Shoes Shined

I just got done shining my shoes for the black tie affair Joni and I are going to on Monday night with the Supreme Court of the United States. I think I get as much joy shining my shoes as I do detailing a car. I suppose there are some parallels. I sold nice shoes as a job in college and our store had a shine stand with it. That is where I learned the art of shinning shoes.

I have my tux ready to go and Joni picks up her gown on Saturday. Our hosts in D.C. are adamant that our attire must be appropriate for the occasion.

This is the 33rd year of this event and it is sponsored by the Supreme Court Historical Society - of which I am a member. It is hosted by the Chief Justice, John G. Roberts Jr.. If you want to brush up on the High Court, here is a link to their webpage: Supreme Court.

Washington D.C.

Joni and I have a unique opportunity this Monday, June 2nd. We have been invited by Rob Schenck (he spoke here last July and will be with us again July 6th) to a dinner event with the Supreme Court of the United States. Amazing! We will get a chance to interact with them and hear a lecture by Samuel Alito. Only a few ever get to do something like this and I am honored that Rob would invite us.

To know a little more about the event, here is a video Rob sent us.

Operation Higher Court

Family 411 (continued)

"They do not love that do not show their love." (William Shakespeare)

Ten Great Tips for Wives:

1. Let him know you believe in him. This will empower him to achieve his dreams.

2. Accept your husband for the man he is, instead of wishing you could change this or that.

3. Help him be a hero to his kids. Speak well of him and the good things that he does.

4. Appreciate the things he does—like making repairs around the house.

5. Let him spend time with the guys doing “guy” things.

6. Respect his right to need some space. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you.

7. Stop asking him to throw out his torn, faded jeans. What you hate about them is what he loves about them.

8. Stop criticizing his mother.

9. Be patient with him—he’s a man. Make him feel special—he’s still someone who craves your approval.

10. Keep looking your best—for him and for yourself.

Based on the book: How to Be the Almost Perfect Wife: By Husbands Who Know by J.S. Salt

Family 411

"They do not love that do not show their love." (William Shakespeare)

Love needs to be shown or it often eventually dies! “It is not self-seeking” and it“always perseveres” as it tells us in 1 Corinthians.

Ten Great Tips for Husbands

Ten Great Tips for Husbands:

1. Listen, listen, listen! Put down that newspaper (or television remote control) and let her know your focus is on her.

2. When she tells you her problems, try not to jump in with advice. A sympathetic ear may be all she needs.

3. Schedule a date with her. And it doesn’t have to be expensive. The goal is simply to create time for just the two of you.

A principle I (Dale) learned a long time ago is - what I did to get her I need to continue to do to keep her.

4. Surprise her with little things that show your affection—a note, a funny card, a small gift, or flowers for no reason. She needs to feel you’re thinking of her.

5. Do little day—to—day things that make her feel taken care of—like filling her empty water glass, bringing her coffee in bed or turning down her side of the bed if you go to sleep before her.

6. Connect with her physically during the day. Kiss her when you wake up, hold her hand sometimes, touch her in non-sexual ways. She’ll be nicer to you and your sex life may improve.

7. Let the kids be your responsibility now and then. That way, she’ll get some time for herself for a change.

8. Respect her. Don’t make fun of her or berate her just because she doesn’t think the same way you do.

9. When you’re angry or upset, tell her why. Don’t make her guess.

10. Compliment her. And tell her you love her—at least once a day.

Based on the book: How to Be the Almost Perfect Husband: By Wives Who Know by J.S. Salt.

As always, if you have another tip, let us have it.

Tomorrow - 10 great tips for wives.

Humility and Success

Going back to Josiah.

Everywhere I look in 2 Chronicles 34 I see the humility of Josiah. There are numerous instances where his humility became the mechanism of success. As a young leader at 16 years old, he knew he did not know it all and his humility led him to seek God. So by the time he would be active as a king (age 20-21, up until then he would be under the control and direction of a regent) he would have a plan of action that produced public reforms.

His humility helped him deal with the baggage from the past. Most leaders have to deal with obstacles carried forward from the past, and Josiah was not spared this task. Going back a few years to the leaders immediately preceding him, Josiah had to uproot the apostasy of Manasseh and his son Amon (whose failure is credited to his lack of humility, 2 Chron. 33:23). Even though Manasseh later repented, he was not able to pull back the consequences he had released through his son - which produced evil and arrogant behavior. Josiah courageously purged the country of idols; a problem stemming back to Solomon.

