Taking Aim at the New Year of 2021

Oh how nice it would be to kick 2020 good-bye and welcome a rebooted-to-normal 2021with a kiss.

How nice it would be to win the lottery (even though I don’t buy a ticket), be thirty again, and be scheduled to go fly fishing in Belize for permit, tarpon, and bonefish.

I have zero-hope that January 2021 will be circumstantially one iota different from December 2020.

BUT!

But just because circumstances are the same today doesn’t dictate that I approach my circumstances the same way I did yesterday. While no one seems to know who originated the saying, the truth of the matter is, doing the same thing today that I did yesterday, hoping to realize a different outcome tomorrow, is a form of insanity.

I’m done with the craziness of 2020. I’m done with the politics of the day.

A shift has occurred inside my soul.

Enough.

But the demons of confusion love a vacuum. What am I going to put in place of the things I’m done doing?

First: We are instructed in Scripture that since God raises up governments, we must pray for those in government.

Elected officials are representatives. They are NOT your leaders. The person representing you is in some respect a mirror of you. Your prayers for them are also prayers for yourself. Change starts with the person praying.

The hatred you have toward Donald Trump says more about you than it does Mr. Trump. The hope you have in Joe Biden says more about where your hope lies than in Mr. Biden’s ability to deliver.

Hatred. Hope. Do you really want to step into 2021 hauling hate and hope invested in two, deeply flawed, human beings?

If not, then in prayer, purge yourself of the hate and misplaced hope of 2020 and 2021. Regroup. Reinvest. Refocus.

Second: Who will you listen to? Who will guide you?

I have no idea whom to refer you to when it comes to the pandemic, Russia, fraud, or finding journalistic excellence. But that’s my point.

I will pay attention to a broad range of media outlets, but in terms of how I structure my outlook…? I intend to focus my life, my work, my writing, and my advocacy inside 2021 on truths established in Scripture by my heavenly Father. As a writer, I intend to write these ambitions and outcomes in articles for your consideration. You can access my archives and read to your heart’s content.

Third: Thirty years ago I wrote a book that is no longer in print titled, Things Only Men Know. In my research, I realized that societies, and subsets of societies, are held together by their common stories.

For a number of reasons, America has lost track of its story. Subsets of America have lost their particular stories, resulting in rebellion and revolution and contrivances told as true stories. The church has lost touch with its stories and is losing its vitality and the relevance of its message. History, perspective, and true tales inspire courage, honor, respect, and ingenuity.

To some extent, I want to inspire society with our true stories. To a more pointed and dedicated extent, I want to participate in leading the church back to our stories of applied faith.

Fourth: I love the church, the Body of Christ, and have dedicated my life to her wellbeing. However, we must make some changes.

One of my business mentors, Peter Drucker, taught that when faced with a difficult decision, the effective executive considers counsel and makes a decision. The coward says, “Let’s make another study.”

Dearly beloved followers of Jesus Christ: We do not need another study of the Gospels, or Philippians, or the writings of Peter. We must discern what Scripture has to say to us and the world in which we live and then we must act accordingly.

While it may comfort us to study again the life and travels of Paul, to a rudderless world twisting in the wind, the church is irrelevant. The world senses there is hope in Christ. They are hungry—desperately hungry—for substantive hope. When they see us disappear into our brick and mortar on the corner of First and Main, and emerge only to play the same games the lost are playing while spouting Christianese, they resent us and assume God is distant and Jesus Christ on par with Mohammed, Buddha, or the Dali Lama.

We must not make another study, friends. We must figure out what Scripture has to say about duplicitous politics, immigration, equality, the poor, destitute, taxes and wealth, and the sins and turmoil of society. Then, we must…

Fifth: Engage society as people of faith who are proficient with Scripture and its application. We are new people, secure in Christ. Our lives are destined for a true home. We are filled with the presence of God and should be—must be—confident in loving others as they are loved by Christ. Failing to do this renders us and our faith irrelevant.

Sixth: Christian information, whether through another study engaged, another book read, or another series listened to, remains too abstract to be of practical use. We talk a good game, but our programs are not creating a people who are mature and skilled in their faith. American Christians are filled with Christian information that has failed to engage and influence society effectively. If this were not the case, then America would not be a post-Christian nation.

We are redeemed and secured in Christ Jesus. We are so secure in Christ that we can live, and love, and engage society without thought about our foundational acceptance, love, confidence, and security. Once this is embraced and made proficient, we will have the confidence to engage society effectively.

Seventh and final: It is my intent to work more diligently, deliberately, and strategically to take abstract ideas that I deem important, coming from whatever source, and work through them with a few additional steps until I’m confident they are no longer abstract but are concrete and applicable. Life and faith are confusing enough. James taught that faith without application is worthless. I intend to rededicate my writing and thought to making that which can be applied applicable.

There you have it. These are my plans, convictions, and contributions as 2021 approaches.

I would appreciate, invite, and treasure your partnership. Here are some options for you to consider:

Pray: Talk to God about me, please. I know He knows my name, but for whatever reason, He appreciates hearing you mention me to Him. Thank you in advance.

Write: If you have something I need to know, write and tell me about it. Criticism, encouragement, affirmation, correction. Be kind, please. I pay attention to words written to me.

Invest: I receive no salary from Lifetime Ministries. My colleague, Lindsay, and I reimburse our expenses as we can and utilize the investments in the ministry to further the message of the ministry. If you appreciate the articles I send to you, the legacy resources of Lifetime, and the focus on applied Christianity, I invite you to invest in Lifetime through an online contribution to the causes I’ve written about in this article.

If you are interested in funding a major project at Lifetime, contact me. We can visit about options. For example, Bill (Dad) wrote a book before he died on the subject of reigning with Christ. It’s a good book and an important work, but publication and marketing need to be funded. There is demand to translate both Lifetime Guarantee and Confident Woman into Spanish. There are marketing options to consider. You get the idea. If you have the heart of an investor or an entrepreneur, these are projects for you.

Share: The articles I write are meant to be passed along. Give proper credit, but you don’t need to ask my permission. I can write the words, but I need your partnership to share them.

Intercede: Yes, pray again. I’m working on my next book. The subject is spiritual warfare. I could use your intercession on my behalf as I sort out this manuscript.

I hope these words inspire you to consider how you might approach 2021 differently. For my part, I will offer encouragement and focus to the best of my ability so you are equipped. Let us lock arms and march together on the road of victory.

I’ll see you on the other side of 2020.

Now, I pray God’s richest blessings on you and yours as this year concludes and the new waits in the wings. May you walk confidently, stand tall, with your chest out, and your heart resolute.

“As long as you maintain your confidence in God through Jesus Christ, no matter the beating this world dishes out, you may limp, but you’ll still have your swagger” (from Swagger: Keeping your wits when others are not, p. 212, by Gillham).