Choose to Be

Every day when we wake up we make a conscious choice to be, to do, to learn, to grow, and to BE. The choices we make every day determine who we are and what we become. An addict makes a choice every morning to continue down the road of addiction or live sober. A liar makes a choice every day to continue living a lie or to be real. A married person makes a choice every day to be loyal and loving or to be hateful and hurtful. We must make the right choices in our pursuit of Holiness, or we will become that which we despise. I want to challenge you to make a choice… to BE!

       Be… Who God created you to be. Paul said in Ephesians 2:10 that “we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do". Do what God has called you to do in the body and do not try to imitate someone else. If you do not know your role yet, pray that the Lord reveal it to you, but in the meantime, help somewhere.

       Be… Who He says you are, not what the world says you are. Don’t allow yourself to be defined by people --- or a society --- that either doesn’t understand you or is trying to fit you into a mold or box. The God of the universe has established your path (Psalm 139)… walk in that!

       Be… who God says you are.  When Jesus gives you a new identity that's who you are: Son, daughter, leader, heir, ambassador… the list goes on. Remember, the past is gone and who you were is no longer apart of you, therefore, no longer identify yourself with the past.

       Be… your very best. God called you to be YOU! Be the best YOU you can be. We need originators not imitators in the kingdom. Once you find your role, give it everything you have to further grow the kingdom.

       Be… submitted to the Father.  Submission to God brings protection, favor, and blessing from the hand of the Father. He is close to those who walk in submission (James 4:7-8).

       Be… spiritually aware of your surroundings. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” The closer we are to God, the more we see things from His vantage point, and are sensitive to what is going on in the spiritual dimension.

       Be… strong and very courageous. In the Bible, Joshua was encouraged over and again to “be strong and very courageous”. Sounds like good advice! We must make the right (courageous) choices if we are to become what God has called us to be.

 Napoleon, the great war general, was inspecting his troops when his horse got spooked and began to buck. When a young soldier saw what was occurring, he ran to Napoleon and got the horse under control even though he easily could have been killed. After a moment, Napoleon looked at the lad --- a corporal --- and said, “Thank you, Lieutenant.”
“But sir,” the lad protested, “I am but a corporal."
Napoleon's Adjutant General said to the young soldier, "When the General called you Lieutenant, that's what you are now.”

So what is God calling you? Regardless of your self-image or the negative words spoken over you by another, God has a high opinion of you, and has called you “child, heir, king, priest”… the list goes on. It’s time to stop acting on the words of others and start BE-ing what God has declared. Choose to be great, above repour, and walk in the gifts and callings God has placed on you. Remember, for the Church body to thrive, we must all show greatness in the areas God has gifted us in. I pray you choose to be everything God has called you to be and have a blessed day.

God Bless,

Dr. Ronnie Phillips Jr.  

Moon Children

            No, I haven’t joined a cult and started to worship the moon. However, with the solar eclipse happening later today, I began to think about the significance of the moon. When the evening comes, the moon begins to provide light and direction to the Earth below it. The Psalmist writes, “Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies” Psalm 148:1-4

            The moon was created to reflect the light of the sun into a lost and dying world and to bring praise to God. The purpose of the moon seems to line up with the purpose of us as the children of God. We are called to reflect the light of the SON into a dark world that needs direction. Without light, the darkness can overtake the strongest of individuals and take them down a path they never planned to go. When we move away from the light and begin to do our own thing, we will ultimately fall into sin because we are blinded by the darkness. Remember, as a child of God you are called to reflect the light of Christ and help illuminate every path you walk on to provide clarity and direction for not only yourself, but everyone you encounter. The Greek translation of reflection is the word katoptrizó which means to “behold as in a mirror the glory of the Lord”. As we do life with people that do not know the Lord and live in the dark daily, are we being a reflection of the son into their lives and showing them a way out or letting their darkness overtake our light.

