, 2017

This message was written on a Mac by Apple.

I don’t know where you are today, but I hope you’re not inside the infamous “Beltway,” hard at work on the national legislative agenda. A tax overhaul has been announced by the new administration that eliminates some categories and lowers rates in others.

Health care and tax codes are both on the to-do list, for Congress; the “walk and chew gum” challenge is testing the folks who split their time between their chambers and their districts, where their townhall meetings are – these days – not “love fests.” This is a hot-button game-changer…

One stated objective of the tax proposal is to repatriate corporate holdings for companies based in America who have stashed overseas profits offshore, avoiding the tax obligations now in force here. How big is that issue? It was reported yesterday that Apple’s reserves – parked outside the US of A – are about to hit $250 billion. Perspective: that’s more cash than the current market value of Walmart and Proctor & Gamble, combined (source: Wall Street Journal).

Based on their last-quarter reports, Apple’s retained earnings grow at a rate of $3.6 million/hour. I wonder what Ron Wayne thinks when he hears things like that. Who is Ron Wayne?

Wayne was an engineer at Atari when two younger coworkers convinced him to leave his engineering position and join them in a garage-housed tech start-up. He was 41; they were in their early 20s. He called his role “the adult supervision.” He created their first logo; he wrote the manual for their first beta product. He put $800 into the partnership pot – for 10% of the company – but had second-thoughts within days of the venture… and walked out the door. The company was founded on April 1, 1976; he exited on April 12. He took his original $800 investment with him.

Within months, venture capitalists took the risk to infuse the enterprise with cash. They converted the partnership to a corporation, and – as a precaution – offered Wayne $1500 to sign a full release of future claims on the entity. He “made” $1500 on the $800 “investment” that was on deposit for 12 days. A great return, right?

From then to now, that high-risk start-up has done pretty well. Apple’s other two founders – Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs – stuck with it, at least for awhile. The intrigue of the next 41 years – and mortality – infused the story with drama and pathos. But, through it all, the company prevailed…

Wozniak left Apple in 1985, sold most of his stock, and went his own way. Jobs died in 2011. The company has continued its upward climb. Apple’s current value – as of last Friday – is $758 billion. Ron Wayne’s 10% share – had he stayed-the course – would now be valued at $76 billion (he would be #2 on the Forbes list, between Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos). He didn’t have the stomach to wait it out…

Here’s a tip: Jesus has invited us to invest in an enterprise (his Kingdom) that will eventually dominate all markets, with an eternal horizon of massive success that he has personally guaranteed. Put whatever you have in Earth dollars into that stock, and the returns in Kingdom currency will make Ron Wayne’s lost upside at Apple pale in comparison. Is that just pressure for a Sunday offering? Or, is it an informed tip that warrants Monday morning attention?

The Kingdom is still at the garage start-up phase; how much would you like to invest?

Bob Shank

Don’t buy the tombstone yet…

April 24, 2017

Is truth dead?

Time magazine sparked a cultural furor when – in April, 1966 – the cover posed the stark question, “Is God Dead?” The erosion of faith in America was the real story; God was not dead, but the relationship of Americans with him had been deeply eroded.

It’s been 51 years, but they’re at it again, with a feature story a few months back introduced by the replication of the provocative cover from ’66: “Is Truth Dead?”

Sparked by recent mash-ups between politicians and the press, the search for truth has taken on the aura of a reality program: a contrived exercise played-out in a public spotlight, known by viewers to be a fictional production, but fascinating to people who choose to swallow whatever is fed them by their chosen media.

Let me cut to the chase: the two stories are inextricably connected. Without realizing it, Time introduced a two-part treatment in 1966, and waited a half-century to publish the follow-up. If God is dead, truth is dead.

Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign was staged against a premise that informed everything they did. The banner restating their emphasis in the campaign office framed their identity: “It’s the Economy, Stupid.” (author: James Carville; c. 1992) What’s the principle issue, today?

It’s not the economy. It’s not terrorism. It’s not the environment. It’s not the internet. The national surveys designed to find the next hot-button around which the mid-term congressional campaigns will be organized won’t have the principle issue reflected in the questions.

If God is dead, truth is dead. If God and truth are no longer in vogue, there are no ground rules for life. Without transcendence, it’s survival of the fittest, and might does makes right. Without Him, money is the ultimate scorecard; “if it feels good, do it” exists without moral constraint. If God is alive – and, truth is still meaningful – modern culture has a real problem…

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” (John 14:6) “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” (John 8:31-32)  “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie…” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11) “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17) 

So… “Make America Great Again?” Find the time – in the past – when America was deemed to be great. Wipe the dust off the chronicles of the period, and ask what was defining the national conversation among a people living in what was – in retrospect – a time of “greatness.”

Here’s a guarantee: the magazines of the period were not asking the questions, “Is God Dead?” and, “Is Truth Dead?” The propositions would be considered preposterous: if God is alive, then truth is genuine, and the people who live with those certainties experience the blessings of Heaven.

How will I portray the living God and His truth today? How will you?

Bob Shank

Just another Monday (after Easter)?

April 17, 2017

Easter. What a week!

Imagine a dozen men – in the prime years of their adult lives – who had set their schedules and strategies aside under the powerful influence of a charismatic carpenter. With no backing or fanfare, he had come across their path and invited them to join him in changing the world.

Through the filter of their religious paradigms, their growing sense of destiny – as they watched his miracles and heard his messages – had marked the Nazarene as the promised Messiah: God’s promised champion who would reestablish Israel’s sovereignty and reoccupy the throne of the great King David. With that picture firmly in mind, three years later, they marched into Jerusalem – behind Jesus, riding a young donkey – to the zealous cheers of an ebullient crowd, waving palm branches and shouting support for their leader.

They had coronation in mind, and probably believed it to be imminent. Instead, by Thursday night – after an intimate and prolonged Passover meal together in a private room in Jerusalem – the coronation dream was replaced with a crisis reality. They moved – immediately – into crisis mode.

Their reflexive reaction to the crisis: rescue. The armed contingent – representing the influence of the Jewish leaders and the strength of the Roman military – arrived with Judas, intent on arresting Jesus. Peter swung into action and engaged in battle; he severed the ear of a Jewish member of the posse before Jesus ordered him to stand down; if he wanted battle, 12 legions of angels could have been summoned from heaven (based on Roman troop formations, that’s 66,000 Supernatural Special Forces). Led away – and going willingly – rescue went from difficult to impossible, until his confirmed death on Friday afternoon.

