The other night my son and I watched a show on Discovery Channel called Frozen Planet. I have found this series fascinating and I am amazed at how the camera operators are able to capture the incredible images. On this particular segment of the program, emperor penguins were the topic. The narrator shared that in Antarctica, the emperor penguin is the only animal to spend the winter above the ice, exposed to the elements. Actually it is only the male penguin that remains above the ice to care for his mate’s egg while the females are in the water under the ice feeding.

The only reason the males can survive is that they work together. When the temperature drops, they huddle up close to one another, keeping each other warm.

On other animal documentaries, I have noticed the way animals gather together to protect each other from other dangers as well such as carnivorous threats. When a predator is hunting its prey, it almost always targets the animal that is by itself. That is because there is great strength in numbers. That is why God wired them to remain together. The same is true of humans. We are stronger in a team and weaker by ourselves. However, our natural tendency is to isolate ourselves, especially when things are not going well. However when life is going sideways, we especially need others around us.

Our enemy is roaming around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (see the verse below). Just as the lion hunts the zebra, our enemy wants us isolated so that he can have easier access to us. So be like the penguins and huddle up!

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
1 Peter 5:8

Recently I heard a talk about the value of living in a God-honoring family. There were some terrific points brought up that were certainly relevant to my family life and I got a lot out of that message. However, I couldn’t stop thinking about how important this is in all our relationships, especially those at work (perhaps because I have worked in several environments I considered to be less than God-honoring – in fact, the picture above resembled a boss I once had). So what does a God-honoring workplace look like?

l think a couple of verses give us a good look at what a God-honoring work environment would include:

• Ephesians 4:2 – Be completely humble and gentle; bearing with one another in love.
• Philippians 2:3-4 – Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.

Could you imagine working at a place that embodied these characteristics? It would be a place where the people were:

• Completely humble;
• Gentle;
• Patient, bearing with one another in love;
• Selfless servants to each other;
• Truly for one another.

To many, this probably seems like utopia…the perfect place to work. However, we more typically see the opposite…work environments where people are arrogant, rude, impatient and selfish. And when we’re in such an environment our natural tendency is to act in the same manner. After all, who wants to be gentle and kind to a jerk? But these verses are not suggesting we embody these characteristics only when others around us do. We are being told to choose to walk this way regardless of our environment. In essence we are encouraged to be atmosphere changers.

The fact that we are more likely to be kind and considerate to others when they treat us that way shows us the power we have to change atmospheres. It only takes one person to start. Why not you?

A friend of ours named Cindy (not her real name) recently shared an incredible story about her son Bob (not his real name) who is in the 8th grade. Though I have never met him he sounds like an amazing kid. Anyway, he was just accepted into a technical high school. Why is this news?, you may ask. Because he has Asperger Syndrome which is a form of Autism. He currently attends a school designed for children with special needs.

Cindy recently met with the administrators of this high school and also had the administrators of Bob’s current school present. At the end of the meeting, the high school leaders invited Bob to attend their school in the fall. According to Cindy, when her son accepted the invitation, Bob’s current school leaders were grinning from ear to ear. It seems that Bob is the first student in his school’s history to “break out” into a traditional school. A milestone had been achieved and Bob’s school representatives could not have been prouder.

This got me thinking a bit about how similar Bob is to a guy named Roger Bannister (pictured above). Bannister was a famous runner from England in the 1950s. At that time, all experts claimed that it was humanly impossible to run a sub-four minute mile. This false belief existed for years and was reinforced when runner after runner failed to break the mythical mark.

On May 6th, 1954 however, Roger Bannister posted a time of 3 minutes 58.8 seconds. In fact, in that race, John Landy finished second with a time of 3 minutes 59.6 seconds showing the world that this feat truly was possible. The interesting thing about this is what happened after this. Just 46 days later, Bannister’s record was broken and today sub-4 minute miles are expected from the world’s elite runners.

