The Monday Memo from John Stanko

823: Samson's Failure

In 2013, I wrote an article for the Charisma magazine on failure. I ran across the article the other day online and thought I would send the link along as a follow up to the Celebrate a Failure week we just held. Samson, the man who killed lions and many Philistines yet succumbed to the wiles of a beautiful woman, certainly qualifies as a man who failed, yet God used him in spite of his weaknesses, and God can and will do the same with you -- if you let Him.

Follow this link to the article and then let me know what you think by commenting on the site where this entry is posted. By the way, I will be in Oklahoma City speaking at Victory Church in both services next Sunday, September 3 (there will be no Monday Memo next week). I will send along the link to watch the message when it is available. Also, take 30 minutes to watch or listen to my message at my home church from last Sunday titled Kingdom Fruit, which I referred to in last week's Memo, "Where's Your Fruit?"

822: Where's Your Fruit?

I preached in all five services at my home church this past weekend. The title of my message was "Kingdom Fruit." In my message, I discussed the need for each citizen of God's kingdom to bear fruit as Jesus warned in Matthew 21:43: "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit." You can access my message on my mobile app under the folder "Preached Messages." In this Memo, I want to make some additional comments on the issue of fruit.

THE FRUIT PROCESS

I reflected this past week on what it takes for actual, edible fruit to be produced. Here are some thoughts on the matter:

1. Fruit is fragile and conditions must be right for it to come forth - climate, soil, free from frost, not too much rain (or too little). The same is true for spiritual fruit.
   
2. Fruit starts with a blossom, which is pretty and fragrant, but is only the beginning. There are many believers who blossom and have great potential to bear fruit, but that potential must be nurtured.
   
3. If fruit is eaten before it is ripe, it can be toxic if harvested prematurely. The same is true for spiritual fruit. It requires maturity for it to taste the best.
   
4. Fruit is meant for two things: to be consumed by others or to produce seed so that more fruit can be produced. All spiritual fruit is for the benefit of other people to consume as they need it (although the farmer can certainly partake of and enjoy the fruit they help produce).
   
5. Fruit usually has a short lifespan and must be consumed quickly or it will rot and go to waste. No one knows how many days they have to bear fruit, so it must be produced and distributed with a sense of urgency.
   
6. Fruit requires an ongoing process of pruning and fertilizing its source, or bad or anemic fruit will be produced. Believers must continue to nurture themselves spiritually if they are to bear more and better fruit.
   

THE RESEARCH IS IN AND . . .

I spent some time reading what others have written about fruit and one thing is for certain: Most people have described what fruit is like (just as I did above) but they are hesitant to come out and say what we should be looking for in our lives that can be called fruit. Some do say that it is souls saved or people we lead to the Lord. Yet, if truth be told, most people do not lead many people to the Lord. Others say it is a vibrant prayer life, but is fruit defined as the number of prayers a believer says in his or her lifetime? Finally, some identify fruit as correct doctrine, but that makes fruit an intellectual pursuit. I discuss in my message what I believe fruit is not, so you can access it to hear more (it's 30-minutes long; in it, I cover the thought that fruit is what is described in Galatians 5:10, usually referred to as the fruit of the Spirit).

Therefore, below I offer my definition of Kingdom fruit, and challenge you to identify what this fruit is in your life. Once you identify it (or if you already know what it is), then I further challenge you to determine how you can be even more fruitful. But first, here is my definition:

following your joy as you combine your God-given gifts, creativity, purpose, experience, interests, and sustained effort in a way that produces something of value for the benefit of others and yourself.

My fruit is comprised of the books I have written; the libraries I have helped establish in Kenya; the classes I have taught at university; the devotionals I have written, published, and posted on social media for 16 years; and the seminars I have conducted on purpose and creativity. Oh yes, and as the Spirit has produced His fruit in my life, it has translated into tangible expressions of empathy for others in painful and difficult situations to which I formerly paid little attention.

Let me close with this thought: All fruit is measurable and measured. We speak of fruit as a cluster, a bunch, peck, half-bushel, bushel, pound, kilo, acre, or hectare. Therefore, I assume that your fruit, even though it's spiritual, must be measurable as well. This week, spend some time praying and thinking about the question, "What is my fruit?" and then follow the answer up with another: "How can I produce more of it?" If you persevere in seeking the answers, you will bear the fruit of the Kingdom in your life that God expects and enjoys. Have a blessed week!

821: I'm Trusting the Lord for . . .

Now that Celebrate a Failure week is over, I hope you have stared your failures right in the eye and are ready to move on to much success in the Lord. Once you realize that your failures did not destroy you but were a vital learning experience, you can set goals and pursue your dreams without the debilitating fear that emanates from the fear of failure. With that in mind, I thought I would share with you some of the things I am trusting the Lord to help me accomplish while I battle my own fears that I have gone too far or am trying to do too much. Here goes.

