Border Guard Part 2 - Family

This is the 2nd installment of how to be a border guard for your Corps Officer.  After all, those Captains have a very difficult job - there are a lot of areas in which they are attacked on a daily basis.  Today, we look at what we as soldiers can do to protect the CO's family.

First, a word on why this is important.  While we all know that no one is perfect, the pastor's family life should be an example to others.  A mentor of mine once said, "The best witness you can have to your people is to be a good husband to your wife and a good father to your children."  It's that important.  If you want your corps to thrive, your Corps Officer must be healthy.  And for that to happen, the CO's family must be healthy.

So . . . what can we as soldiers do?  Let's think about a few ideas.  Here goes.

1. Look out for the pastor's kids.  Even though the officer is at your corps for a relatively short amount of time, your corps is the only congregation those kids have right now.  This might be an opportunity to set an example for the kids, give them spiritual guidance, or just to encourage them.  In one appointment, a woman became like another grandmother to our girls.  Rest assured, the kids will never forget that.  But neither will me and Beth. 
2. Rejoice with the CO's family when they rejoice.  On one Sunday School rally day, we had DHQ guests, and our older daughter responded, asking Jesus into her heart.  It was a wonderful day, and we were glad to share it with our soldiers.  Many noticed and shared hugs and prayer for thanksgiving.  Look for the subtle times when good things happen, and let them know how happy it makes you that you could be a part.
3. Notice when the family is in need and lend support.  This might mean during a camp while one officer is away, or perhaps when one family member is in the hospital.  One time, our daughter had a brief hospital stay that caused some temporary concern.  We felt so encouraged when a soldier family came to see her for a few minutes.  It doesn't require money and won't take too much time to visit, make a phone call or make a meal they can heat up during a busy time.
4. Be a "Safe From Harm" partner.  In this day and age, many ministry opportunities present themselves which are high-risk.  Like counseling someone of the opposite sex.  Or dropping kids off after youth programs.  By offering to sit in or ride along, you are providing protection for your officer:  Protection from accusation, misunderstanding and maybe even disaster.
   
5. Help protect the Captain's family time.  Yes, I talked about time last week, but this is a double-doozie.  If Friday night is supposed to be the officers' family night, remember that Sunday night was Salvation Meeting, Monday night was Bible Study, Tuesday was youth activities, Wednesday was music programs and Thursday was Corps Council.  You get the idea.  Now, if you think of some question you want to ask the Captain, don't call on Friday.  If it can wait, hold off until Monday during regular office hours.

Wow! That's only five things, but those would go a long way toward encouraging and protecting the CO's family.

What other ideas can you think of?

People in Proverbs

I have taken up the challenge from Pete Wilson and others - to read a chapter of Proverbs each day in January. Well, almost to the halfway point and there are a few things that jump out at me. Or rather, people jump out at me. No, it's not the dreams I had from the late night pizza. I will say that last night, my wife and I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep. I offered to read Proverbs 12 for today from my Blackberry, and then we drifted off. Back to people and my post for today.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/michelhrv/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Here are a few people that I notice already in Proverbs:

1. Parents - OK, since I am a father, I find myself quoting the fifth commandment sometimes. But throughout proverbs, the relationship between parent and child involves passing Bible knowledge and wisdom. This is a bit convicting for me, since I could do so much more with our daughters, but bring it on . . .
2. Wisdom - There are a few times so far (Proverbs 1:20-21, 8:1-2 and 9:3) where Wisdom is personified as a woman calling in the streets and from the highest point of the city.  From the reactions described in these passages, it seems like not everyone hears.  How many times have I missed wisdom's call, and how can I fix that, I wonder?
3. Folly - Yes, another woman calling in the streets.  Perhaps Wisdom's evil twin?  Calling out in the same way and in the same places - maybe that's why I have missed Wisdom those times?
   
4. Peers - Here I noticed a little negative peer pressure (Proverbs 1:10-19).  "Let's do this!" or "Let's do that!" How easy it is to see trouble coming when it's happening to someone else!?
5. Solomon - This wise king's name is mentioned in the first verse and in titles elsewhere in this book.  Yes, many of us know the story of him as a boy asking for wisdom and getting everything else.  But Solomon had self-control issues, and compromised in foolish ways later in life, didn't he?  What right did he have to write this book?  I guess the authority he was using came from the same source as his wisdom - God Himself.  I need to remind myself of that everytime I write, preach or teach - I'm not perfect, but God can use me, imperfect as I am, do communicate His love and challenge.

I guess it's not too late to jump on board the Proverbs bandwagon, but you have to hurry.  Maybe we should do this again in March!?  Returning to Proverbs regularly isn't a bad idea, is it?

Let me know what you think - maybe you saw someone else? 

Become a Border Guard for your Corps Officer – Part 1: The Clock

What are the most vulnerable spots for your Corps Officer?  As part one of this series of posts, I want to talk about what you can do to help your pastor make the best use of time.

I have just been listening to “Healthy Boundaries,” the latest installment of Focus on the Family’s Pastor to Pastor Audio Series.  It is available for free download at www.parsonage.org, and has been quite thought provoking to me.