By Sunday morning, rescue was no longer possible. In a crisis, after death is ascertained, recovery is the next reasonable response. The Jewish leaders were troubled by the idea that Jesus’ followers may attempt recovery so they had negotiated an immovable barrier erected at the tomb’s entry, along with armed Roman guards. The women were first, coming to the tomb of Joseph to give the body of Jesus the respect they believed appropriate. No recovery would be possible…

Successive contingents of Jesus’ followers – first women, then Peter and John – came into the now-accessible tomb and found it empty: the grave clothes were abandoned, with no sign of foul play. Their commitment to recovery was thwarted; an alternate plan was in play…

Resurrection! This was no crisis; the One they had embraced as the Anointed proved his authority over human opposition, governmental forces and spiritual darkness: rescue and recovery were human initiatives, but God had other plans. No rescue in a battle, and no recovery with a body: resurrection was the breakthrough that only God could conceive and orchestrate!

“Early on the first day of the week…” (John 20:1)  It was, for these Jewish folks, Monday morning, after a religious holiday (Passover) had them away from their normal routines. The Resurrection happened at the start of their new week, “back to work.”

Instead, the after-effects of that breakthrough would make every day, every week – from that moment until the Resurrected One would return – a radically different experience.

Yesterday was Easter; you probably attended services. Today is Monday, and time to go “back to work.” Is it the start of “just another week…?”

Or, is today – and, every day – now different because of what those women and men found (or, didn’t find) in that empty tomb?

Bob Shank

Insiders only

April 10, 2017

Insiders: most people write checks/slide plastic/flash Apple Pay as consumers. Self-focused spenders want to “get what they paid for;” that’s the highest level of evaluation for the money they release from their grip. Not you: you’ve graduated from the spending-only demographic, as you elevate more of your cash flow from spending to investing. Astute investors ask, “What are the returns?”

Next week – after the brief respite to reconsider the Resurrection – you’ll be formalizing one of the largest financial transfers of your year: it’s time to pay your taxes. Consumers will look at their contribution to government revenue – state and federal – and wonder, “did they get what they paid for?” Investors will contrast their perceived equity share in their country and look at their tax bills and contrast that with their holdings – in their business, in the markets – and hit “send” on their tax return, feeling elation or regret, based on their conclusions.

Jesus introduced another opportunity, beyond spending, investing and “giving to Caesar:” he invited his friends to invest in the Family Business.

Outsiders aren’t allowed; only members of the family of God (the nut-jobs like us, who claim to be “born again,” and talk about Jesus in the same manner as a personal friend) are allowed to hold stock in an enterprise whose shares aren’t traded on Wall Street, but offer guaranteed returns – the Founder was known to – repeatedly – claim 100x (that’s 10,000%) returns. Here’s a quirk: only the friends who are alive on earth can invest; friends who have left earth to join him in heaven cannot.

Every dollar that comes into my hands creates a unique decision tree; each choice creates another series of new considerations allowing savvy moves that lead to highest benefit. Will the next dollar fund consumption, satisfy tax demands, or be invested? If invested, will it go into this life’s options, or the next? If channeled toward the next – in heaven – which Kingdom fund is most likely to produce magnificent, measurable returns… when my account is audited upon arrival on the other side?

Every year – around tax time – we open a new Eternal Fund, open only to qualified family investors. The Master’s Program – dedicated to helping Christian leaders explore, expose and exploit their personal Kingdom Calling – is one of the highest performing eternal investments in my personal portfolio. Thousands of graduates of TMP have gone on to produce profound eternal impact; they’re proof of what happens when insightful influencers – already proven in their career tracks – find the path toward making their most amazing contributions to the advancement of the Kingdom.

On May 11th, we’re staging the 2017 TMP Golf Challenge. It’s not a tournament; golf is just the front for a fundraising effort that funds the ongoing cost of recruiting/enrolling participants into TMP. Men and women sign on as “golfers” to give – or, to give and raise – money to underwrite the expansion of TMP’s Kingdom mission. It’s my job to lead that effort, on the field.

This isn’t “spam;” we talk every Monday, through this Point of View. I’m asking as a friend – as a voice God uses to rattle your thinking about life, weekly – to help us. Next week, you’ll be giving to Caesar; today – right now – would you consider an investment in The Master’s Program/Golf Challenge offering mega-returns that will compound in your Kingdom portfolio?

Click here to get in on this extraordinary opportunity! The promise: 100x returns…

Bob Shank

The Gospel – yet everybody can’t be right

April 3, 2017

You may have missed it.

With your April Fools Day festivities underway, the breaking news – coming out of Salt Lake City – probably didn’t run across the bottom of the screen while South Carolina/Gonzaga or Oregon/UNC Chapel Hill were fighting to their respective finishes (RIP, South Carolina and Oregon).

The semiannual staging of the Latter Day Saints General Conference happened on Saturday and Sunday, with an estimated 30,000 attending “live” in Temple Square, and innumerable millions more via satellite feeds to Mormon gathering places around the globe.

With all of the headlines over college basketball and Russian hacking, even the major news sources picked up some of the significant take-aways from the messages delivered to the faithful by the higher-ups.

In the Mormon church, their governance structure is well defined. They have a President – currently, Thomas S. Monson – who, with two Counselors, make up the First Presidency. Under that executive committee is the Quorum of the Twelve, who function much like a corporate board of directors. Defined as Apostles, they also are regarded as prophets and – in that office – claim ex cathedra authority (infallibility, by virtue of their position).

In that gathering, Mormons were challenged with the importance of performing ceremonial baptisms – on behalf of their dead ancestors – within the very private confines of their 140 temples, worldwide.

Henry Eyring is one of the Quorum of the Twelve. His inspired perspective about the conduct of the faithful: “They have learned that this work saves not just the dead; it saves all of us. There are now many people who have accepted baptism in the spirit world… This is the work of our generation.”

