My Thoughts In Blog Form - Mark Asbell

God at Work

January 21, 2014 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith Jr is one of my favorite books of all time. One of the most common questions Christians have is some variation of, “How do I know God’s will for my life?” That one question leads us to wondering how God is or isn’t using us. It leads us to thinking we have to be in a full time job (whether paid or volunteer) at a church in order to be ‘doing ministry’. It causes us to diminish the importance and impact we can have in ‘secular’ or ‘private sector’ jobs. That one question is all it takes to make us forget the fact that our everyday life is a constant opportunity to minister and have an impact for God.

In God at Work , Gene Veith teaches all about the doctrine of vocation. It is the idea that God is at work in all things and he chooses to work through human beings serving each other in ordinary life. There is a wealth of information in this book about the history and purpose of the doctrine of vocation, how it started and how it has changed. There is tremendous insight about how the doctrine of vocation is alive and applicable in so many different areas of our lives – at work, in the family, in citizenship, and at church. We all have more opportunity than we can imagine to serve our neighbor and experience the transforming presence of God through our everyday lives.

I give this book 5 stars and highly recommend it for everyone to read.

Filed Under: Business, Faith, Family, Personal Growth, Relationships

Discipline Leads to Peace

November 12, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Anyone can create a plan for their finances, their fitness, their life… But only discipline can see the plan through to becoming reality. Disciplining ourselves is so difficult, so we need a constant reminder of why the discipline is worth it. Hebrews 12:11 says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” I know this is referring to struggles against sin, but the principle applies in general.

We’re coming up on another New Year. That’s the time where everyone makes plans, or resolutions, of things they want to accomplish. It doesn’t matter how detailed those goals and plans are if there is no discipline to stick to them. I know I have been guilty countless times of falling off the discipline train. Life gets in the way or milestones are missed for reasons outside my control. Before I know it I’ve thrown my hands up in frustration and ultimately allowed a total lapse in discipline. By the time I acknowledge it there is little hope the goals can be met. If you’re human like me you can probably relate.

My plan for this coming year is to get my level of discipline back to where it once was in areas that I’ve allowed to slip. I will have goals. I will have detailed plans. But this time there will be more boundaries to prevent life from getting in the way, and when it does there will be more attention to adapting the plan and maybe even adjusting the goal.

Let’s stop allowing frustration to lead to lost hope. In order to experience the peace of knowing we’re fulfilling the plans God has for us we have to have the discipline he has called us to.

Filed Under: Faith, Personal Growth

How To Deposit Checks Made Out to Children

October 31, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Recently my son Devin had a check made out to him (as a gift), and I couldn’t remember exactly what the proper way to deposit it is for a young child who doesn’t have a bank account. So I looked up the following instructions that I thought might be useful to other parents:

Print the words “For Deposit Only” on the top of the back of the check. This endorsement restricts the check to only being deposited, not cashed.
Have your child print or sign their name on the check directly under the words “For Deposit Only”, but if your child is too young to sign their own name then write the word “By:” and sign your name with the word “Parent” right after.
If your child was able to sign their name then sign your name directly underneath your child’s printed or signed name. This will endorse the check over to you so that you can deposit it into your bank account.

Of course it’s always a good idea to check with your financial institution for specific guidelines.

Filed Under: Family, Money

Church Marketing – Profit or Truth

October 23, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

There seems to be differences of opinion among Christians and church leaders about the subject of church marketing and the idea of “selling Jesus for profit.” One side of the argument is all about any and all fresh new marketing and sales techniques to draw people in and sell the hope, love, and forgiveness we all have through Jesus Christ. The other side of the argument is all about letting the gospel speak for itself without so much focus on profit or numbers.

Of course both sides want to keep it about the main thing – reaching people for Jesus, but both sides are throwing stones (which Jesus would have frowned on). The “profit” side accuses the “truth” side of being irrelevant, or even dead, or some other harsh judgement of ministry effectiveness. The “truth” group accuses the “profit” group of selling Jesus as a product rather than a savior – being driven by fame and fortune driven rather than Jesus.

I’ve listened to both sides and actually gone to their churches to experience the differences in how they both do ministry. It doesn’t take long to notice that both sides have valid claims about each other. There are churches that seem irrelevant and dying, and there are churches who seem more concerned about profit than people. The question I have is whether or not anyone who speaks up is examining their own hearts about the matter and using discernment to guide a productive conversation rather than allowing judgement to become condemnation.

Do we really believe the churches who don’t focus on marketing are ALL irrelevant and complacent? Do we really believe the churches who do focus on marketing are ALL profit driven with no real concern for souls? Of course not – both of those are extreme. But are we making broad statements that throw everyone on either side into the same bucket of badness? Absolutely.