As I listened, I thought not only of borders in my life that I have had some success (and some failure) at maintaining, I also thought about what soldiers can do to help protect their Captains (nothing against Lieutenants or Majors; I just happen to be a Captain).

Please understand that I do not have a perception that there is a perfect CO out there.  But I strongly believe that each officer has room for improvement.  In addition, if you believe it, you as a soldier can do something to help your officer succeed.

A Corps Officer is under attack on many fronts.  In this post, I will talk about the very vulnerable area of time.  Here are some practical things you can do to help protect your officer in this difficult area.  It’s not an exhaustive list, but it seems like a good start.

1. Encourage balance in schedule – Ask your Captain, “Are you getting enough sleep?” or “When is the last time you took a day off?” or “When is your next date night with your spouse?”  Trying to meet the needs of the community and congregation can be overwhelming for officers, especially when you consider that the job is never done.  One biblical command that Salvationists have a hard time obeying is Commandment #4 – “Remember the Sabbath Day.”  Asking some caring questions like “Can you take all your vacation this year?” can remind your officer that you care and that taking time off is important.
2. Offer to help – The work ethic of officers, while well-meaning, can lead to exhaustion and burnout.  Let’s face it, we all love servant leaders, but without a border guard in this area, we all can be vulnerable to temptation.  Take some time to find out what you can do to lighten your officer’s load.  It’s easy if you simply observe what your Captain does on a regular basis.  One of the biggest helps to me was when one of my soldiers offered to fold the bulletins on a Sunday morning.  Sometimes the smallest task can be overwhelming especially if it’s the “straw that broke the camel’s back.”
3. Run Interference – Sunday mornings are the worst for interruptions.  It is often the busiest, most harrowing day for an officer, but it’s also the time when everyone sees the pastor and is tempted to ask questions or present a problem.  It might be a time when you simply stand as a bodyguard, suggesting to others that an issue might be able to wait for a phone call on Monday morning.  Don’t get crazy or uncaring, but after a short time, people will get the hint to wait, and your officer will be able to concentrate better on the already large list of things to take care of on Sunday.
4. Suggest a lighter schedule – A corps schedule can get extremely busy.  Sometimes the Corps Council’s first idea to solve a problem is to add another program.  While this is at times a good thing, maybe saying “No” or dropping another less important meeting in order to introduce a new item is just what the time doctor ordered.

If you help protect your Corps Officer’s schedule, you can be a more effective border guard for your pastor. 

Maybe you have a suggestion to add to my list.  If so, please add it as a comment.

Seven Leadership Lessons I Learned from Climbing the Mountain

While in California with The Salvation Army's Metro Youth Band, a dozen of us decided to climb to the "big cross" at Camp Mt. Crags. During the New Year's Day ascent and the even more exciting descent, I learned (or re-learned) some leadership lessons.

1. Past failures make current obstacles seem greater than they actually are.  I attempted the same climb several years back, but got winded and gave up.  It just seemed too overwhelming - impossible even.  This time, when I got to the same point and stopped short of breath with my heart beating out of my chest, I wanted to give up again.  Because I gave up before I also wanted to give up at the same point.
2. Overcoming obstacles gives us confidence to tackle the next challenge.  After climbing the mountain this time, I felt more empowered to pursue some dreams that I had previously put on hold.  Climbing the mountain made other projects not seem so impossible.  It gave me inspiration to revisit my New Years' resolutions.  Watch out, 2010!
3. Each person has different strengths that help them lead the team during different parts of the journey.  The first part of the climb was a steep dirt path that was best pursued by running uphill.  This was the part that caused me to give up before.  I was quickly left behind by my fellow climbers, and I had to stop several times just to catch my breath.  The next section, by contrast, was a steep climb up a rock face, which was much easier for me.  This helped me to overtake and pass many of the others.  This surprised them, especially since I was more than twice the age of any of the rest of the climbing party.
   
4. Sometimes the easiest looking path is simply a dead end.  Once on the way up, two of us were separated from the others for awhile.  We came to a fork and made our best guess of which path to follow.  We agreed that the easier looking path was the best.  Unfortunately, we were led up to a dead end precipice.  We had to backtrack to the fork and climb again, this time following the more difficult path.
5. Keeping your eyes on the goal can help overcome adversity.  While about halfway down the mountain, we discovered that the whole party had taken a wrong turn again.  This meant that we had to rescale the mountain almost to the summit in order to find the correct path.  By now, it was starting to get dark, and  it seemed certain that we were not going to finish before light was gone (and before supper was served).  This caused some panicked feelings among the group.  I also was concerned, but we kept encouraging each other to keep up the descent and that everything was going to be OK.  "We're going to make it down together," we kept saying.  By concentrating on arriving safely, we were distracted from the perception of imminent danger.
   
