You're Not Moses

I am six weeks into my membership with a toast masters club. I have been going since January but have been reluctant to join. When you join you get a couple workbooks; one that teaches you about the leadership roles necessary to run the club smoothly and another is filled with assignments that guide you in formal speech delivery and preparation. Some examples of roles in their leadership manual include a time keeper. Someone to monitor the amount of time you spend speaking to the crowd. Another role is the head toastmaster, or emcee of the evening. Their responsibility is to host the crowd and provide smooth transitions between each portion of the meeting.

The workbook with speech assignments give you tools to become a better public speaker. The first assignment’s goal is to build your confidence in public speaking. It’s also designed to show you how easy it is to find content for your speeches.

I became hesitant to join after looking through the assignment book. My hesitation was due, in part, to the fact that I already know the basics of public speaking. I know that opening with a good hook, or catch phrase captivates your audience and if successful, you have lured them in wanting to know more. With approximately a decade worth of public speaking experience, instead of building on the skills I already have, I was afraid I would be digressing.

I also considered Moses who wasn’t the most eloquent speaker (Exodus 4:10), yet led an entire nation of people in revolt against Egypt’s pharaoh (Exodus 3:7-10)

These are two reasons that slowed my obedience to God in becoming a public speaker. I eventually swallowed my pride, listened to the Lord’s promptings, joined, and as of this past Tuesday, completed my second speech at toastmasters.

I have been obedient in joining a toastmasters meeting, but there are still times I catch myself asking why, if I have experience speaking before crowds, am I at toastmasters, revisiting the basics of speech preparation. Until this week.

Possibly my greatest roadblock to being obedient to God's call of pursing public speaking was knowing that Moses wasn’t the most articulate speaker, yet he was chosen by God to transform Egypt’s prime labor force into a seperate nation. If Moses wasn’t the best with words, why must I go through this training that forces me to revisit and reuse skills I have had for years? The answer came in two parts.

First and (perhaps) foremost, Moses wasn’t the one that spoke to the Israelites. His brother, Aaron, spoke to them for Moses. Comparing myself to Moses was irrelevant. Moses barely spoke to the crowds if at all. This comparison could never disqualify me from having to be part of toastmasters.

The second part of the answer had to do with name sakes. If my life was a carbon copy of Moses’ life, I’d still have to go to toast masters, or at least take part in some formal training for public speaking and relearn the basics. Why? Because I’m not Moses, I am Tim. I’m not some adopted son of a pharaoh living as a sheep herder in the Middle East. My name is Tim and I live in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.  So comparing myself to Moses and insisting I don’t need to climb the ranks as a public speaker is just goofy, because I’M NOT MOSES.

And unless your living in the ancient middle east and share the same name, occupation, and lifestyle of the characters in the bible, perhaps your just like me: you’re not Moses (or any other biblical person for that matter), so don’t be surprised when God calls you to do something that no other biblical character has done, regardless of your likeness to any Biblical Patriarch, because, like me, YOU’RE NOT MOSES!!!

Michael Ignatief & The Canadian Liberals

In 2 weeks today Canadians head to their voting stations as we once again decide on who serves another term in office in a federal election. To inject a bit of humor amid the political bantering, I decided to share an email I got regarding Michael Ignatief’s leadership of the Canadian Liberal Party*. I hope you enjoy.

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While suturing up a cut on the hand of a 75 year old farmer, whose hand had been caught in the gate while working his cattle, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to "Michael Ignatief" and how he got to be the leader of the Liberals.

The old farmer said, "Well, ya know, Ignatief is just a Post Turtle."

Now not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked, What's a "Post Turtle?"

The old farmer said, "When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a Turtle balanced on top, that's a Post Turtle."

The old farmer saw the puzzled look on the doctor's face so he continued to explain,

"You know he didn't get up there by himself, he doesn't belong up there, he doesn't know what to do while he's up there, he sure as hell isn't goin' anywhere, and you just wonder what kind of dumb bastard put him there in the first place."