THIS IS WHAT I'M TRUSTING THE LORD FOR

1. I am writing my next book, a fiction fable that includes lessons on the book of Psalms and the relationship between Saul and David, and how that relationship helped develop David and a few of the psalms he wrote. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
2. I just released my latest book called A Leadership Carol: A Classic Tale for Modern Leaders, which I co-authored with my friend Jim Dittmar. I believe this book has the potential to make a significant contribution to the study of leadership, and I hope that it will sell well. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
3. My company, Urban Press, is currently developing about 24 book projects, and I am involved in helping to write and edit every one of them. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
4. I sent off the shipping list for the next container heading to Kenya, which contains 25,000 books, 2,500 shoes, and a ton of school supplies -- 750 boxes in all. The cost will be about $15,000, of which I still need to raise $5,000. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
5. I am heading to Nigeria in October to teach a graduate class that has not been taught in 10 years. The syllabus is outdated, the Nigerians will not connect well with the book list, which means I will have to teach 37 hours in one week and make the material relevant to the 24 students will fulfilling the requirements of the university. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
6. After Nigeria, I will visit Kenya to plan our February trip. During that trip, I hope to sponsor a retreat weekend for the instructors from three schools with which we partner. I will need to raise $10,000 to sponsor the weekend as well as develop the content for the weekend. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
7. I am teaching two undergraduate classes this coming semester, while juggling my travel schedule and publishing duties. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
8. I have published four volumes of my New Testament commentaries, and I am editing volume five, which will be Paul's prison epistles. For that, I am trusting the Lord.
9. I am preaching next weekend in my own church and on September 3 at Victory Church in Oklahoma City. For that, I am trusting the Lord.

YOUR TURN

I have shared my faith projects with you. Now I am asking you to do the same. Take a moment and write a report to my readers about your faith projects, and include it in the comments on the site where this entry is posted. This will serve to encourage others to face their fears of failure and clarify and state their own faith venture.

The goal of the Celebrate a Failure week was not to exalt failure, but to prepare for fruitful success. Failure is always a possibility, but we should not allow its specter to hinder our goals or aspirations. I look forward to hearing from you this week, and I pray you will pursue purpose and creativity with unfettered enthusiasm as you serve the Lord. Have a blessed week!

820: Celebrate!

It's time to celebrate a failure! In case you missed it, I have declared this week Celebrate a Failure week, asking that you take some time in the next seven days to focus on the important role that failure has played in your life or the lives of others. If I ask you to do that, it's only fair that I do the same, so here is a reprint of my all-time favorite professional failure. (You can read my entries leading up to this week on the site where they are posted.)

THE WORST CONFERENCE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD

When I worked for a Christian music company, I helped plan and organize the worst conference in the history of the world! Our team was scheduled to be in Dallas, and we thought registrations were coming in slowly, but didn't think there was anything to worry about. Then we learned right before we were scheduled to be there that the postal service had lost our brochures, all 50,000 of them. Only a handful were delivered and that explained the low response.

Instead of canceling the event, we pulled out all the stops to spread the word that we were coming, confident we could still have a successful event. Were we ever mistaken! On the first night of the event, we had less than 1,000 people in a church that seated 5,000.  Right after we started the event, the sound system failed. When I returned from trying to work in the audio booth, I saw our lead musician on stage playing the guitar and trying to lead worship. (He wasn't known for his guitar-playing skills, believe me.) When he asked for the words to come up on the screen, it was then we realized that the projection system had malfunctioned. The bulb burned out and the church didn't have a spare. 

I ran backstage to try and print off some sheets with the words on them only to discover that the copy machine was broken. I got up to take an offering and apologized, saying that I felt like I should be paying anyone who happened to be there that evening. To make matters worse, the event went on to lose about $15,000. I realized that weekend that a bad event is like flushing a toilet. Once you flush, there isn't any way you can stop the process; you just have to let it run its course. 

TWO CHOICES

I had two choices after that disastrous weekend. The first was to quit, which I briefly considered. The second was to take three months between Dallas and our next scheduled event and study what went wrong. I chose the latter and we went through everything we did. We came up with a number of innovations and built in more than a few safeguards to make sure what happened in Dallas would never happen again.

By God's grace, our next event was a fantastic success. We introduced some changes that generated quite a bit of revenue, and our team was better prepared and focused. Today, I thank God for that terrible Dallas event and some others that followed. I learned more from those failures than I ever did from the good events. I also learned that a bad event isn't the end of the world. 

When a baseball player strikes out or a soccer player misses an open net, they don't go off the field and sit in the stands. They keep playing through their failure. In practice, they work on their technique but in the game they keep swinging and shooting. That's what you and I need to do as well. 

Don't ever let your failures discourage you, and don't give up on your dream. Accept that failure is a part of every successful person's life, including your own. Adjust your expectations, but don't quit!  Today I can organize great events because I organized some poor ones.

So bring out the confetti! Put up the banners and inflate the balloons. We have some celebrating to do! Don't let Celebrate a Failure Week end without taking the lesson of the week to heart: Failure isn't fatal or final unless you allow it to be. I hope you have a great week as you join with friends and their failures around the world as we stare failure in the face and laugh at its attempts to limit our effectiveness and creativity. As you do, I know you will have a great week!

Feel free to add your comments, failure stories, favorite failure quotes or other pertinent information on the site where this entry is posted.