So what held back runners prior to this time? At least part of their hindrance was a false belief that it was impossible to break four minutes. The same might be said of students, teachers and administrators in Bob’s school. They may have had a false belief that it was not possible for a student in their school to attend a traditional school.

I told Cindy that I thought Bob was a “barrier breaker.” He is the Roger Bannister of his school. I believe this will be the start of something in the coming years in his school. All because a false belief has been removed. I believe that this all started because of the true belief and faith that Cindy and her husband had in Bob. As a result, he was not operating with the same false beliefs that others around him may have had.

It’s interesting that this came up during this season in my life as I have been discovering some false beliefs that I have had as well. I have been going through the process to replace those with truth.

I would like to encourage you to do the same and take an inventory of any false beliefs you may have had and begin to replace those with the truth. As the verse below tells us, we must “renew our minds” in order to be transformed. And as the examples of Bob and Roger Banister have pointed out, our transformation can help others as well.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

I was listening to a teaching on CD today in which the speaker mentioned that encouragement is literally “pouring courage” into someone. I really like that picture.

I have been wrestling through quite a few things lately in which I need to make some decisions. One in particular has felt very heavy to me. Recently I’ve been feeling as if God wants me to go in a way that could prove to be very unpopular with a certain group of people. Though I feel strongly He is leading me in this direction, I have been a bit apprehensive about it.

This morning I received a call from a good friend who, while driving, said that he felt led to call me. He continued to tell me some very specific things that confirmed what I had been hearing (really, it was incredible!). Then he began to speak some very encouraging words to me. I literally felt as if I had courage poured into me and I now have much more confidence in going down the path I am being led. I thanked him for his obedience and told him that he has no idea how much of an impact his simple phone call had on me. After hanging up, I thanked God for my friend and for our conversation and for Him caring enough about me to orchestrate that call.

When was the last time you were prompted to “pour courage” into someone? Did you follow through? The next time you feel that urge, encourage someone, it could make their day!

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

In my last post, I told you about an experience I had observing a couple of ducks on my retreat day. I also need to share with you what happened around that time of duck watching. As I was walking by the creek and through the wooded path on the property (pictured above), I believe I had a breakthrough in my relationship with God. I know that sounds strange but it’s true.

I had a lot on my mind that was weighing me down. As I walked, I simply talked out loud to Him for over an hour and a half as I would my best friend. I shared all that was on my mind and asked Him to guide me. Sometimes He gave me some answers and at other times He was silent.

While this sounds very elementary, there was something different about this time for me. I am used to talking with God, but I think this time I really was honest with Him. I shared from the depths of my heart. I know He already knows my heart, but I feel like I opened up to Him at a whole new level. I have been on a quest for more intimacy with the Creator. I believe I experienced some of that and for that I am very grateful. I have heard that intimacy can be looked at like this: in to me see. I was inviting God to see in to me and as a result I experienced a new level of peace and I felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, these retreats have been invaluable to me. Yet, it is very difficult to take the time to do this in the midst of the chaos of life. To put this in the context of business, I have come to see this as an investment of time with the best Consultant on the planet.  These are some of the benefits I have seen through taking this time regularly to be with Him:

• New and fresh ideas seem to come from this place;
• I feel rested and rejuvenated;
• Everything else in my life seems to fall into place when I take this time;
• The level of joy increases in my life;
• My peace level also increases;
• I find that I am better able to handle the troubles that come at me;
• I am better able to make key decisions;
• I am more confident in my leadership.

Though there are many more benefits, I hope this gives you an idea of what this time means to me. So…I know this Consultant Who is really good. I’d like to refer Him to you. He can see you anytime!

“Be still and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10a

I was one of those kids you loved to hate. You know, the one who always finished their homework before anyone else. The one who was outside playing while everyone else was inside working frantically to get their work done at the last minute.

Some of you are thinking, “I wish I was that way.” Others are saying, “I knew that Lange guy had a screw loose!  I like him even less now!”