Methodists regularly play softball against Presbyterians in church league play; neighborhood Bible studies spring up among people whose Sunday lives separate between churches with choirs – meeting in historic buildings – and churches with drums – meeting in school gyms, sitting on folding chairs.    Christians have differing secondary doctrines, but a common core: the Eternal God – existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – saves lost people through them hearing and embracing the Gospel: “By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time…” (1 Corinthians 15:2-6)

The conditions for receiving God’s grace – and his forgiveness, for eternity – have never changed. The folks who gathered over the weekend in Utah and beyond believe that the dead can be redeemed through vicarious baptism of the living, and the living can be saved through the works prescribed by the LDS church leaders, past and present. Is that message aligned with Scripture?

“Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. But about the resurrection of the dead – have you not read what God said to you, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.’” (Matthew 22:29-32)

At the end of the day – at the end of this life – it does matter what you believe…

Bob Shank

Be a Fool or Don’t be a Fool

Saturday is my day. Shall I be a fool on Saturday, April 1st?

Of all of the calendar stake-outs we accept – birthdays of presidents and sophisticates, religious milestones and moments, patriotic remembrances about battles and warriors – there is no passionate tie to the nameless oaf we’ll mention this weekend, with unhidden scorn. Happy April Fools Day.

Origins for the day are lost to history, but the remembrance of pranks and foolery – producing smirks and embarrassment – drives “friends” to the “ever worse is better” boundaries. What could you do to fool someone else, and have the charges dismissed by claiming the “April Fools!” forgiveness?

Wheaton College

Jim Elliot was born and raised in Portland, Oregon. He attended high school there, and went to Wheaton College for his undergraduate education. While there, he began to form the foundation for the future, through his studies and his academic progression.

Through exposure to Bible translation through Wycliffe Bible Translators, Jim’s course for calling pointed him south, toward a secluded tribal group in the jungles of Ecuador – the Huaorani – who had never been penetrated by purveyors of the Gospel.

Elliot graduated from Wheaton College in 1949; later that year, his journal entry – October 28th – was written as a personal reflection; he didn’t realize that he was editing his epitaph: “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

Along with four colleagues – Ed McCully, Roger Youderian, Pete Fleming, and their pilot, Nate Saint – Jim’s vision was in play when Nate landed their Piper PA-114 bush plane on a river sand beach near the Huaorani village on January 8, 1956. They had preceded their arrival with gifts dropped down to the village, hoping to prepare the isolated aboriginals for their coming.

That day, their first live encounter with the Huaorani became their death sentence: 10 warrior men from the tribe came to the beach and killed the five missionaries, sending their bodies down the river from which they were later recovered.

Safe classmates back home in America might have received the news of their deaths with dismissal: what else could you expect when you take great risks with your life & comfort, only to be violently rejected by the people you tried to contact? A fool?

God’s story of redemption didn’t end on that beach, 61 years ago. In fact, the sacrificial deaths of those five brave young men – and their families’ reaction to their loss – galvanized the global mission to reach people groups who had never, after 2000 years, been introduced to the God who loved them through the sacrificial death of his Son, the Lord Jesus. Funding and recruitment for the frontiers of God’s Kingdom spiked from the story of heaven’s heroes being recounted among those who knew the love of God and the call of the Great Commission.

“And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.”’Then he said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.’”

May we be fools in the minds of our culture, but wise in the eyes of God…

Bob Shank

Don’t move to Norway until you go to Brooklyn

Today’s your day, especially if you are near Brooklyn.

It may not be on your calendar, but it’s on the Big One. Today – March 20, 2017, is World Happiness Day. Created by the United Nations, this is the sixth annual presentation of their World Happiness Report. How would one go about researching such a question?

The magic of surveys: ask 1000 people – from 150 countries – one question: on a 1-10 scale. How happy are you?

Okay, now you have some metrics. Researchers then use six measures to try to understand the results: gross domestic product per capita, life expectancy, support from relatives or friends, charitable giving, freedom to make life choices, and perceived levels of government and corporate corruption. Based on those factors – chosen subjectively by the team from the United Nations – we now know which countries to congratulate on this joyful humanistic occasion.

The Top Five for Felicity: #1: Norway. #2: Denmark. #3: Iceland. #4: Switzerland. #5: Finland. (If you’re looking for the United States of America, scroll to #14, tucked between Austria and Ireland). The global frowns go to the last five: #155: Central African Republic. #154: Burundi. #153: Tanzania. #152: Syria. #151: Rwanda. Not much happiness in those tough spots…

So… why so sad, America? From the UN Report: “The central paradox of the modern American economy… is this: income per person has increased roughly three times since 1960, but measured happiness has not risen. The situation has gotten worse in recent years: per capita GDP is still rising, but happiness is now actually falling.”

You’re probably working today (your human resources department failed to include WHD on the closed-for-the-holiday list for 2017), but that doesn’t mean you can’t participate. Go to the website for the The Action for Happiness Pledge: “I will try to create more happiness in the world around me.”

Cheri and I were in New York City this weekend. Whenever I’m here on a Sunday, the question is predictable: “Are you going to go to church?” There are lots of interesting options. Among my solid, mature friends, there’s one option: Redeemer, to hear Tim Keller. Move down the generational scale, and the suggestions become as mixed as five-star restaurant choices. Where to go, for worship?

We stopped for coffee on the way to Penn Station, and then boarded the subway for Brooklyn. Off at Clark Street, we had a brisk stroll through it’s-still-winter-the-day-before-Spring to arrive at 17 Smith Street, facing Fulton. We arrived in time for the first – 9:00a – service at Brooklyn Tabernacle.

I could get Keller’s sermon via podcast, and nearly replicate the experience. The various new-era churches in the city are doing great work… and have similar cousins across big-town America. The spectrum of spiritually meaningful church options in New York City is a great thing, but…

What a delight to be jammed into two seats – on the third row – among thousands of truly happy people. The hundreds in the choir – led by Carol Zymbala – reflect the ethnic mix in the sanctuary. Carol’s husband, Jim, became pastor of the 30 person remnant of the 125-year-old church in 1971. Today, 16,000 members meet at various times, in various venues, to experience God and one another.

