Would you run into a burning barn to rescue the Golden Rule? 

Our Core Values are the personal, non-negotiable principles by which we live our lives.  

Our Core Values DRIVE our BEHAVIOR.  Every day we choose, through our behavior, what impression we want to leave on those around us.  That behavior is determined by what we value.

Our Core Values DICTATE our RESPONSE.  Life happens.  We experience things that are unexpected.  We interact with people who lift us up and some who seem to tear us down.  Our response is determined by what we value.

At your core, what do you value?  What do you want to be known for and remembered for?  What do you value so deeply that you’re willing to be ridiculed, misunderstood, experience short-term pain, or, as some have, loss of life itself?  In other words, what do you value so deeply that you’re willing to pay a price in order to stick to your guns?

I would be over-dramatic to say I’d fall on the sword for each of my Core Values.  At a minimum, I hope I’d have the courage and faith to willingly experience short-term pain in order to stay true to my Core Values.

Here are my Core Values and my personal ‘actionable’ definition of each.  Maybe they’ll inspire you to do the hard work of articulating your own.

• AUTHENTICITY – Be real and openly express my dependence on God.
• INTEGRITY – I strive to live privately what I profess publicly.
• FAMILY FIRST – Those closest to me are my priority.
• LEARNER – Life is a journey of learning.  Be teachable.
• PERSONAL GROWTH – I progress daily through the process of intentional growth.

At times, these values have cost me.  In the end, I’ve gained immeasurably more than what I’ve lost.

What are your Core Values?  Defining who you are based on what you value is some heavy lifting that will result in a stronger you, a stronger family, and a stronger world.  Experience the impact of Core Values.

Our family has been fans and supporters of charity:water for years.  We are fans for a number of reasons.  Here are just a few…

They build trust with their tribe. They do this by committing that 100% of every dollar given to a water project goes to the project.  Overhead costs are covered by private donors who give specifically to those operational expenses. That increases credibility and provides a high level of accountability.

They communicate with their tribe.  They inform their donors (tribe) what’s going on, where it’s going on, and, the success of the project.  They call it ‘the power of proof.’  I once heard Scott Harrison, the founder, talk about how they not only broadcast their successes with water projects, they also broadcast their failures.  They share the real results – the wins and the losses.  That also builds trust.

They empower their tribe to tell the story.  charity:water does an incredible job giving people the tools to share their cause and simple pathways to respond and get involved.  Their recent ‘Give Up Your Next Birthday‘ campaign is a great example.  I’m a believer that he who tells his story the best and gives people the easiest step to take action, wins the most support.  charity:water models this well.

This is not a commercial.  Check ‘em out.  Be Different.  Make A Difference.

‘Cool isn’t cool anymore.’ 

I disagreed.  I thought, ‘Cool is cool and will always be cool.’  However, Hybels statement stuck with me.  I realized he wasn’t in a mid-life crisis or just jealous about someone’s coolness.  He was speaking to the modern movement of Christians and church leaders who were trying to be cool for the sake of being relevant.

Be Relevant.  I believe that as a followers of Jesus, we should be incredibly relevant in our culture and to those around us.  After all, we know the Creator of the universe and the Savior of our soul.  That’s about as relevant as one could get, I think.  Because of that, let’s engage culture and be relevant on every front.  Let’s be all things to all people in order to earn the opportunity to share our faith. (1 Corinthians 9:22)

Be Cool.  Let’s face it, some people are cool and others, well….just aren’t.  If you’ve been endowed with perpetual coolness, walk in it.  Do you.  If you’ve never been someone others look to for ‘what’s next’, or ‘what’s cool’, don’t sweat it – do you anyway.  Here’s the key…

Be Authentic.  Authenticity is always relevant.  Authenticity is even cool.  When you’re genuine, transparent, and honest, you’re authentic.  Authenticity transcends style, fashion, and cultural differences.  Authenticity models a sincere trust in Christ and a humility that acknowledges that it’s not all about you anyway.

If being cool isn’t authentic, I’d say, ‘Cool isn’t cool anymore.’  

Have you been rock climbing?

There are many places in Scripture that are like ‘handholds’.  These are some that I’ve grabbed onto and held on for dear life.   As we surrender to the work that God is doing in us, we can place the weight of our  present and our future on promises like these.  Look them up.  Maybe you can add them to your ‘wall’ as you climb through life.

