Why You Can't Trust What You See in the Mirror

Some time ago I took on a video project. I was told to make sure that I used a select group as they were, how you say, easy on the eyes (a.k.a. "No Uggos")

It made me think. You really don't see many ugly people delivering the news. You don't see ugly people on the cover of Seventeen magazine. It seems the spotlight is reserved for the "Beautiful People". Now, I could take the "We're all beautiful" approach but I think that kinda goes without saying.

Over the last few days I've been chewing on this one verse in 1 Samuel

But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the lord looks at the heart."

David would not have been in Samuel's video if it were up to Samuel. The fact is that, as humans, we judge appearance. But humans don't get to choose our calling. Humans aren't the ones who place us in front of kings. Humans can't appoint us to what God has ordained.

When you, in humble obedience, submit yourself to God it doesn't matter how skilled you are or what you look like. God can take a little and make it much. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.

What dream has God given you that you've doubted because of what you see in the mirror?

Backseat Drivers

Here is one of the greatest ways to fail as a leader: Care too much about what people think.

I recently had someone ask me to blog my thoughts on leadership.  Usually when people write about leadership it is because they are great leaders or have some golden leadership nuggets to share.  I don’t know if I fall into that category but since I rarely ever have someone actually ask me to blog something specific, here I go.

I have been working with students for about 8 years now.  During my time in youth ministry I have seen students transform.  For weeks they will come in wearing their normal every day clothes.  Then all of a sudden one week they come in looking all thugged out with a doo-rag and some bling they got from 5 below sporting fresh kicks saying things like:

“Yo my man, I ain’t seen you in a hot minute. did you hear about Liquesha? Boo got all jacked up off some brown frown. I was G-macin’ on that honey, but I had to pump the brakes on that biscuit for realz!”  

It’s strange to see someone who was wearing abercrombie and fitch last week come in wearing fubu gear the next week…but they do it because they think it will make them look cool or make people like them.  This is a real danger for those in leadership.

A leader who tries to please the every whim and desire of those he leads will be a schizophrenic leader.  He will be hard to follow because he is ever changing and never constant.  He will be so busy listening to the backseat drivers that he won’t hear the GPS telling him where to go.  He will jerk the wheel from the left and to the right as the voices shout directions.  This only makes all of the passengers sick and the driver frustrated.

My advice: Pray. Set your course. Be yourself.

New and Improved

I remember the day I got my iphone. I loved it. This new technological advancement would soon never leave my fingers. Everywhere I went, she went with me. I would show her off to my friends exclaiming, “You have got to get one of these things!  This is the greatest phone ever to exist on the planet earth.”

But then something happened.  Steve Jobs in all of his ridiculous brilliance came out with the iPhone 3GS.  All of a sudden my iPhone seemed slower, old, and archaic.  How could I live with such an ancient piece of gadgetry?  The new iPhone in all of its glory mocked me.  With its video capabilities and faster speeds. the more I thought about it, the less amazing my iPhone became.  It was no longer good enough.  The praise stopped and the envy of what was better began.

I have felt this way many times in my own life.  Maybe you have too.  I begin to feel comfortable with who I am.  I become excited about what God is doing in my ministry. I begin to like what I see in the mirror. I tell everyone about how pleased I am with where I am.

But then I see your facebook.  I see the exciting things going on in your life and wonder why those things aren’t happening to me.  Then I see the magazine stands.  I am reminded that I am not like those people. I visit your house.  It’s beautiful.  I wonder when I will have the money to move out of a basement and buy a house of my own.

See what happens?  What I had was great.  Until I saw what you had.  I liked who I was until I saw who you are.  It was as if everything was devalued simply by looking at the people and the stuff around me.  It’s not your fault.  It’s not even Steve Jobs’ fault (though I have considered kidnapping him and holding him for ransom for the iPhone 3GS).