Jim’s message was spot on… but you probably wouldn’t finish the podcast. It wouldn’t come close to replicating the live service experience of people – most of whom would be in the lower reaches of the economic bell curve – realizing the promise of God: “But may the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful. Sing to God, sing in praise of his name, extol him who rides on the clouds; rejoice before him – his name is the Lord.” (Psalm 68:3-4)

If happiness is an experience rather than an emoji, you might find it in a church whose music captures the joy found in the God whose smile is too-often hidden by the clouds of disbelief…

Bob Shank

Are you a casualty of the Space Program?

March 13, 2017

We’re suffering the effects of the original Space Program.

In May of 1961, President John F. Kennedy delivered a request to Congress for $9 billion over five years for one of what he called urgent national needs: the goal of putting a man on the moon – and bringing him back safely – before the end of the decade. In July, 1969 – six years after Kennedy’s death – the dream was realized: Armstrong, Collins and Aldrin went to the moon, and back.

The Space Program accelerated, once there was a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) to focus America’s potential toward a tangible, measurable outcome. The tangential benefits of the technology innovations that were necessary for the mission served America’s interests far beyond the aeronautics sector. The rising tide of an out-of-this-world initiative propelled everyone to new heights…

There was a space program that was launched over 1900 years before Kennedy’s challenge. In his night-time hike from the Upper Room to Gethsemane, King Jesus delivered a request to his Father for an urgent need that would soon emerge. Upon his return to Heaven, the eleven Apostles – and, the people destined to join the movement we call the Christian faith – their essential value would determine their ultimate success. That value – unity – was not just window-dressing for wimps: it is a strategic necessity for us to achieve what Jesus directed.

His appeal: “My prayer is not for them alone. 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 17:20-23)

His desired goal: that the world would know about God’s love for them, and the mission that brought Jesus to the Cross. The strategy: all believers would experience relational and operational unity. Then – and, only then – would the global objective be realized. How’s that going?

Enter the space program: that’s the subversive strategy of the Evil One to create disunity among the family of God, who are the followers of Jesus and the ground-troops for the fulfillment of Jesus’ Great Commission. What’s the “space program?”

Here it is: Jesus wanted us to be a functioning part of His body (the metaphor he used to describe the entire community of redeemed people, the citizens of His Kingdom). The Evil One wants us to be apart from His body, operating independently in life, disconnected from the power of unity that God the Son asked God the Father to actualize in His departure. His goal for us: amputated, not accentuated.

When the Body – and its various parts (that’s us) – connects, with all of the parts functioning in alignment with their particular contribution, BHAGs are achieved. When the Body is disconnected, the sum of the parts never comes close to the potential of the composite. What’s the difference?

One click of the space bar: a part, versus apart. It doesn’t seem like much, but that’s necessary to miss the power of community.

We serve leaders; most are entrepreneurs. The default deficit for entrepreneurs? We/they tend to be loners, performing our LifeSong as a solo act, rather than part of a magnificent ensemble. One man bands might play Time Square, but they never occupy the stage at Carnegie Hall.

Are you living in sync with Jesus’ BHAG? Where is your powerful contribution to His purposes happening, with you doing your part alongside others doing the same? Are you a part? Or, apart?

Bob Shank

Pry the baton from our cold dead hands…

March 6, 2017

Jesus was a Millennial.

William Strauss and Neil Howe took sociocultural anthropology to the broad market with their first/signature book together, Generations: The History of America’s Future, 1584 to 2069. From political campaigns to marketing initiatives, their description of four recurring generational types – and the likelihood of predictable mass behavior in the future, based on observing the past – has been instructive. Jesus wasn’t what Strauss and Howe would label a Millennial… but he sure could relate.

In America, we’re as intentional about naming generational cohorts as we are in naming newborns. No one contests the identity of Builders/Silents/Boomers/Busters (all living Americans who are over 30); these designations are accepted and embraced. The conversation lapses – among those four age groupings – when the “M Word” is whispered. “Millennials:”  did someone let one in?

They sit on the folding chairs at the family holiday table. This next consumer age category is crowding the carpool lane: they’ve got 80 million buddies, and they now outnumber the Boomers who thought they would forever control the vote. Oldies wonder: will Millennials find their way, someday?

At last count, there are 248,760 people with the CEO title in America; that includes privately-held and publicly-traded companies On average, they acquired their title at 53; their typical tenure at the top is 10 years. This age has gone up eight years in the last twenty. Why? Boomers are holding on to power, and clogging the pipeline for the Busters and Millennials who are waiting in the wings for their shot at the C-Suite.

Typical lifespans are tossed around like peanut bags at a baseball game, but they’re misleading. “Average age” becomes far less meaningful when infant mortality and workplace mishaps are taken out of the formula. God revealed life spans 3700 years ago, in Psalm 90: “Our days may come to seventy years, or eighty, if our strength endures…” (v 10).  If you’ve got seven decades to do it all… when should leaders get their opportunity to emerge? Is age 53 the “magic moment?”

Joseph, son of Jacob – brother of the 10 knuckleheads who pawned him as a slave and had to bow to him as a political savior – went through hell as a slave before running the family office for Potiphar. Unjustly convicted for workplace sexual malpractice, he went to jail before getting hired as Pharaoh’s Chief of Staff.  He lived to 110, but got promotion to the palace at 30.

David, son of Jesse – youngest of eight brothers; three were wussy soldiers who hid with their comrades from Goliath’s challenge. He took down the Philistine Big Dog as a teenager, just after Samuel secretly named him as Saul’s successor as king. For the rest of his teens and twenties, he’s on the roller-coaster from public hero to the king’s nightmare. He lives by faith on the edge of destruction… but emerges the victor, and is elevated to his calling at 30 when the 12 tribes recognize him as their king.

Jesus, son of God – his mission was clear from Mary’s pregnancy, but the path from Bethlehem to the Jordan was no easy journey. Imagine the Creator schlepping construction projects in Nazareth, biding time until declaring his intent to derail religion and replace it with the New Covenant. Before: God in a draped enclosure, found only in Jerusalem’s temple. After: God in rebirthed humans, to be found wherever they were. His human age when his Father announced him, at his baptism: 30.

Here’s the reality: every person faces the challenge in their 20s: will their life in that decade extinguish them, or distinguish them? Will their choices take them out of contention for God’s ultimate calling? Or, will their choices put them in the convergence of purpose, passion and potential?