6. It's always more fulfilling when you climb with someone else.  Because we all pulled for each other and encouraged each other on the way, we were each a part of the other's success.  I can't imagine doing it without this great group of friends, and I felt satisfaction from seeing them succeed.
7. Being at the summit, even temporarily, can permanently change your perspective.  From the cross at the top, we were able to see for miles around - from Catalina Island to the 101 freeway and all across Malibu Canyon.  I remember seeing the road that leads up to camp.  The next day, as we left in a bus from camp, I remembered seeing the road from the mountain and looked up.  I noticed the cross from there for the first time.  It had been visible each time I drove down that road, but I didn't realize until then where to look, let alone that it was there to see.

Thank you so much to my climbing partners.  It was an unforgettable experience, and you helped me meet a long-term goal in my life.

These are just seven lessons that I learned.  There are many others, perhaps observed by others.  If you want to, go ahead and post what you have learned.

California Tour Event Schedule

All times are PST

Sunday, December 27

• Crystal Cathedral Services - 9:30am and 11:00am
• Lunch at The Block - 12:30pm
• Concert at The Salvation Army Pasadena Tabernacle - 6:00pm

Monday, December 28

• Hollywood Concert - Noon
• Bowling in Malibu - 6:30 pm

Tuesday, December 29

• Bandfest Performance - 2:20 pm

Wednesday, December 30

• Holiday Bowl Parade - San Diego - 8:00am

Thursday, December 31

• Dinner Concert at The Salvation Army Tustin Ranch (advance tickets required) - 6:00pm

Friday, January 1

• Tournament of Roses Parade - 8:00am
• Santa Monica Tourism - 2:00pm to 6:30pm

Saturday, January 2

• Disneyland Concert - 11:35am
• Free Time in Disneyland until 9:00pm

Java Agents in Lotus Notes 8.5.1 Designer

I installed the updated Lotus 8.5.1 Client (Basic, Designer and Admin) a couple of weeks ago, and I really like it.  Designer loads quicker and also loads applications quicker - two time-intensive items in prior releases.

The thing I really love about this release is that it defaulted to the Eclipse perspective in Designer.  It felt like coming home again! 

One major impact when creating a Java agent is that the classes are actually listed in different files (which is really as it should be).  Previously, all the classes would be listed in a continuous view with separations between them. 

Here are a few of the features that I really like while coding Java in Lotus Notes:

• Context-sensitive auto-complete - this is great for a quick and sloppy typist like me.  With the case-sensitive nature of Java, this is so helpful.  Just start typing, and it will catch up with you and give you a list of choices.
• Self-Formatting - When you have typed some code, just press [ctrl][shift]-F and the braces and indents are all done perfectly.  To change the formatting rules, go to File | Preferences | Java | Code Style | Formatting.  All sorts of options are here for you to work with.
• Organizing Imports - Many best practices approaches suggest including only the imports you need.  For instance, you should not use "import java.util.*;" but "import java.util.TreeSet; import java.util.Iterator;" which indicates all the classes from other packages you are using.  Just press [ctrl][shift]-O, and presto! - the imports are all correct.
• Refactoring - Imagine that you want to change the name of a class or variable.  Just double-click on an occurrence of that name, right-click and select Refactor | Rename.  All of the references to this type or field name are changed throughout the code - amazing time-saver.  There are a lot of other refactoring options here too.
• Surround With - this is a tool with terrific time-saving potential.  Select some code, then Source | Surround With, and you have options to put the code in an if statement, a try-catch block and many other options.

One thing to remember if you are trying to modify the trigger or target of the agent - once the list of classes in the agent is open, focus on one of the classes, and the properties box at the bottom has all the options you could ever want.

For those who are used to the Domino Designer perspective, I encourage you to take the plunge and try the Eclipse perspective.  It will grow on you and you will wonder how you ever survived with the Designer perspective.  It's kind of like the R4.5 workspace - time to say goodbye so you can be ready for bigger and better things!

Major John Cunard - A Tribute

Today I mourn a man I never met. 

Major Cunard died Saturday night at age 86.  He served passionately as a pastor with his wife for decades, built the kingdom of God and served out of a burden for the souls of men.

But his greatest legacy is found in the list of his survivors.  Along with many grandchildren (one who works a few doors down the hall from me) and a handful of great-grandchildren, he leaves behind five daughters with their respective husbands.

Five daughters were raised, loved and nurtured by him through the decades.  Five daughters saw an example of faith and faithfulness through good times and bad.  Five daughters, who, in contrast to this age of skepticism and doubt, love and serve God.

This, to me, is the finest lasting tribute, and the best true measure of John's success as a man.  The professional accomplishments of Major Cunard will fade, but his legacy as a man of God is found in the faith of his children.

King Solomon once said, "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth.  Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them."  Even though Solomon was talking about sons, I believe, like it did for John Cunard, the blessing can come from having a quiver full of daughters. 

I am convinced that John indeed was blessed, and his blessing continues now as he enters heaven.

I write this, not only as a man who seeks this kind of blessing, but also one who has two daughters of my own.  I love seeing them develop in their faith and faithfulness to God.

Five daughters - what a legacy and blessing!  God bless you each as you mourn and lean on each other.  Let your healing tears comfort you as you miss your Mom and Dad and remember their impact on you and your families.

Even though I never met Major John Cunard, I look forward to receiving my 40% portion of his blessings.