In either case, I need to confess something to you. Yes, being “wired” to get my work done before playing has had some benefits. It has helped me to achieve more than had I been one of the last-minute “crammers.” And I certainly feel that I played better knowing that my work was done. However, I feel that this has been more like a disease than a blessing.

Let me explain.

You see, I still have a tendency to behave this way. I have a list for everything. I even have a list for each day of the weekend. I look at my “to do” list frequently which I know drives my family nuts. I find it much easier to relax when all the stuff on my list is complete.

Most of the time I am a human doing rather than a human being.

Hence, why I say this is an affliction.

The reason I bring this up is that I am on a quest to better manage my time. Prior to this, here is how my workday would typically go:

• Get into the office.
• Boot up my computer.
• Get a glass of water. (So far so good.)
• Read my emails and respond.
• Begin on my task list and try to get the easiest things done first to make my list smaller and more manageable (this is where the wheels fall off.)
• In the middle of tasks, when my computer would ding alerting me of an incoming email, I would immediately read it and respond so I could get it out of my way.

I was more like a hockey goalie than someone who was in control of their time. I was just taking all incoming calls and emails and deflecting them out of the way. This would eat up a lot of my day.

Then I would inevitably not finish some really important stuff.

You see, I love progress. When I see my Task List getting smaller I feel like I am making some serious headway.

However, I am just now starting to see the light. I am trying to block out time for writing and doing some important, though time-consuming, things first.

Another productivity buster of mine used to be email. My Outlook used to ding every minute or two announcing new incoming mail. I have since changed the settings so that it doesn’t ding at all and now only loads my email every couple of hours. (Aren’t you proud of me? I think I’m getting the shakes from withdrawal!)

But I have to admit, I am not liking these changes one bit. My inner-being is fighting it all the way. It is saying, “But this is how you were made. You need to go back to the way you were!”

The bottom line is that how you spend your time will be decided. Who does the deciding is the key. You can choose to be proactive and decide for yourself or you can continue on and let everyone else decide for you how your time is to be spent. So what will you choose?

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

Saturday night I, along with my family, saw Casting Crowns in concert. It was a really good show with some great music and some well-timed words of wisdom sprinkled in. One such word came from Mark Hall, Casting Crowns’ lead singer (pictured above), when he was introducing one of their songs.

He explained about a medical situation they were going through with one of his young daughters. He said that while he was waiting at the hospital he was quite anxious. He knew that the Bible says not to be anxious (in Philippians), but he said he was struggling with that. He then remembered that same passage also tells us to pray thankfully and we can receive the peace which transcends all understanding.

He shared that he was struggling to be thankful in the moment so the best he could do was, “Lord, thank You that You are not anxious right now.” I thought to myself, that is a great prayer! Lord, thank You that You are not anxious right now.

I used to work for a very anxious boss who, when things began to not go well, would become frantic and make rash decisions. Most of these decisions turned out very badly. This behavior caused a great deal of stress on those in the organization.(You can read more about that in my book, Bleedership, Biblical First-Aid for Leaders.)

Thankfully, our Leader is not this way. He truly is not anxious about anything. When we follow Him, we too, can have true and lasting peace, regardless of what is going on around us.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7

I have heard it said that integrity is who you are when no one is looking. Dictionary.com defines integrity this way: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. With those definitions in mind, read this great story and ask yourself what you would have done had you been in Joe’s shoes…

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you. “The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today – one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you.

I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

One man, named Joe, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Joe kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by…still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Joe didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.

Six months went by — still nothing in Joe’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. However, Joe didn’t say anything to his colleagues. He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil. He so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and it was time for all the young executives of the company to bring their plants to the CEO for inspection. Joe told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Joe felt sick to his stomach. It was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.

When Joe arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful – in all shapes and sizes. Joe put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Joe just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Joe at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Joe was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”

When Joe got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed. Joe told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Joe. He looked at Joe, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!