Look around: do you know Millennials – young adults, still short of their 30th birthday – whose great future is not yet obvious? What are you doing – with/for them – to make sure that they arrive at their coming threshold, ready to go for the headlines of God’s history, with nothing holding them back?

Bob Shank

It ain’t over until after it’s over

February 27, 2017

Blame the accountants.

What a royal blunder: “And the Academy Award for Best Picture goes to… La La Land.” Oops; no, not really. What? Jordan Horowitz, one of the producers of La La Land, corrected Warren Beatty: “There’s a mistake; Moonlight: you guys won Best Picture. This is not a joke…”

Give Warren a break. He’s still pretty spry for a guy getting ready to blow out 80 candles on March 30th. He’s been in the crosshairs of a paperwork snafu before. He was set up again…

The last time was back in 1978 – nearly 40 years ago in Heaven Can Wait. He played Joe Pendleton, fictional quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams who survives the attempts on his life every Sunday by middle linebackers, only to succumb to his introduction to the afterlife while riding his bike in Malibu. A rookie angel goofs – anticipating a fatal collision that was not part of the Plan – and transports Joe to the Judgment. Problem: he wasn’t expected yet – his appointment wasn’t until 2025! – so Mr. Jordan (that’s James Mason, playing Hollywood’s decaf version of God) scrambles outside the pocket trying to score on a broken play. Joe’s body has already been cremated – no resurrection option is possible – so Jordan allows him to return to the body of a rich guy just drugged and drowned by his gold digger wife and her conspiring boyfriend. Get the DVD on Netflix…

Warren’s been the victim of an accounting mix-up in Hollywood twice; he handles it well. Pricewaterhouse Coopers has owned last night’s error: someone gave Beatty the wrong envelope as he walked on stage for the final award of the evening. Blame the accountants.

On the heels of Super Bowl LI earlier this month, the lesson is clear: it isn’t over until it’s over. No, the new reality: it isn’t over until after it’s over. Over just means that the winner may not yet be apparent; after it’s over is when it’s official…

Art imitates life, again. The person delivering the eulogy at your funeral/memorial service will just read the envelope they’ve been handed… but earthly accounting is fraught with failure. The guy/gal who gets the Oscar – down here – may be subject to a stunning reset when he/she arrives at the real event – up there.

The accountants “up there” are making entries in two books; they’re responsible for the only record keeping that will ultimately matter. What are the books, and why do they matter?

Book #1 is the Book of Life: “…And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). Over a dozen times – from Old Testament to New – heaven’s phone book (every human inhabitant has a listed number) is referenced. The host at the door is absolutely fastidious: if you don’t have a reservation, you don’t get in the door. This book answers the question: who do you know? If you don’t know Jesus, you don’t get in.

Book #2 is the Book of Works: “The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Revelation 20:12). Reference to the Book – in this citation – is specific to the people whose names are not found in Book #1, but even the redeemed are being tracked – after salvation – to assure that all that is done is ultimately compensated: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done (Matthew 16:27). This book answers the question: what did you do? The temporal works will be redacted; the eternal works will be rewarded. If your efforts were focused toward Heaven’s agenda, you’ll win the prize.

Oscar statues drive people to great performances; who remembers last year’s winners?   The Crowns of the Kingdom should drive Christians to great performances; they’ll be elite, forever.

Bob Shank

Did Washington have a ReBirthday?

February 20, 2017

Happy Holidays.

It’s not Christmas any more, it’s “Holidays,” because others have their minds on Kwanzaa, or Hanukkah, or the Winter Solstice. Accommodate everyone, with an inane alternative.

Today, it’s Happy Holidays time: it’s the third Monday of February, so you can lean toward Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, or George Washington’s birthday… or just Presidents Day: February’s version of Happy Holidays.

George Washington is remembered as “the Father of our Country,” but the young-person-on-the-street interviews expose a profound ignorance about America’s dad. Whether the early version – Jay Leno’s “Jaywalking” – or the modern iteration – Jesse Watters, with “Watters’ World” – the people who pose for the camera couldn’t score a D+ on a high school history final. The Enlightenment – for them – began on January 9, 2007, when Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone.

Here’s an even more intriguing question, that neither Jay nor Jesse ever posed: was George Washington a Christian?

Don’t ask Siri; she only knows what she’s programmed to know, and her programmers auditioned for Jaywalking and Watters’ World. Do what any modern intellectual would do: ask Google.

It’s a good thing that today is a holiday: you’ll need some time to scroll through the 66.5 million hits. You don’t have to go very far past the first 100 pages of results to conclude the answer: maybe.

The voices come from all over the ideological map: some are secular voices, wanting to recruit him – posthumously – to their camp of godlessness. Others are Christian bloggers, citing his frequent references to “providence” as his code word for God/Jesus, as well and his private morning and evening alone times, which must have been periods of personal devotions and prayers. Letters written by his family members give personal, anecdotal bases for their assumption of his personal faith are further substantiation for their reasoned opinion: he must have been a Christian.

Here’s what we know, for sure: George Washington was born on February 22, 1732, and he died on December 14, 1799. On the day of his death, the only calendar date that had any importance to George Washington: the day he was born again.

December 14, 1799 was the date when the Father of our Country stood before the Eternal Father, to be evaluated for entrance into the Eternal Father’s domain. Washington’s role in the founding of America – the history that may (or, may not) be remembered among Americans – would, at that moment, be irrelevant. The single query at the end of this lifetime, for him and for us: what was your response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ?  “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12).

Modern people use Snapchat and Twitter to express their deepest thoughts; people of his era wrote – on paper, in longhand – to capture their concepts, for their contemporaries and for posterity. Washington left letters, journals and documents of every sort that create a paper portrait of the man who could have been king, but demonstrated the presidential transfer of power that has marked America for more than two centuries.

But, he left for ongoing speculation the most important question any person will ever answer before God: had he declared his need for a Savior, and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ to be his only solution for sin?

To my family and friends: I declare before you – as I will one day declare before the Father in heaven – that I have embraced the Word of God and the Gospel of Christ as the only source of truth, and the Lord Jesus Christ as the only source of salvation. There will be no question at my passing: Bob was – and, is – a “Christian.”

Have you made that clear to the people who live in your world?