Desiring what others have can at times be a good thing.  But when it reaches the point where we allow it to devalue who we are, what God is doing, and where we are going - it becomes sin.  Our value does not come from what others do or do not have.  Our value comes from God alone.

The Bible says that He is the author and finisher of our faith.  My story is not supposed to look like yours. Every great author knows you need variety.  Every book can’t be the same.  Thank God for where you are, what you look like, and for the story He is writing just for you.  He is a great writer.

Roger and the Fat Man

Recently, God has put a number of things in my life that are shaping who I am in a huge way. One of those is a simple statement that a professor of mine at Liberty University used to make:

"You cannot be what you are not becoming". 

When I watch TLC and see the 900 pound man, I think to myself, "How in the world did that man get so fat?!" (the tone on that phrase should sound Chris Rock-ish). The answer is: cheeseburgers, french fries, fried chicken (mmmmm), etc. That man didn't go to bed weighing 95 pounds and then wake up the next day and weigh 950! Haha, that would be scary!

God's been ringing this phrase in my heart over and over. You cannot be what you are not becoming. It's a reminder that He has called me to something that I don't always spend time trying to become. I get side tracked. I waste time. I procrastinate. 

Steven Furtick says that when it comes to ministry, often we have a Guitar Hero mentality. Everybody wants to be a rockstar, but nobody wants to learn the chords. Many want to do something great for God, but rarely do they want to do the work of praying, reading Scripture and letting the Holy Spirit lead them. 

This is a call to the 95 pound men and women who want to be sumo wrestlers (spiritually speaking). Time to get to work!

Matthew 25:23 His master replied, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."

Advice I Wish I Had Gotten

This being my first entry and all, I figured we should cover the basics.

My name - Roger Coles
My ethnicity -  Halfrican American (black daddy, white mommy)
My location - Northern VA right outside D.C. (this is where I shout my area code in a gangster voice)
My availability - Married to singer/songwriter/hottie Lisa Coles (she rocks www.lisacolesmusic.com)
My occupation  - Evangelist/Worship Leader (a.k.a. 1 million side jobs to help pay bills)

Nice to meet you.

I’m not really sure what kind of an audience I have. I assume that since the name of this site is “emerging evangelists” that my audience is evangelists looking to emerge. For my first entry, I will speak to that.

First, a little history. My wife and I were youth pastors for 3 years at what would be considered a megachurch here in VA. It is the church we both grew up in and were baptized in. About a year and a half ago, we felt God stirring something new inside of us. I could feel the focus of our ministry was going to shift. And it did.

In October of 2007 Lisa and I began traveling full time. Lisa had just released her CD and we began our tag team ministry of worship, evangelism, and missions. We launched Worldwide Collide Ministries (a nonprofit organization dedicated to preaching the gospel and training worship leaders & songwriters around the world how to write their own indigenous worship songs).

We absolutely love what we are doing. BUT there are a few pieces of advice that I wish someone would have given to me when we started out. I thought over my next few entries I would address those things.

Here is the first misconception that I had about starting out as an evangelist:

-Get a sharp looking website with a podcast of your sermons & wait for a flood of pastors to call.
Ehhh. Wrong. Don’t expect your phone to ring off the hook the second you announce your new ministry. You will need to be the one making the calls. I hate making calls. I’m not very good at it. I prefer faceless, voiceless emails. But those usually do jack diddly squat.

It will be very discouraging at times. Sometimes the people you thought would love to have you come to their church will not return your calls, emails, text messages, or stalking techniques. Many times Pastors are not thinking about you. You will constantly be thinking about them.

Here are some things that may help.

-Make a list of pastors and friends who have a voice at their church. Use every resource at your fingertips (emails, texts, calls, facebook, websites, etc). You will need it.

-Learn ministry trends. Learn when churches do certain events. (Fall=outreach, Summer=camps, etc.)

-Plan your calling around ministry trends. That way you will know when to call and what to call about.
Don’t expect results when calling 3 weeks in advance.

-And lastly, believe in your ministry. If you don’t, no one else will.