His humility established a legacy of leadership. When this young leader heard the words of God's long-forgotten Law, he tore his clothes (34:19) in sorrow and repentance knowing that those who had gone before him had disobeyed God. Then he commanded that the Word of God be studied so they would know what the Lord wanted them to do. This humble leader led his people in covenant renewal with God. Consequently, for the rest of Josiah's life the people stayed devoted to God and His law (v.28).

Such is the power of a humble leader. Remember, as the leader goes, so go the people.

Aerial Viewpoint

I just received these pictures of the groundwork being done for the new building and I thought you would want to see them. Great perspective.

Thanks Steve P. for taking them.

Weekend Recap

Nice Weekend! And it was more than just the weather - but it sure helped.

The first part of my weekend started with a trip to the coast, to the Westport/Grayland area. The whole family, including Packer (our Black Lab) went. When we arrived at around 5:30 pm it was 91 degrees. Our hosts made some Salmon and Steak and it was incredible. The sunset that night was glorious. We were able to catch the green flash as the sun sets on the horizon. Phenomenal!

Saturday. If you have ever been to the Evergreen Christian School auction you know that Pastor Dan Olson and I supply an extreme car makeover to be sold. Dan and I both enjoy car detailing as a hobby. He is a perfectionist when in comes to the inside, and I am a perfectionist on the outside - thus, a great team. So Saturday we were at Tom and Kathy D's home to apply our famous TLC to their car. Their home provides an ideal setting. Plenty of shade (important not to wax in the sunlight) so we could stay outside and enjoy the weather. I was telling Tom that the reason I really enjoy detailing cars is because it is one of the things in my life I can do and complete the job. As a pastor my job is never really done so I need tasks in my life (like reading a book or cutting the lawn) that can come to completion. In the process, Tom and Kathy's car looks great - inside and out.

Sunday. We continued out Family 411 series by talking about the groundwork to a great marriage. A high point to the day was that the video at McCleary went perfect. As we tape the 9:00 service, we take it out to McCleary for the 10:30 gathering out there. There have been some glitches with how the video has appeared the last few weeks and today - as we prayed in our early morning pastor's meeting - it worked perfectly.

Sunday nap.

Sunday Small Group. Our small group met tonight and it was just a really enjoyable evening. We ate together, we shared thoughts and stories and we laughed! Joni and I drove away fulfilled by the sense of community and love we have through small group life.

The day ended by stopping by Starbucks and getting a grande 200 degree Chai tea breve latte.

Make it a great week.

Transformational Leadership

Let's continue our thoughts on Josiah.

Political scientist James McGregor Burns (along with a few others) describes two different approaches to leadership: transactional and transformational.

Transactional leadership is, in many ways, just like it sounds - a transaction between leader and follower. The goal of the leader is to manage and maybe even manipulate others to a desired outcome.

Transformational leadership is when a leader and those they lead raise one another to a higher level of motivation and encourage each other toward desired outcomes. This type of leadership raises the level of human behavior and brings inspiration to those involved.

Although Josiah (2 Chronicles 34) had the position and power to leverage transactional leadership, he instead led in a transformational style. He was a God seeker which brought about a movement that facilitated the process of moving people from "the way things are" to the "way things ought to be." That is transformational leadership at its core.

To apply this to the political scene of today - in the early 70's we had the creation of the Moral Majority which lead to the rise of the Religious Right. These groups of evangelicals were all about exchanging votes for power and influence in Washington. What no one anticipated was how it would end up NOT working. The reason is because of younger evangelicals becoming disenchanted with the results. Disenchanted because those leading were entrenched in a transactional style that eventually alienated them.

The perspectives and concerns of those we are attempting to lead cannot be ignored. No good leader can bring about effective change unless they first are willing to be changed. Just ask Josiah.

Construction Team Update

To give you a few more details on our construction team in Asia and the massive earthquake today.

When we called the person in charge of the team to find out how they were doing, we woke them up and it was all news to them that there even was an earthquake. They are about 1000 miles away - compare it to the distance from here to southern California - from where the quake took place.

Thanks for the continued prayers for their safety and effectiveness and for the thousands that are having to endure adversity because of this disaster.