I personally believe the public back and forth about church marketing is ridiculous. Churches need to make a profit so that there are more financial resources to do more ministry, and it is not wrong for church leaders (AND STAFF) to be blessed financially. Churches need to keep the heart of the ministry about the gospel and teaching truth even when it doesn’t sell books or tickets to the next popularity contest. The good news is there is a way everyone can help each other do both profit and truth better. Start by stopping the fighting.

If we truly are concerned that a particular church or leader is failing in any way shouldn’t we reach out to help them, encourage them, or challenge them? Shouldn’t we be able to do that in a loving way? Can’t we do it privately? If we truly are concerned about our own church and how we lead shouldn’t we be willing to reach out for others help and constructive feedback? Shouldn’t we be willing to listen? Can we swallow our pride?

Stop and challenge your self the next time you hear a debate, or think an argumentative thought of your own, about whether or not a church’s marketing is motivated by profit or truth. Is the heart behind your thoughts motivated by selfish desire to somehow be right or recognized, or do you truly just want to further God’s kingdom by strengthening His church.

Filed Under: Business, Faith, Personal Growth

Governomics Isn’t Working

October 21, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

When I was broke I did the same thing the government is doing – kept adding to the debt and consolidating loans and eventually I was unable to borrow more, then unable to pay, then almost lost everything. We had to change our lifestyle drastically for quite some time to correct the problem. If we had done it sooner it would have been a lot less painful. But at least we didn’t wait any longer than we did – that would have been disastrous.

If we think our economy has been tough the last several years we need to imagine how bad it’s gonna be when other countries are no longer willing to lend to us. Imagine how bad it’s gonna be when we can’t pay all the bills we owe to those countries. Now imagine how much worse it’s gonna be the longer we wait to stop borrowing and cut spending.

How many national parks will have to be closed? How many furloughs will have to be mandated? What programs will they finally decide to cut or manage more diligently? What entitlement programs will they finally decide to steward more wisely? How many jobs will be lost in that process? How much higher are taxes going to go in that process?

I’m no economic genius but I don’t think it takes one to see our governomics ain’t working. Our governomics budget hasn’t REALLY been balanced in decades. Robbing from funded programs to “balance” the budget doesn’t work without adequately cutting or killing the robbed programs. When my family has to rob from our vacation fund (social security for example) to pay for an emergency (war on terrorism for example) then we have to either delay vacation long enough to replenish those funds or we have to cancel the vacation indefinitely. What we don’t do is try to fund everything using debt we hope to repay. Hope doesn’t pay bills.

Our governomics hasn’t addressed the poor spending behavior that has gotten us into this position. When my family has to decide between eating out every night or getting to have a nice vacation we have to choose which one is more important.

Unfortunately the approach our government has been taking just continues to produce the same results – it’s the ole insanity thing – “continuing to do the same thing and expecting different results.” The band aids aren’t working. It’s time to rip (not slow peel) the band aid off and take drastic measures stop the bleeding so our economy can begin to heal. Governomics doesn’t work for individuals and it won’t work for our country. It’s time to go further than the “change” politicians promise. It’s time to TRANSFORM our country by getting rid of governomics and start using the peoplenomics that apply in the real world the majority of us live in.

Filed Under: Misc, Money

Throwback Post – Financial Freedom

October 14, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

It’s interesting to look back on past blog posts because in many ways it’s almost like reading a journal. Here’s one from way back when Shawna and I had just met our friends Joe & Jenn and we were just starting out on a new path in our financial journey. Ironically the title of that post is “Financial Freedom“, as though I was claiming it before it was reality. I wouldn’t necessarily say we’re financially “free”, because now I don’t really agree with what that term suggests – no one can ever be free from finances. But we can be free from financial bondage, so by that standard I have a lot to be thankful for.

Filed Under: Money, Throwback Posts

Presumed Innocent

October 11, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Has anyone ever presumed, or judged, you based on what they may, or may not, know about you? I know what that is like – to be wrongly judged, but if I’m honest with myself I have to admit that I’ve been guilty of wrongly judged too. But there’s usually a reason that leads to such a presumption.

In relationships our tendency to presume innocent is influenced by a mix of current and historic behavior. If a person has hurt us our trust is hindered, our walls of suspicion and defense are up, and our presumption is guilt rather than innocence any time there is a question of character. If a person has worked to have a good relationship with us and build trust with us then it is much easier for us to presume innocence when thoughts of character judgement enter our mind.

The question we need to ask is not, “Who in my life do I trust enough to presume innocent?” The question we should be more concerned with is, “Who in my life would consider me a trustworthy relationship that they naturally presume innocent?” The first question is about what’s in it for us, but the second question is about what’s in it for others. When we challenge our self to be a better spouse, parent, family member, or friend it is ultimately better for everyone including our self.