Bob Shank

I know mine; do you know yours?

February 13, 2017

When the story of the 2010s is added to American history, it may be said that it was a decade in which the Cold War was no longer waged between nations, but – instead – between worldviews. A worldview isthe framework from which we view reality and make sense of life and the world.

Everyone has a worldview, but most don’t perceive it. Instilled through education and influence – through long spans of time – it informs what people think, say and do; it is on display, incessantly. When man-on-the-street interruptions occur (think: Jesse Watters), the interview question is really trivial; what is laid-bare, most often, is a stark display of one’s worldview.

Among the various worldviews c. 2017, there are two that clash most often: secular humanism vs. biblical. One is founded in human reason; the other in divine revelation. The battles are constant, and are waged in every sector of society 24/7/365. Most days’ headlines report the constant scrum.

So… People who aren’t Christians have a secular humanist worldview, and Christians have a biblical worldview… right? One would think, but if Watters World came to church on Sunday and did a round of questions that would expose the stark differences between them, what would you see/hear?

The Barna Research Group has solid data. Using a battery of questions designed to expose the foundation of values upon which Americans build their personal positions, they found that 4% of the population has a biblical worldview. What about “born-again believers?”

Barna isolated the self-confessed born-agains. Their findings: 9% – that’s one-out-of-ten – of the followers of Jesus think like Jesus: the vast majority (91%) of Christians think/speak/act like the folks next door who do not claim faith in Jesus Christ. Christians… without a biblical worldview.

Why is one’s worldview an important issue? Why is your worldview a significant issue? Simply put: if your worldview is skewed, your thoughts, words and actions will not align with the foundation for life that is found inside the leather covers of your personal Bible. “What would Jesus do?” is a follow-up question; “What would Jesus think?” is the prerequisite question that is even more crucial to ascertain. If you aren’t thinking like Jesus, you cannot speak for – or, act on behalf of – the One whose model for mindset must be adopted – without edit or eradication – first, and foremost.

Paul knew that. This isn’t a modern dilemma; it has been a priority determination since the earliest days of the Christian faith: “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).

Tough truth: 90% of Christians are off-the-bubble in their worldview; it becomes an unreliable mindset that warps their thoughts, fractures their words and compromises their actions. What they need – and, once secured, what they must protect – is a new point of view (“…So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view…”).

I was asked this week: “So… why do you write the Point of View?” The concise answer: I want to help leaders refine – and, to strengthen – their biblical worldview. Why?

Among Christians: only 10% have a biblical worldview. Among people: 85% are followers; 10% are managers; 5% are leaders. Currently: 324 million Americans. Born-Again Christians: 146 million (claimed). Biblical worldview: 13.1 million (9%). Kingdom leaders: 655,000 who have personal faith, biblical worldview and leadership in evidence (among 350,000 churches; less than two-per). That’s my audience: leaders like you. Objective: change the world and build God’s Kingdom.

Why not forward this PoV to a friend like you, and invite them to subscribe for free?

Bob Shank

Which is tougher? Cigars out, or Gospel in?

February 6, 2017

I’ll bet I know where you were – and, what you were doing – at/about 6:30pm yesterday (EST). The world was noshing on nachos – or, crunching fresh veggies w/hummus – getting ready for kick-off; I was open-roading between a distant church and a demanding night flight out of LAX when my phone rang. It was Dave Waters: Senior Pastor in the DC Beltway, Master’s Grad… and the Quarterback calling the plays to get The Master’s Program launched in Latin America. He had preached his Super Bowl Sunday morning in Alexandria… but the real action, for him, was last week, in Cuba, where he frequently trains church leaders. I asked him to write the story…

* * * * *

It was both an exciting and challenging week. We had 30 leaders on Wednesday for a Session #1 of El Plan Maestro (The Master’s Program, in Español) in Bayamo, with plans on Thursday and Friday – Sessions #1 and #2 – in Holguin, with 30 Christian leaders coming from all over the city.

The exit surveys from Session #1 in Bayamo were excellent. In Holguin – at the end of the first day/Session #1 – a lawyer in his early 60s came to me after the session and said to me “I leave here very moved. I must go home and re-think much of my life.” That’s the disruption that TMP creates, in any language! It was a great day for the Kingdom; the surveys confirmed it.

Then, the Enemy struck. On Thursday after the session, while resting in my rented room, I received an unexpected visit from the provincial Director of Immigration. After a brief conversation, he took my passport and ordered me to meet with Immigration officials and Justice Department representatives at their office at 8:00am the next day.

I arrived early. The questioning lasted for at least 80 minutes. I was informed that this was an “official interview.” The content of the questioning was tense and they were both suspicious of me, asking if I had any profession other than pastor. They were curious to learn what The Master’s Program was really all about. I assured them that the focus of TMP was Christian Leadership, and we had no political ambitions or intentions. We were not there for insurrection; we were there because of the Resurrection…

The official charge: I had violated the terms of my visa by holding a TMP session at a private restaurant instead of at a recognized church, or at a state owned restaurant or hotel. Based on the questions asked, the location of the TMP session appeared to be the least of their worries.

Thankfully, I had two copies of Session #1 curriculum binders with me and was able to put their minds at ease with our clearly apolitical content.

The bad news: I was instructed to cancel Friday’s session or “I would have problems.” That’s Cuban code for being arrested or deported, or both. I did as I was instructed and cancelled Day #2 in Holguin, hoping to “live to fight another day.” We plan to return for our next sessions in May/June.

The steaks we planned to serve the leaders on Friday were already being marinated by the owner of the restaurant – and the rest of the food was already purchased – so we invited the 30 leaders to come on Friday and enjoy lunch on us: the rare chance for a medium-rare steak among faith friends!

Please join me in praying that I will be able to return to Cuba in May/June if they agree to issue another religious workers’ visa to me. Pray that this won’t cause problems for the denomination or leader who sponsored my visa. We will attempt to schedule our next sessions in a church or in a state-owned hotel or restaurant. We will also pre-submit the contents of Session #2 to the authorities.

I believe that the message of TMP is powerful and transformational in the life of a Christian Leader who gets it, and applies it! I’m excited – but not surprised – that it translates so well into other cultures, as evidenced by transformed lives  already, in places like Nicaragua, Argentina and now Cuba! I’m privileged to be TMP’s pioneer in Latin America.