Mother's Day Brunch

Today was the annual Mother's Day Brunch here at ECC - and one of the high points on the calendar. I love it because it gives me a chance to hang out with other servants. The crew you see pictured is part of the team that served the ladies today. Those in white shirts were the servers and the rest were the real pros, they made the food.

Half the fun of serving is doing it with others. Thanks to all who helped, because you made it easy to be a servant today.

And God bless our Mother's and the women in our lives. Where would we be without them serving us every day?

Reflection

Allowing the life and leadership of Josiah to continue inspire us, we look at another element of his successful reign as king from 2 Chronicles 34.

I want to point out an important and foundational phrase used throughout the record of the Kings of Judah and Israel. In verse 2, "He (Josiah) did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David..." A few verses before this we read in 2 Chronicles 33:21-22, "Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. He did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, as his father Manasseh had done."

Josiah and Amon's leadership skills (or lack of them) began as a result of their parents. Both of these young men became a reflection of the people who raised them.

That is how it is supposed to work. Our children are a reflection of who we are, whether we like that reflection or not. The things about my kids that I harp on are, in many cases, the things I don't like about me.

I feel like I am just writing to myself a wonderful reminder - maybe, just maybe, to change my kids, I need to start with me. And I can do so much to give my kids a head start on life and leadership by embracing the responsibility of my "reflection."

Political Change

This blog is not going where you may think.

Dawson was the only child in our family that I got to name. His namesake is Dawson Trotman, the man who is widely credited to have started the modern day discipleship movement. He founded The Navigators.

While Dawson was being born (literally) I was trying to come up with a middle name for Dawson that would be a "J" name so all the Oquist men would have the initials, DJO. Joni had already selected the middle name Kyle for Dawson. So, here I am rattling off "J" names while she is giving birth. Some were not that great - Jedediah, but one that I thought would be a for sure winner and unseat her choice was Josiah. Dawson's full name is Dawson Kyle Oquist.

If only Joni would have had appreciated the background I had in my mind while suggesting that awesome "J" name.

Josiah means "the fire of God." If that were not enough, from him we get a powerful theology of leadership. Looking at 2 Chronicles 34 you quickly get an understanding of the type of leader that makes Josiah a great namesake.

He was eight when he became king and reigned until he was 39 years old. Scripture says, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left." As a young adult he begins to institute political change that led to the reformation of a nation.

Look how focused he was as an eighteen year old: "In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still young, he began to seek the God of his father David" (verse 3). Josiah's first leadership secret was his focus and discipline. He did not turn aside to the right or left but stayed on track. He became committed to a purpose and did not stray from it - and all this while he is 18 years old. Some don't ever get solidly on track - and this leader gets on and gets on early. What is your leadership focus? Is it on your relationship with God by seeking Him? This is foundational.

His second secret found in the next few verses is also a great theology of leadership. Continuing in verse 3, "In his twelfth year (now 20 years old) he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of high places, Asherah poles and idols. Under his direction the altars of the Baals were torn down..."

Josiah was surely not looking to be politically correct. He did not look to opinion polls to make decisions - he knew what was right and he did it. So the second leadership secret was his intense commitment to holiness. His idea of political change was to purge the nation of idols and their immoral rituals. He even exhumed the bones of pagan priests and burned them to make sure he eradicated their influence. He knew that a lack of holiness cripples leadership.

What a great example. What a great leader. What a great name.

It just does not really grab the attention of a mom in the midst of giving birth. If I would have had the wisdom of Josiah, Dawson's initials today would be DJO.

Failure into Injustice

Having finished our Myth Busters series we head into a Mother's Day to Father's Day series called "Family 411."

It will begin with something I have been working on for years - getting Joni to speak on Mother's Day.

In processing some thoughts on marriage and family I have been meditating on the life principle that, as parents, we need to be cautious that our failure does not turn into another's injustice. Failures are the foundation to injustice. Every injustice can be traced back to some failure. When a nation's government fails to do their job, its citizens will endure injustice. When a spouse fails in their responsibility, their partner experiences injustice. When a parent fails....

Obviously, not all failure produces injustice. When the right combination of role and responsibility intersect, success or failure becomes more critical. For example: If a child of mine fails in a class at school, no injustice is served because they do not hold a role or have responsibility that affects injustice. Yet, if I as their parent fail to create an atmosphere of love in the home, if I parent with fear and intimidation, if I would abuse them in any way, they now have to deal with injustice. Does this make sense?

We need to be concerned so our failure doesn't turn into another's injustice as far as we are concerned.