a million.

Would you rather have 1 person give you a million dollars or a million people give you 1 dollar? 

Which is harder? 
Which is better? 
Does it matter? 
Why? Why not? 

What's that mean? This has nothing to do with money. 

can we help them both?

I was recently with someone who works for a local non-profit. They help kids. It's beautiful. The bummer is that the person has worked 14 days straight and gets paid a little above minimum wage to work their ass off. 

I was recently with someone who works for a local for-profit. They make money. (They probably give away a fair amount too - I don't know.) But, this person told me that they were getting a $35,000 bonus - which is more than the person working for the non-profit makes in a year. 

The irony seems to be that the companies trying to help others the most help their own the least and the companies trying to help others the least help their own the most. 

Is there a way to help both the most? 

Probably not in the current culture. 

that e.

It’s too bad the e is in the word. It would make more sense without it.

Believe.

Be.

Live. 

How you are. How you live.

That’s actual belief.  

what the hell...

I was recently with a friend who was relating some of the things his parents let him do when he was a kid. He followed it with "What the hell were they thinking?" 

I then responded, "Or maybe, what the hell are parents today thinking? Seems like you turned out pretty well." 

Which is just a reminder for all of us. No one knew what the hell they were doing, no one knows what the hell they are doing, and no one will know what the hell they are doing. 

That doesn't mean we don't keep trying but we do probably start trying to judge a little less. 

want.

You'll sometimes hear: they don't know what they want. So you have to tell them. 

It's sometimes true. 

But, I think, the bigger question is, what do you want? 

Since we often don't know, there are all kinds of people willing to tell us an answer. 

And we'll listen, if we don't know. 

dehumanize.

What if...

The only evil, at the end of the day, is to dehumanize yourself or another?

The only good, at the end of the day, is to reveal the true humanity of yourself or another?

use of.

What's the use of being alive if we aren't living? 

What's the use of having money if we aren't rich? 

What's the use of information if we aren't smart? 

What's the use of being famous if we aren't known? 

What's the use of being religious if we don't love? 

See there's this way to live and then there's this way. 

Don't confuse them. 

the power of a million.

Survivor has been going for 17 years. I've watched every season. (Side note: the show was inspired by a Swedish television series because, of course it was.) 

I watch Survivor because of the human experiment. It's amazing what people will do, how they act, how they lie, how they complain about lying, how they treat one another...  it goes on and on. 

But something hit me the other night. Survivor has the power to make people do all kinds of things that they would never do. They balance for hours, starve their bodies, and put up with bugs, sunburns, and whatever the producers want to run them through.. for a shot at a million dollars. 

Which could seem weird but, of course, it's not. We're all doing all the same things every day for our own shot at a million dollars. 

Which makes you think... life has to be more than a really great episode of Survivor right? 

2 easy steps to success.

1. Show up. (Don't even worry about how, just show up when you're supposed to.) 

2. Be nice. (Get along with people. Be compassionate. Understand relationships.) 

3. Don’t sexually harass or assault women. (This is for men only and should be pretty easy. Apparently it's not.)  

That's it. The skills, the education... that will all come as it should if you follow the above. 

light & space.

I woke up in the middle of the night with two words streaming through my head. 

Light and space. 

And the idea that it's that simple. 

I didn't write it down in the middle of the night and fortunately I remembered them this morning. 

What do they mean? Why did I dream about them? (Probably because Lights Like Us - my first event on May 3 -  is already on my mind quite a bit). 

Or maybe they are two great words we can ask ourselves. Are we bringing more light or space with this decision, relationship, purchase, reaction? 

If we are, chances are we're on the right track. 

99 problems...

Yep, life is problems. 

When you see him with the perfect hair and the perfect body and the perfect... you can be guaranteed something isn't perfect. 

When you see her with the perfect husband and the perfect car and the perfect... you can be guaranteed something isn't perfect. 

Because everyone has problems. It's not if you do, it's what they are. 

And you have some control over some of them and no control over some of them. 

But, rest assured we're all on this with you: problems. Now, once we're over that, don't you feel like you have some space to breathe? 

wake up.

Anthony DeMello was the first to tell me. Wake up! Wake up! With his perfect Indian accent. 

But here's the thing he didn't say. Or at least I don't remember. It can be tiring to wake up. 

earned.

I recently met someone who gets all of their healthcare for free. Paid by the state. 

Someone else is getting thousands of dollars in disability payments for an accident that he was in, while working for a private company. Paid by the state. 

Someone else is on unemployment and has been for years. She looks here and there for a job but gets a check every month. Paid by the state. 

Someone else teaches dodge ball and basketball at a school. She also gets a paycheck on a regular basis. Paid by the state. 

Someone else repairs airplanes for the government. He also gets a paycheck on a regular basis. Paid by the state. 

Someone else is struggling to find a place to live while taking care of her baby. She gets grocery money on a regular basis. Paid by the state.