Proverbs 11:14 – Seeking wise counsel is just wise.

Proverbs 18:16 – Develop the gifting God has given you and trust Him with the results.

Philippians 1:6 – God finishes what He starts.  Be confident of that.

Philippians 4:19 – God provides when we do things His way.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 – Generosity wins.

John 1:12 – True life is a gift, receive it.

Grab Hold and Hang On.

A couple weeks ago while at a speaking engagement, I spoke on the subject of healing from our past wounds.  I described how we all have injuries from our past – physical, emotional, relational, and, even spiritual.  Some of those injuries we can walk off.  Some take time to heal.  Still others, seem to last a lifetime.

One of the illustrations I used in the talk was how I had a horrible swimming accident when I was fourteen years old.  If we’re honest, sometimes it’s hard to believe the stories guys like me can tell.

As a communicator, credibility is critical.  All my personal stories really happened.  After giving the talk, I visited some family and took my son, Dylan, over to the area where this story really happened.  Here’s the ‘at the scene’ video.  Yes, my illustrations are true.  Sometimes, painfully so.

I’m privileged to be friends with Jeff and Erica Buchanan.  They’ve always been fun people and their constant desire to make a difference in people’s lives is contagious.

One day, everything changed for Jeff and Erica.  Their normal life quickly and dramatically slipped toward the edge of tragedy.

Then…something happened for Jeff and Erica that may qualify as…a miracle!

Erica writes, ‘On February 14th, 2011 our lives were forever changed.  My husband Jeff’s heart stopped beating.  He was dead - without a natural heart beat for approximately 90 minutes… This is our story……’

Check it out HERE.

I’ve been in ministry a long time.  In fact, I have been doing ‘church’ for more than half my life.  Early on, I was led to believe that every great story had to begin with something bad that was turned into something great.  That’s what made an amazing ‘testimony’.

I believe that God is a Redeemer and a Restorer.  I praise Him for that.  However, I’ve come to a place in my faith where I’m aware that not every story ends happily ever after.

I once heard a message by a guy named Blaine Hogan.  In his talk, Blaine asked, ‘Why is it that most of our stories feel more like propaganda than truth?’  

That’s me.  As a Christian video storyteller, I’ve been conditioned to only tell the stories that end with the hero winning, the damsel rescued, and the sinner saved.   As much as I love the stories with happy endings, is that true for everyone, every time?

Where are the stories of doubt and struggle?  When I look at my own life and faith, I still have chapters that are incomplete, still in process, and, still, very messy.

I wonder if all our stories should merely warm people’s hearts.  Shouldn’t some of our stories cause people to deal with their unfinished business and seek a deeper faith?  No good triumphing over evil.  No prodigals coming home.  No rescue.  Stories that tell about the ‘not yet’, the ‘work in progress’ – stories that motivate us to seek the One, Jesus, who starts and finishes our stories.

Does your story relate?

Here’s a sample of Steve’s work.

Meet Peter Habyarimana.  His story is possibly one like you’ve never heard before.  If you’re normal, you won’t click play on this video and take the 18 minutes to hear his story.

However, if you’d like to hear something that will rock your world, your kids world, and everyone else around you, STOP and LISTEN.  I took this video in Nairobi, Kenya, with my FlipCam over dinner as Peter began to share.

Peter was born in Kibali, Uganda.  His Father is from Rwanda and his mother is from Uganda.

Here are some statements Peter makes in this video….

‘Just remember that there are many kids that are going through the same thing I went through…they want just a little glimpse of hope, like I was given…’

‘I grew up eating one meal, every other day.  The meal was beets and potatoes…’

‘Growing up, I never thought I’d live to be five, let alone ten.  As you grew up, you were never taught to dream because you weren’t sure how you would survive.‘

‘I didn’t have a name before I was two years old.  That’s because my mom was afraid that I would die before the age of two.  In my village, for every one-hundred that were born, fifty would die before they were two.’

‘My dad was the most abusive man that I could think of.’  

‘I went to school for one opportunity.  That was the only place I could go and be away from my dad for eight hours.’

‘At eleven, I knew my dad was going to kill me.  So, one morning, I went to the bus station and asked, ‘Which bus goes the farthest?’