* * * * *

The challenges of the Super Bowl are no match for the struggles waged against darkness, in the spiritual battle that wages 24/7/365, across the globe. Pray for the effort Dave is leading – in Cuba, and across Latin America! – as TMP finds its way to new Kingdom leaders in the 21st Century!

Bob Shank

We already know the winner…

January 30, 2017

I don’t know what your plans are for next weekend, but you’d better get to the grocery store if you need any of the essentials. Avocados, six packs of your favorite whatever, chips of every nature and type – you know, the basic food groups – will be wiped-out by Saturday. Anything found in the “munch” universe will already be in lockdown.

Your chance to grab a 4K Ultra HD LED LCD TV – and, get it installed for the Sunday 5:30pm (CST) kick-off – is nearly past. Premium charges will apply, after mid-week. The ultimate picture – for the ultimate game – will cost close to what your parents paid for the house they lived in when you were born. All normal limitations – for diet or electronics – are suspended, until the victory of either Patriots or Falcons has been declared. The Election was small potatoes; Super Bowl is the main event…

My high school Latin teacher – Solomon Abraham Guggenheim (no kidding!) – had his own English lexicon. When seeking a superlative, he had only one: “That for which there is none whicher.”  For Guggenheim, nothing could rise above that title…

Guggenheim’s classroom reign was late ’60’s, about the time that the Super Bowl was birthed to bring the NFL and AFL into public partnership (the first SB: January 15, 1967). The designation of “bowl” for games came out of contests staged at the Rose Bowl facility; from those origins, the term became attached to post-season college gridiron finales.

College football already had bowl games multiplying – today, there are 40 – to gather fans for the finishing appearance of their favorites, against rivals from other conferences who never got a chance to bump pads in the regular season.

In a planning meeting for the new professional match-up, Lamar Hunt – founder of the upstart America Football League – proposed the name “Super Bowl,” in the summer of ’66. No one liked it much, but it was better than the lame alternatives, and it stuck. When you’re looking for a better name, how do you one-up “Super?”

Super: that for which there is none whicher. When you’re climbing the Tree of the Recognition of Ultimate Status, there is a top-spot on which you must place the star. When you get up to that elevation, stop climbing: there’s nowhere else to go.

In the modern world, every field has its Summation of Superiority. “Best” is a button worn by lots of men and women. Obscure outside their arena of excellence, among the unaware, they appear normal, but the sophisticated in their universe would snag them for a selfie, given half a chance.

Football has a playing field with clear striping and rules of play; at any given time, there are only two teams at odds. Points on the board determine the winners, but players from both sides are friendly, will be paid handsomely and party together in the off-season.

After next Sunday, another competition will still be underway. The ongoing competition – between Religions – won’t be settled anytime soon. The current win-loss records are fluid, but among the elite teams, the standings are:

 

Christianity

2.2 billion

 

Islam

1.6 billion

 

Hinduism

1.1 billion

 

Buddhism

.5 billion

 

Folk Religions

.4 billion

There are lots of minor-league formations, but they don’t have much following. From the human view, the only thing we have to measure is affiliation, and those are the numbers.

The real measure regards the God(s) whose identity forms the faith. That’s where the “win” was never in question: the One Who calls Himself “the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Almighty, the Creator, I Am.” He already won the Title, in a weekend tournament 2000 years ago that began on a Cross and ended at a Tomb.

Patriots or Falcons? Champions for a year, then the trophy is up-for-grabs. The Lord Jesus Christ? He’s the Eternal Savior, whose trophies are people who have celebrated His victory.

Could somebody pass the communion?

Bob Shank

Friday is big; here’s something bigger

January 23, 2017

If your office was “open” last Friday, it’s likely that the productivity meter was barely registering. For hundreds of thousands of people, they were “live” in Washington; for others, they were there – virtually – on a variety of digital devices. Others were loading their protest magazines with antagonist ammunition, getting geared-up to march in opposition on Saturday. America called a Time Out last Friday for the quadrennial extravaganza embedded in our democracy: it was the Inauguration.

Most of the founders of America had British tradition in their cultural DNA, and – for them – the pomp and circumstance attending the occasional Coronations influenced their thinking. Rather than elevating a monarch, they formed a new kind of government whose leadership would derive power, not from a blood line, but from their constituency. They would elect their presidents to a position of service – not for life or until violently deposed, but for a four-year term. Reelection was possible, but not assured; performance would be key to maintaining the support of the growing American populace.

The last coronation in England was June 2, 1953. That day, Elizabeth II was installed as the new monarch in Westminster Abbey, and the event was the first major international event to be broadcast across the world on television, recorded in color for posterity.

Done every four years, Inaugurations are big deals in the United States; last done 65 years ago, Coronations can rise to even greater heights in Great Britain. Life stops while the new Sovereign assumes the position placing them over all others.

Those spectacles are great theater – and worthy of attention, for sure – but they don’t hold a candle to an event for which I have already secured an insider ticket.

Thousands of people lined the road into the capital city for the parade that presented the King to the people, before his coronation was consummated. Everything seemed to be on-track – and his advance men had done everything they knew to do, in preparation for the ceremony. But conspirators whose power would be retired upon his ascension to the throne were able to foment a backlash that would lead to the arrest and execution of the King before he could claim what was rightfully his.

His supporters lamented the end of their dream, but a plot twist of eternal significance reset their hopes as he revealed his plan: Resurrection over insurrection. The conspiracy would claim victory, but the loyals would recruit support from around the world to join the campaign to recognize the royalty of King Jesus, and the ceremony recognizing his supremacy would finally take place, and it would be broadcast internationally, in 3D: everyone alive would be first-hand observers.

John the Baptist had the role of emcee – “Master of Ceremonies” – to introduce Jesus when he came the first time. He’ll need no introduction the next time: when he appears, you’ll know who he is, without any need for someone to verbalize his vita.

Today – leading up to his return and coronation – he has invited us to act as ambassadors, making his credentials for the top-job known to people who still have time to cast their vote and be included in his Kingdom.

Shadrach Meshach Lockridge is now with the King; before leaving to join him, off-shore, in 2000, he was the longtime pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in San Diego. In my book, he says more in four minutes than most people could handle in an hour.