Filed Under: Relationships

Conflict Among Church Leaders

October 9, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

Leading is tough. It’s not for everyone but it seems everyone wants to be a “leader”, and in church it isn’t that difficult to be given a leadership role in some form or fashion. No one wants conflict, but in order to be a leader you have to embrace it.

The problem I see in church leadership is too much criticism among leaders and terrible processes for addressing and embracing it. Leaders drift toward isolation to shield themselves from criticism until at best they’re no longer growing and at worst they’re failing miserably.

I believe a better way for church leaders to approach conflict amongst themselves is to think before speaking, and that process of thought might go something like this:

Is this thought from God or Satan? Is this matter I’m concerned about coming from the God of truth or the author of confusion – good or evil?
Is my heart about this matter pure? Am I hoping to truly help the other party or am I really just going to tear them down to gain something that somehow pleases a sinful nature?
If roles were reversed would I want this brought to me? If you were in the other person’s shoes would you want the matter or concern brought to your attention?
How should I do this? Should what you’re about to say or do be private or public. Too often church leaders are lashing back and forth publicly without any personal interaction.
Should I run this by someone else first? Is there someone I can confide in about this matter to hear from their wisdom before I say or do anything else?

The flip side of being the initiator of conflict is being the recipient. Leaders drift toward isolation by assuming criticism is a hater just hating rather than something we need to hear. When someone brings something to our attention we should run it through a thought process that might go something like this:

Is this thought from God or Satan? Is this matter something that could help strengthen my leadership or something that could hinder what I’m trying to do for God?
Does the person bringing this concern love Jesus and care about me? If they do then they will bring the concern to you properly (which is usually privately), but they shouldn’t have to be on the senior staff, board, or one of our “yes” men for us to hear their concern. Writing off a concern simply because someone doesn’t have a position or status can be a bad reason to ignore a potential problem.
Should I run this by someone else who loves Jesus and cares about me? If we are truly a leader with any amount of influence then we should have at least one other person we can confide in to discuss the concern and get an honest second opinion.

Notice the initiator list is longer than the recipient list. It would do us all a lot of good to question our initiation more than our participation when conflict arises.

Filed Under: Faith, Personal Growth

Terrible Yo Gabba Gabba Advice

October 8, 2013 by Mark Asbell Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever seen Yo Gabba Gabba you’re probably familiar with how they try to convince kids to try stuff with their stupid songs that say “I tried it and I liked it”. If you’re not familiar with what I’m talking about click here.

I’ll never forget when Skyler was younger. She had seen one of these dumb songs and thought about it. She later told me, “I don’t like Yo Gabba Gabba because they say ‘try it and you’ll like it’, but that just isn’t true – sometimes you just really don’t like it.” Kids are so insightful.

Teachers, pastors, info marketers, and anyone else trying to convince someone else to listen to what they have to say – all need to take note of that statement. Trying something does not mean that it will be liked. Budgeting, for example, totally sucks for most people. We all know how it helps with managing finances, but the task actually sucks. Having awkward conversations about marriage issues is not fun. We all know how it helps with improving our marriage, but the actual tasks suck. Doing strict exercise and diet sucks, but we know it makes us healthy. I could go on and on.

Everyone would be better off if we’d just be real with each other and acknowledge that some things we need to be serious about just suck and trying alone isn’t going to change it. What we need instead is accountability. This could be someone who is better at what you’re struggling with and can encourage you, or it can be someone who is going through it too and can encourage you. The key is both require the encouragement – not enablement. We don’t need any help making excuses for our poor choices. We need true accountability that challenges and encourages us to not give up when trying something isn’t enough to make us like it.

Filed Under: Money, Personal Growth

Keep It Real

October 2, 2013 by Mark Asbell 1 Comment

A couple of years ago I bought a t-shirt with the above print on it. I think this shirt is hilarious with the ghost, magic wand, zombie, unicorn, space ship, imaginary friend, and dinosaur. It’s hyperbole (I know a few big words too smart people). The reason I love this shirt so much is because some of my biggest lessons in life could have been learned sooner if I had just lived by the motto – Keep It Real.

Now this is like one of my core values – Keep It Real. I think one of the biggest failures among Christians as a whole is the unwillingness to keep it real. We act like we’ve got it all together because if we don’t then we’re looked down on by those who are likely just better actors. The problem is pride. The Bible warns about it – pride comes before the fall.

Proverbs teaches us the importance of wisdom and that we should seek it no matter the cost. To truly do that we have to swallow our pride, be willing to admit we don’t know everything and we don’t have it all together, and actually ask someone who might have the wisdom we need. I’ve learned this the hard way in major areas of life, and I’ve observed that most other people are learning things the hard way too.

Years ago I was much more transparent on this blog but along the way I became more reserved for various reasons. It’s about to get a lot more real on here again because I believe when we keep it real we keep pride down and relational value up. Who’s with me?

Filed Under: Family, Money, Personal Growth, Relationships