            This reminds me of Matthew 5:15 that says, “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house”. Let your light shine in every area of your life if not for yourself, but for everyone you encounter. What happens though when an eclipse happens?  The definition of an eclipse is “the obscuration of the light of the sun by the intervention of the moon between it and a point on the earth”. This sounds like what happens when everything begins to go right in our lives and so we put God on the backburner. As our live are going well, we begin to act as if we do not need the son in our lives and inadvertently begin to block the light from reaching the world around us. However, many times we then get lost and stumble because our path is no longer illuminated. Just like the moon cannot produce its own light, neither can we provide our own blessing or salvation.

            God has called every one of us to be a moon child. Remember, you cannot create your own light, and are powerless on your own. The SON provides light that we can then reflect for glorifying God and directing others to him. I challenge you today to seek ways every day to be a reflection instead of an eclipse. Have a great rest of the day and please be careful observing the eclipse.

God Bless,

Dr. Ronnie Phillips Jr.

Leadership Lessons from Little League

Hello partners and friends, tis the season for summer athletics around the country. The past 10 years I have had the opportunity to serve as the Vice-President of a youth league and Chaplain of Tennessee Dizzy Dean Baseball and Scenic City Football. During this time, I have had the opportunity to coach some incredible athletes, some inspirational kids, and more teams than I can count. Through this time, there have been many experiences that have taught me life lessons and helped me develop leadership characteristics. The following is a few of the lessons I have learned through little league that can also relate to the Church today.

1. A Leader (coach) is only as good as the people (players) on their team.

I have coached all three of my sons. I have coached my oldest son since he was 5 years old and now at 15 has matured into an outstanding football player. Being the coach of his team of talented athletes was an honor as we won almost every game and strived to play our best every game. This team won multiple Championships, had various newspaper articles wrote about them, and countless other accolades. I thought I was the greatest coach of all time. The truth is, the Lord blessed me with some incredible talent during those years as 12-14 of those young men are now standouts in High School and have many college programs interested in them. My oldest then went to middle school and began playing school ball, which allowed me to start over coaching with my seven year old. At this time, the local park had undergone some major changes and the quantity of players was sparse to pick from. Quickly I realized that the drills, playbook, and skills in motivation did not work the same with this team as it did with my oldest son. A local high school coach once told me, “Pastor Ronnie, it’s not X’s and O’s, but Jimmy’s and Joe’s”. This new team learned differently but battled and in their last 2 years got to play in the “A” bracket instead of the “B” bracket where they started. I was joyful seeing the growth in these kids who had been underrated blossom into real football players. I began to understand that coaching was more about transforming lives, not seeking plastic trophies. There are coaches who will cheat, steal players, and bend rules for that plastic trophy just hoping little Johnny will be the next Peyton Manning. In all honesty, a person has a better chance of winning the lottery than playing pro ball, but as adults that did not achieve that dream we many times want to live our lives over through our children. We must keep the right perspective and understand there are more important things in life. What is more important to you: plastic trophies for your child or seeing them live their life for Christ?

This same principle can be applied in ministry: a pastor is only as good as the people that he gets to serve each week. I’ve learned to never judge a servant of God by the size of the congregation, their bank account, education, building, or the accolades they receive. I am a strong believer in honor and working hard to be successful, but Jesus has given us his model for success while summarizing the Ten Commandments.

Mark 12:30-31

Jesus also teaches us that those who lose or suffer in this life will one day be crowned as winners, so be careful not to boast about what you have on this earth.

1 Peter 4:12-14

2. One negative individual (parent, church member, employee) can ruin the Unity of the entire team.

Out of the 30 plus teams that I have coached, there is always one player, parent, or assistant coach that attempts to undermine the plan of the coach. Unfortunately, we see this in the church and in corporate America but the difference is a company can fire that employee but we have to respond differently in the Church. As in little league sports, one should respond with patience and love as they would in Church. Jesus had 12 disciples, but one sabotaged, marginalized, and eventually betrayed him. There will always be that one individual that tries to ruin the experience for everyone else. These types of people are focused on their own personal agenda, family, and if the leader is serving their agenda. If they are not getting praised by the ones in leadership, then they will quickly leave them and begin to criticize and deceive those they have influence over.