His name is “Joe!” Joe couldn’t believe it. Joe couldn’t even grow his seed.

“How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead–it was not possible for them to grow.

“All of you, except Joe, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Joe was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

My friend Patrick McBane recently wrote the following that I wanted to share with you:

New York City Mayor Ed Koch appeared on a local news program in 1980 in the middle of the city’s financial crisis. He had spent more than a quarter of a million dollars to put bike lanes in Manhattan. They turned out to be a disaster. Cars were driving in the bike lanes, pedestrians were bumping bikers, and the bikers were getting crowded out. It was a real mess and many people in the Big Apple were irate.

Koch was coming up for re-election and a handful of journalists cornered him on this show, planning to tear him to pieces for spending money foolishly when the city was nearly broke. One reporter said, “Mayor, in light of the financial difficulties New York City is facing, how could you possibly justify wasting $300,000 on bike lanes?”

“It was a terrible idea. It was one of the worst mistakes I have ever made,” responded the mayor.  Surprised by his blatant admission, the conversation switched directions to a more productive, less volatile topic.

What do you do when you are wrong about something? (Maybe your co-workers or spouse should answer that question about you!) Do you ever admit that an idea you had wasn’t so great? Or do you think that you never have a bad idea? No one is right all the time. And even brilliant business people, educators, engineers, and entrepreneurs pull the trigger on ideas and decisions that they later regret. Can you…will you…do you admit it when you are wrong? What would happen to your relationships if you did?

Today’s Workplace / Life Challenge: Humility is the beginning of Wisdom. Humble yourself with God first and He will lift you up. Here are 6 simple – but not easy steps in which to Apologize – that will help you navigate relationships everywhere from now on.

1. Acknowledge that you did it – whatever it is.
2. Admit you were wrong.
3. Tell the one(s) you hurt – “I am sorry!”
4. Ask them, “Will you forgive me?” and wait for their answer.
5. “Will you help me from now on never to do that again – to you or anyone else?”
6. “Is there anything else?” (That I’ve done to you or that you need to share with me about).

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
2 Corinthians 5:18-20a

Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m just doing it for the glory of God”? Have you, ever wondered what that meant? I know I have.

I remember years ago when my son Robbie was younger, he used to love to play with Legos. He would excitedly run to me with his latest creation. “Dad, look what I made! Do you like it Dad?  Is it good?” He wanted to know if what he had done was worthwhile in my eyes. Of course, I would always respond enthusiastically with a, “That’s great!” or a, “You are really good at that!”

Do you think as a Christian dad I would have been better to say something like this? “No, son, it’s really not good because it has no eternal value – one day it will burn. Your Lego-mobile can’t get souls to heaven, so it’s not worth anything.”  Of course not! What he built and the things he does now have real value in my eyes. They reflect his creativity and his God-given gifts and I believe this truly glorifies God.

Do you remember what Eric Lydell said in the movie, Chariots of Fire? “When I run I feel God’s pleasure.” How can running please God?  How can building with Lego’s glorify Him?  I think many of us fall into the trap of thinking that we must be a pastor or a missionary in Africa to bring glory to God. I used to think this way but this could not be further from the truth. What we do every day glorifies Him as well.

Check this out from Luke 5:1-3: One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

Did Jesus ask to use Simon’s boat? Nope. He just took it. Sounds kind of rude doesn’t it? Actually, it’s not because it was really His boat to begin with as He owns everything. He was just letting Simon use it to earn a living. And that wasn’t just true 2,000 years ago…it is still true today. If you work in retail, you work in His store. If you work in a plant, you work in His plant. If you work in a medical setting, you work in His office or hospital. If you work in an office building, you work in His office building. If you work at home, it is His home you are working in.

The bottom line is that your work is His work. And when you dedicate it to Him and seek to glorify Him, your work becomes your calling…and a very noble one at that!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24