Influence June 10, 2005

I love watching little kids. Don’t get me wrong—I am in no way offering my baby sitting services. The reason I love to watch kids is because it is so obvious who or what influences their lives. (Parents know this—and know that you MUST be careful what you say in front of them because they will tell complete strangers intimate details of conversations they overhear.)

My point is this—kid’s are easily influenced, right? I was thinking about this while I was doing some work around the house this morning and then I had this thought, “Wait a minute—it’s not just kids—we are all influenced by certain people or things in our lives!” And I seriously believe that who or what influences you the most will have a profound impact on the level of commitment we have to Christ.

I learned a long time ago that I am not that smart and that I don’t have the best ideas—so I began listening to different speakers, reading books, asking the right people the right questions—and there are people and books and sermons that have had an incredible impact on my life and because of that I have been influenced in an incredibly positive way.

So what are some things that are influencing my life right now? First of all I read my Bible every morning. I want God’s Word to be a primary influence in my life. I often tell people that I have made numerous mistakes in my life—but none of them were a result of me being obedient to Scripture; in fact, I would say the opposite is true—my mistakes are a result of me going against what Scripture says.

I would say another thing that heavily influences me are the people I spend time with. I know that tons of people feel that teenagers are the only people in the world that deal with any sort of peer pressure—nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is this—show me who you spend the majority of your time with and I can tell you, for the most part, what type of person you are. The people that Lucretia and I spend our time with are incredible, godly, positive people—that is the type of person I want to be.

Then there are books! I have gotten into this reading kick lately. I love to read and have learned that it is necessary for me to make time to do this. Some of the books that have influenced me the most are, “Developing the Leader Within You,” by John Maxwell. “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership,” by John Maxwell. “Rediscovering the Church,” by Bill & Lynn Hybils. “Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry and Mary,” by Lee Strobel. “Wild at Heart,” by John Eldridge. And “Green Eggs and Ham,” by Dr. Sues. (Yes, I am serious about that one!)

I have to say this—lately I have been recommending a book to everyone I know entitled, “The Barbarian Way,” by Erwin McManus. I think every person in the world ought to read this book—it is awesome and should set your hair on fire!!!

A key that influences me as well is people who have gone before me and are doing what I am attempting to do. I have sought out people, mentors if you will, who I have developed a relationship with and meet with them to simply bounce ideas off of and to ask tough questions to. I am being mentored by John Maxwell. I have a friendship with Ed Young. I read the blog of and speak with Terry Storch. Seriously—the list could go on.

Personal note—when you are asking people questions about where you want to go in life, it is a really good idea to make sure they have been where you are going. For example, don’t ask your relatives who have had to declare bankruptcy and are in debt up to their eyeballs about financial issues. Singles—don’t ask people who can’t seem to make a relationship work about dating advice—bad idea!

I seriously believe if we are to become the kind of followers that Jesus desires for us to become then we have to be aware of the things that influence our thoughts, our conversations, and our motives. So—who are what has the most influence in your life?