*please note that this is not an endorsement for and/or by any political party whatsoever, its just a bit of fun as I make up my own mind on who to vote for. Be blessed, Tim Bitz

The Charismatic Enigma: Keeping The Dream Alive

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. He taught them many things by parables…

Mark 4:1-2

A few weeks ago Calgary’s oldest community hosted one of the city’s annual street festivals. Commonly known as The Inglewood Sunfest, the community hosted the event in conjunction with the start of the Calgary Fringe Festival. Taking advantage of the warm weather, I attended the event. For nearly three blocks the street was lined with tents and their vendors offering their goods or services at a reduced rate. Jewelry, chiropractors, fashion boutiques, food vendors and even those running in the civic election lined the streets attempting to solicit attendees.

The thing that impressed me most was the street performers. They’d set up their gear at an empty intersection, draw a crowd and perform their show. One of them was a hula-hooping cheerleader named Minnie Maniac. At one point she was cracking a whip and hoping to generate more interest and garner a larger crowd of onlookers. Armed with tricks that included changing from her street clothes into her cheerleading outfit while hula hooping, she would dazzle the crowd. She finished the show with her best skill – sitting on top of a human pyramid while simultaneously twirling 6 hula hoops on her body. In exchange for a great show, she’d asked those who watched to support her by paying her what they thought the show was worth.

The impressive thing I saw in the street performers was their ability to draw and keep a crowd. In the case of Minnie Maniac, drawing a crowd required some effort using a whip to get peoples attention. Regardless, being able to do that is still quite the feat. I’ve seen magic performers do the same thing with no whip in hand, and still I’m puzzled. Is it charisma, pheromones, the Holy Spirit or some other enigma that adorns masses?

In Christ’s ability to draw crowds, it’s so easy to assume the people who were drawn to him were explicitly led to the lakeshore by the Spirit of God. But Mark 3:3 points out some that followed him were keeping tabs on him waiting to slam him for blasphemies and anything else that could be used to halt his growing influence. Furthermore, Jesus spoke in parables. Alan Carr, a North Carolina pastor suggests Jesus spoke in parables for the benefit of those who hadn’t rejected the truth. In a parable, “those who were sincere and hungry for the truth would have that truth revealed to them. Those who were closed minded to the truth would have that truth concealed from them."

I could go on providing a laundry list of things that attributed to the masses Jesus generated. But to make it easier on my fingers and your reading, the reasons can be summed up in two things: the Holy Spirit and his reputation provided the bulk of his enigmatic quirks. But what about those of us who live 2000+ years after Jesus did? What makes people interested in what we are doing? Is it charisma, pheromones, the Holy Spirit or some other enigmatic quirk that keeps another’s interest?

I can’t help but wonder if these questions are tugging at your heart today. Perhaps you’re in leadership and have hit a plateau. At one point you started something and the momentum you once had has faded. Now you find your dream on the brink of collapsing beneath you. If your dream is facing foreclosure; don’t give up! Not yet; especially if you are still reading this particular blog entry. Maybe there’s something I’ve said that has sparked a glimmer of hope in you. Do you look at your dream and see nothing but a train wreck? Most train wrecks occur because something interferes with the train’s momentum. Perhaps you need to crack the whip and rediscover the enigmatic anomaly that started your train’s momentum!?!?!?!

tools of the trade

I’m reading through another book once recommended by a friend called This Beautiful Mess. In the opening pages, the Author tells he is a pastor. He says the primary tools are a bible, prayer, a crowd of people and a dinner platter filled with bread and wine. He then compares his process to that of gardening. The soul is his soil and he gets his hands dirty by sifting natural fertilizer (AKA manure) into the dirt. Pulling weeds and watering the crop is added to his profile of gardener for the Kingdom of God as his thinks about the best ways to yield a full harvest at the right time. I thought it was an interesting metaphor for the "job" as a pastor. (It definitely takes away from the age old theory that the church needs no volunteers because the pastor can do everything... but I digress); especially when Adam's primary role before the fall was that of a gardener. I’ve yet to be a pastor somewhere so I can’t speak to the truth behind the analogy... but I wonder if there is any truth in the comparison... what do you think?