Someone else once repaired airplanes, years ago, in Vietnam. He lives on the streets now but does get some help with rent. Paid by the state. 

Someone else works at a fire station. When an emergency comes, he's ready. He also gets a regular paycheck. Paid by the state. 

Someone else is a member of a country club in Los Angeles. He golfs. The club has received millions of dollars over the years of tax exemptions. Paid by the state. (Tax exemptions and sports are an all around interesting topic.) 

Someone else once sold cocaine. She’s serving a life sentence for that crime (only that crime) and everything in her life is covered. Paid by the state.  

Who has "earned" their money and who has not? Who deserves it and who does not? Who should get more and who should get less? Who's receiving a handout and who is receiving a paycheck? Who do we get angry about and who do we not? Who do we think will make us "socialist" and who will not? 

to the next...

Some of you know, some of you don't. I'm a pastor. And yesterday, I announced to the church that I helped plant - and to the church where I've been the only pastor they've ever had - that I was moving on to different - hopefully better - things as of February 1. 

It was, of course, an emotional day in all kinds of ways. But, it was also liberating and empowering. The "job" was no longer the thing I'm called to, driven to, or the thing I wake up early in the morning, not able to sleep, thinking about. There's more out there and I'm not entirely sure what it is. I do have some ideas, beginning with an event at a local venue on May 3rd. 

But, my wife and I both felt we had to jump in order to find out what's next because you can't find out what's next without that jump. So, we jumped, after about a year of deliberation and processing. 

I've read countless stories and accounts of people doing something similar and I've always been inspired by them. It feels good to be creating the next, similar, chapter in our own story now. 

So, here we go. Into the unknown, the adventure, the liberation, the empowerment, probably some pain, probably some joy, and definitely lots of life! Hope you'll stick around. I might need you more than ever. 

Cheers to it all! 

layers of loyalty.

I had a great conversation with someone the other day about loyalty. They consider  themselves to be a more loyal person and so they were struggling with leaving a group of people just because the group had changed. It made them feel disloyal. 

But loyalty is layered. 

Are you loyal to a church? 
To a denomination?
To evangelicals?
To Protestantism?
To Christianity?
To the Divine? 
To Love? 

Are you loyal to an artist? 
To a type of music?
To an era? 
To listening? 

I think many of us spend our time focusing on the surface loyalty - and that will always come back to bite us. What's the deep loyalty, the one that takes all kinds of forms and shapes... that actually matters? And is actually worth being loyal too? 

jealousy does the opposite.

If you've ever been jealous of someone, the last thing you want to do is tell them that you think they might actually have something over you, or that they might succeed at the thing you wish you could, or that you wish you could paint like that. 

And yet, if you're jealous, the only reason you are is because you actually think those things. 

So, the next time someone is jealous of you, and starts spreading the kinds of things that jealous people spread, remember that it's a compliment: they believe you actually might be able to pull it off - and that drives them crazy. 

And, the next time you are jealous - and I've been a professional for many years at being jealous - find your strength. You actually aren't jealous of them. You are simple scared of your own fragility about who you are or what you are doing. Work on that, the jealousy will fade soon after. 

the known and unknown.

I recently read something along the lines of "It's not the fear of the unknown, it's the fear of losing the known."

And I couldn't agree more. 

But, there is another side to it that we can use to our advantage. Instead of losing the known being a sad thing, how about losing the known being an incredibly happy thing? Especially if the known is not working. 

As we look at our lives, it's easy to see things we know. It's almost as easy to find things that we know are not working. 

Not, how about getting rid of those and seeing where it all takes us? 

this bakery...

Another Hawaii story. There was a bakery on the North Shore that looked amazing. The owners also ran a farm and everything was made from local ingredients, from scratch, fresh, tasty, juice, and they had a really cool vibe. Sandwiches, cinnamon rolls, smoothies...

One problem.

They were only open Monday to Thursday from 10-5. 

Every time we went they were closed. 

And yet, we kept going. 

We finally made it and when we did, it was worth the struggle. It was incredible. 

And yet, we didn't get to go back. There was no time. And I wonder how many people never had the chance to go because they weren't there for two weeks at the perfect time? I wonder if the owners care?  

There's a line out there for all of us. It has to be so good people want it. And it has to be accessible enough that they can get it.

The internet has made hundreds of things more accessible than ever.
Are we making them good enough that people want them?

You need both and the internet only solves one of them.    

on or for.

You're right, they aren't waiting on you. As in, they aren't serving you. 

But, maybe, they are waiting for you. 

compact discs...

Did you ever own compact discs (a.k.a. CD's...)? 

Remember when they revolutionized music? 

Remember shopping for them every chance you could and being amazed at the fact that you could skip a track instantly? 

Remember collecting them? Getting a player in your car? 

(If you're too young, just substitute an iPod). 

And then what happened? 

I still have a collection of them in my basement somewhere collecting dust. 

So, if you're like me, what made you make the change and ditch your CD's for something else? Something better?