While on the bus, ‘Every hour that went by was a glimpse of hope that my dad wasn’t going to kill me.’

At eleven years old, the bus dropped him off in Kampala, Uganda, where he lived as a street kid for four years.  He was always on the move, sleeping only 30-40 minutes at a time.

‘When I had been on the streets for about four years, I saw this family, and they were kind…’

For about eight months this family would give Peter food when they saw him.  They eventually asked him if he would go to school, if given the opportunity.

He thought, ‘If I went to school, maybe I’d have a roof over my head.’  The family put him into a school on two conditions – that he attend a boarding school and attend a program at a local church.  Peter agreed.

‘That changed my life…  I met someone who really believed in me…  He (the father of the family) actually believes that I’m a human being.  For a stranger who didn’t even know my name…to believe in me…that was hard for me to believe.’

The program at the local church was Compassion International.  ‘Once I began the program, I was told that the man who picked me up off the street was the head of Compassion International, Uganda.’  (10 minutes into the video is a MUST LISTEN…)

While still fearing he would be beaten and abused, the Pastor at the church said, ‘Peter, why would we beat you?  God has a promise for you.  That’s why you’re here.  We’re here to make sure that’s fulfilled.’

‘I began to think that I want to be like these men who think I’m special.’

Even receiving that kind of love, Peter remained reluctant to ask Christ into his life.

‘I didn’t ask Christ to be my Savior until 1994.’  At that time, in 1994, a genocide broke out in Rwanda.  Because Peter could speak the language in Rwanda, his sponsor asked him, ‘Could you go to Rwanda and rescue the children?’

At that time, Peter was 18 years old.  He agreed to go and went to Rwanda for Compassion International.  By that time, Peter’s fathers whole family had already been killed in the genocide.

‘My first day in Rwanda, when I drove in, all I could see were heaps and heaps of dead bodies on the roadside.  At that point I knew, I am going to die.’  

In that moment he asked his driver, ‘If I die, where am I going to go?’  He thought, ‘I’ve lived in hell as a child.  Why should I die and go to hell?  So, at that point, I truly wanted to go to heaven.’  He asked the driver to pray for him.  After praying, they waited for someone to come and kill them, assuming they were going to die.

He didn’t die.  Realizing that he might live, he moved on and shortly thereafter, rescued two children who had watched their mom and dad be killed.

‘If I can change one life of a little boy or a little girl…’

‘That’s how God rescued me.  That’s how God truly showed me His grace.  He truly gives hope for those who trust him.’

Now, you may want to watch the video.

This weekend, I’ll be speaking at Victory Life Church in Battle Creek, Michigan. 

James and I interned together ‘back in the day’.  At that time, I remember our Pastor saying to both of us, ‘If there’s anything else in the world you can do other than ministry, do it.’  It was his way to  challenge us in making sure that this is what we wanted to invest our life doing.

The Sunnock’s have meant a lot to Shelly and I.  James, and his wife, Eileen, mentored us in our marriage.  They modeled parenting for us when we had little ones.  They cooked us dinner and would spend hours with us when our heads were swimming with life’s issues.  We did life together.

James is a guy I can 100% say, ‘Live like he lives.’  That’s the best endorsement I can give.  I can’t wait to give it publicly this weekend.

Trivia – Battle Creek is the home of Tony the Tiger and Kellogg’s.  I just thought you’d love to know.

This is a Leak-a-tine.  I took this video while outside of Nairobi, Kenya.  We were visiting the location of Compassion International’s Kamangu Child Development Center.

4.5 million children, under the age of five, die each year in sub-saharan Africa.  Over 1/3 of those children don’t survive more than 28 days - mostly as the result of treatable illnesses.  In fact, studies tell us that 2/3 of these deaths can be prevented.

Diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria, HIV/AIDS, measles, and others are to blame.  Though the overall solution is complex, some of the solutions are education, pre-natal and infant care, proper sanitation & hygiene, clean drinking water, immunizations, and bed nets – just to mention a few.

The situation seems so OVERWHELMING.  Because of that, it’s easy to do NOTHING.  I encourage you to do SOMETHING.

There are a number of initiatives and organizations who are responding.  Find one to get involved with.  Here are a few.  There are many more.