Paul told the church in Corinth and the Church in Ephesus the following

1 Corinthians 1:10

Ephesians 4:3

Jesus prayed in John 17 that his disciples would become “One”! Teams, churches, organizations, and political parties that become “One” will accomplish their goals and achieve their goals. If Abba’s House is going to be the Church God has called us to be, then we have worked as a team in unity, regardless of our differences.

3. Development takes hard work and many repetitions.

A team can not be great without a good coach that helps them run drills, plays, and conditions them through repetition until the moves are second nature. In the Kingdom of God, we call this discipleship. Churches have been so focused on decisions for Christ that we have failed to implement discipleship programs. A new Christian needs to be taught how to live, study the Bible, pray, and persevere when times get tough; this will take consistency in devotion and being held accountable through discipleship. Churches are operating in dysfunction as many people operate out of emotion instead of being lead by the Spirit. This may lead to good ideas, but we need to be operating under Godly principles. Jesus didn’t tell us to go get rich, brag on our numbers or collect plastic trophies; he told us to make disciples.Even when it is hard, we must invest in people and help each other grow. I want to apologize for times I have not done this for others around me.

Matthew 28:18-20

The book of Acts tells us that the first church “devoted themselves” to teaching, fellowship, and the ordinances of the church. Devotion is key to an organization winning in their realm of influence. Devotion means to put in the time to reach your goal; as a team, we must all be involved.

4. Leaders build. Losers Run.

Losers Run. Let me explain this. True leaders (pastor’s, business owners, executives) can build a dynasty right where they are. The popular saying,  “if you can’t beat them join them” is nowhere in the Bible. God has called each of us to shine in our area of influence. Coach Bobby Bowden, my hero, did that at Florida State University. They had no money for scholarships or stadium improvements, but he gave them 34 years of devotion. He had some tough seasons, but he stayed the course to go down in history as the only coach to finish in the Top five 14 years in a row. Bobby Cox did this for the Atlanta Braves. Many kids today have been a part of at least 5 organizations before they are ten years old. Sometimes it is necessary, but so many times the reason lies in a disgruntled parent that can’t get their way. This teaches little Johnny that he can run from situations he does not agree with until he finds somewhere that gives him his way.  I wouldn’t recommend anyone staying in a toxic or abusive environment, but in real life, you will work for unfair people, be on bad teams, not get your way, and have to deal with decisions you don’t agree with. This is called LIFE and it is not fair. I try to teach my boys the principle that if you persevere, then it will pay off in the long run. I have worked for men, women, Republicans, Democrats, and non-believers. I loved some and disliked others. I didn’t run. I made it through it.

We see this is in churches all too often. So many pastors want to run when the going gets tough and things don't happen right away. Likewise, many members are more loyal to their agenda or to a person than the vision of the organization.

Leaders stay and build a legacy. Losers run from responsibility for less accountability. True leaders aren’t afraid to work with what they’ve got. My father has always taught me to work with the people God has given me, and when I need new giftings, then to trust that God will provide for me. Success is more meaningful when you didn’t take a shortcut to get there. Be great where you are! Be great at what you do! Be the same with twelve people as you are with 12,000. God is watching what kind of Legacy you are leaving.

Psalms 145:4

Proverbs 13:22

5. Great Teams Finish!

A true leader takes advantage of every second and knows how to meet deadlines. A team with the right pieces must finish the race. Just because you have a lead, a great team or an advantage doesn’t mean you will win in the end. You must FINISH! Paul finished his race.

2 Timothy 4:6-8

I encourage you to run your race that has been set before you (not someone else)! God has a race marked out for you and only you. That is the race you must Run! That is the Race you must FINISH! Please pray for me this summer. We have many mission projects coming up during the summer and fall months for Abba’s House. I will also be traveling to Southhaven, Mississippi in July with yet another team chasing some wins and have been asked to deliver a SERMON on the mound for the Dizzy Dean World Series teams. I pray we have a great harvest.

God Bless,

Dr. Ronnie Phillips, Jr.