Give yourself to the gift of seeing/hearing Dr. S.M. Lockridge with his powerful proclamation: click on That’s My King!   If that doesn’t light you up, your wood must be wet!

Still praying “Thy Kingdom come,”

Bob Shank

That’s My King

Shadrach Meshach Lockridge (March 7, 1913 – April 4, 2000) was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, a prominent congregation in San Diego, California, from 1953 to 1993. He was known for his preaching across the United States and around the world. He held doctorates and numerous honorary degrees, and was often sought as a public speaker, even after he retired in 1993. He served as guest lecturer at numerous schools and universities and on the faculty of several others, including the Billy Graham School of Evangelism.

An audible recording of the speech titled, That’s My King, can be played below:

Chasing Dollars, or Dreams?

January 16, 2017

“I have a dream…”

He wasn’t the first to say those words, but they are forever attached to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today is his 89th Birthday. His dream outlived him; that’s not unusual, for leaders.

A bullet ended his earthly life at 39, but the bullet-points of his dream are still a work in progress. They include some of the richest aspirations of America, from the time the colonists declared their dream of a new kind of nation and demonstrated their dedication in the Revolution into the still distant future. The dreams of America are still a work-in-progress.

Dr. King was only 34 when he addressed the live audience of 250,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, but millions of people over the last half century have reheard – or, read – the message that he delivered in just 17 minutes; Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount can be recited – in English – in less than 13 minutes. Powerful concepts can often be communicated – memorably – with brevity that makes them even more memorable and moving. Jesus was 31 when he pronounced his dreams, for his Kingdom: the revolutionaries who responded are still working to see his dream fully realized…

Relations between racial groups in 1963 were a work-in-progress, but – in retrospect – there was far too little work, and far too little progress when he called America into advancing. Profound shifts in perspectives and positions have taken place, from then to now; the ultimate vision envisioned by Dr. King is still before us, though not beyond us.

Great leaders – whose dreams remain, beyond their departure – leave great legacies. They are often claimed as inspiration, but sometimes they breed conflicts that are counterfeits of the original. Much has been done “in the name of the Kingdom” and “in the name of the Civil Rights Movement” that would have been opposed by the Lord Jesus or Dr. King.

This is a holiday; you might be working today, but you should take some time to reflect on some of the thoughts initiated in the past for which we still press into the future.

The shortest sitcom takes a 30 minute bite out of your life (with commercials), and the archive of that half-hour span of time will be wiped off your hard drive by tomorrow. Let me give you the gift of 30 minutes that will revisit vision that still inspires the deep commitment of millions of people, dedicated to the memory of a dead hero – Dr. King – and a living Savior – Jesus the Christ.

Click here to read the “Sermon on the Mount” speech (13 minutes), delivered by Jesus.

Click here to read the “I Have a Dream” speech (17 minutes), delivered by Martin (YouTube).

If you had to capture your life message in 15 minutes (the average of those two monologues), what would you say? What is your vision of the future that would be worth asking people to hear today, and for others to read, decades after your death?

Great leaders have great visions, and their vision is likely to live beyond them. Do you have what it takes to be a great leader?

Bob Shank

What would “rich” look like, for you?

January 9, 2017

Is this the year to get rich… or, to live richly?

The markets have caught some tailwind as ’16 ended and ’17 began; anticipation seems to be running high. If this is a season for economic achievement, what will it mean, to you?

You might not have your plans clarified the way Tevye has. It’s been 50 years since Fiddler on the Roof was the hottest thing on Broadway, but the philosophy captured in Tevye’s theme song – “If I Were a Rich Man” – is as fresh today as it was then, depicting a transitioning Jewish family in a rural Russian village, in 1905. What would being rich do for Tevye?

For two verses, he addressed the fun-money opportunities: material comforts and self-serving excesses are easily listed. His third verse focuses on making life better for wife Golde. His ultimate desire – if only he were rich – emerges in his final verse: he’d be able to work less and spend more time at the synagogue, praying and reading the Torah (our Old Testament). He finishes that last verse with a rhetorical question that still echoes: would it really spoil God’s vast, eternal plan if he were wealthy?

So, life’s agenda – for Tevye, or for most of our 21st Century American peers – remains pretty clear. Step #1: Get rich. And, Step #2: Now that you’re rich, assuage your appetites, provide for your family… and, then, get close to God.

Here’s God’s agenda for Rich Christians: “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Wow; it’s a good thing we’re not “rich,” isn’t it?

“Rich in this present world” is the target group: who is that? Click globalrichlist.com, and put your country and annual income into their home page. Here’s what you’ll discover: if you make at least US$32,500/year, you’re in the top 1%. Welcome to Rich! Now that you know who you are, what agenda are you pursuing as you launch your life into 2017?

Here are God’s simple – but, powerful – commands (he doesn’t call it optional advice; if you’re a follower of Jesus, these are marching orders):

1. Avoid the attitudes that infect affluence. Arrogance and misplaced trust will neutralize your potential to live the life God has assigned to you. Don’t be like most rich people; be better: stay humble, and trust God over ‘Mammon’ (the identity your financial statement tries to steal from the Almighty).

2. Adopt the practices that allow you to live richly. He names four: first, Do Good. Don’t get involved in career/marketplace/investment practices that play to the dark side. Whatever business you’re in, God’s in… and he doesn’t want to partner in tawdry pursuits. Then, it’s Good Deeds. This tag always attaches to time and talent investments that produce eternal impact. We refer to that as “Calling,” and it employs you in efforts that produce a future payday, for which you have faith. Third: Be Generous. Get clear here: generosity isn’t about offering the minimums (for believers, that’s the tithe); it’s about the above-and-beyond that transfers assets from earth to heaven. And, last: Share. Being rich always means we have more capacity than we are currently using. An extra seat at the dinner table; an extra car in the garage; an extra room upstairs; an extra $100 in the wallet: someone around us is short; how can our extra become their enough, without removing our continuing excess?

3. Look forward to a payday, someday… Treasure in the coming age, and life that is really living today. That’s what it means to live richly.

Tevye never got there; you’re already there. Will you live 2017 richly, as God has prescribed?

Bob Shank