Where do you get advice? Where do you turn from wisdom? It’s funny how often people turn to others who have only as much as insight and knowledge as they do (sometimes even less) for wisdom. If you’re looking to get a better understanding on a topic or a situation, seek out people who have more to offer. More life wisdom. More spiritual maturity. More understanding and insight.

It’s been said that we all ought to have three people in our lives: 1)Dead People – people who have lived and died and left a mark worth following. People whose reputations have stood the test of time and whose insight into the world in which we live is worth listening to. 2)Old People – these are people who live with eternity in mind. Their age simply demands that they think of eternity. These people have a fresh view that those of us who are younger would do well to heed. 3)Older people – these are people who are one or two chapters ahead of us in life. They’ve made it through high school or through college or through the first few years of marriage; and yet they haven’t forgotten what it was like. They can speak with a bigger grasp of life but laugh and cry because the experiences are still fresh.

So, where do you find wisdom?

Lebron James, arguably the NBA’s greatest athlete, has made the switch from Cleavland to Miami; and not everyone likes it. In fact, the Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert called Lebron’s leaving a “cowardly betrayal” and youtube videos have even come up of former fans destroying his Cleavland jersey. Gilbert also referred to Lebron as  a “former hero.”

So how do you respond when heroes fail you? A few thoughts:

1. Remember, heroes are people too. Lebron’s a ball player with a goal: win. If Cleavland’s not accomplishing that goal then it makes perfect sense to look elsewhere. No blame there.
2. Put yourself in their shoes.
3. Know the difference between a hero who makes a decision you don’t like and a hero who fails morally. Lecbron made a career choice. He didn’t fail morally. If we’re upset at Lebron for leaving Cleavland how upset are we at other athletes who’ve made serious moral failures?
4. Learn lessons from others’ mistakes. Why make your own mistakes when you can learn from others?

I guess we’ll be looking out for Miami this year!

My good (dare I say best?) friend and blogging hero Rob Shepherd (of www.robshep.com fame) periodically posts “mind dumps” in which he gives us a glimpse into what’s going on in that creative mind of his. Here’s my attempt:

• It’s July 4th… we don’t have many active duty military in my family, but we’ve got a ton at our church. In the past four years I’ve grown in my deep appreciation of our service men and women.
• It’s still July 4th… there’s alot of spiritual implications for this holiday: this world is not our home, what makes you celebrate, how does the gospel collide with the American dream, what is freedom?
• I had the privilege to speak at World Changers recently. It was the first time I spoke at a camp. I had a blast, everyone worked like crazy (it reached 102 temp-wise!), overall awesome experience.
• My wife’s birthday is tomorrow. Yes, i’ve got gifts already.
• I’m excited about two series coming up on Wed PMs with our students: Leadership (August) and United With Jesus (September-October)
• I was in a car recently that was misdirected by a GPS… it led us to a graveyard. I couldn’t help but think of Prv 14:12 “there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.”
• I’ve watched more soccer in the past few weeks than in my entire life. I’m okay with that. I think that BBC should keep adopting kids till every country in the would cup is represented.
• We went to a geneticist with Carter the other day. They gave us the final “your kid is looking healthy.” I’m glad that Jesus walked through that ordeal with us. (Calvin Miller says, “Jesus didn’t send the world a get well card, he got sick as well.)
• We started a sunday school series this morning on being a peacemaker. The immediate feedback from students was very positive. That’s always a good thing.
• I’ve been thinking about the difference between solitude and isolation recently. I read somewhere that isolation is what we seek when we fail to seek solitude.  Jesus sought solitude often… it’s a pathway to communion with God.
• I need to figure out how to get the bullets to show…

Here’s the podcast from Thur PM at World Changers.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/norfolk-va-june-21-26-2010/id372823816?i=84438720