If asked, can you put your finger on the difference between "success" and "significance"? Easy enough, right? But what if you were asked to lay out a plan to raise you children as models of that difference. Could you do that? Generations from now, your legacy may only amount to a faded photo of a successful man...or they will call you blessed?
Off Topic: The Next Christians
While driving to my childhood home during the Holidays, I had the chance to listen to Gabe Lyons new book, The Next Christians. I really enjoyed Lyons first book unChristian and the Next Christians picks up were unChristians left off.
The Next Christians explores the changing environment of Christianity and suggests that modern Christians need to move from cynicism, hypocrisy, and apathy to a more loving, accepting and non-judgemental form of faith.
Studies indicate the Church no longer occupies the central place of influence it has in the past. Lyons reflects on the demise of the Moral Majority, the rise of the New Atheism, and the shift toward pluralism, postmodernism, and a more generic spirituality in our culture today.
Lyons also identifies the distinct groups of Christians today and how they deal with the cultural shift.
Separatists criticise the world and seek to create a Christian Only sub-culture in which they attempt to keep the world separate from themselves. Thus creating an "Us Versus Them" mentality in the faith. They tend to be your more vocal, hard liners and protesters withing Christianity.
Cultural Christians seek to fit in with the world due to criticism by the media, culture and friends and move more toward a vanilla faith rather than outward expression of their faith. They tend to live their lives by biblical standards, pray and identify themselves as Christians but may not be actively involved in the Church.
Restorers however seek to blend the best of both worlds. They stick to their strong Christian roots and the 
teachings of the Bible but express this by reaching out to the lost world with an un-judgemental hand of love and grace with a striking similarity to Jesus' own ministry while on earth.
Lyons identifies six characteristics of Restorers:
- Provoked, not offended
- Creators, not critics
- Called, not employed
- Grounded, not distracted
- In community, not alone
- Counter-cultural, not “relevant”
Lyons goes more in depth into modern day Restorers who are fighting addiction, modern slavery, and sex-trafficking as well as others who are passionately dedicated to restoration in smaller but equally meaningful ways.
While this book breathes new life into the younger Christian generation and what we need to do to face the world currently, I am sure it will ruffle the feathers of Hard Lined Christians. It challenges Christians to embrace the world and work with it rather than condemn and criticise it. This is easy to say but hard to do, especially in conservative evangelical circles.
Overall, I think Lyons presented a great treatise on what future Christians will look like both good and bad and he also added many of his references for readers to dig into more in-depth.
The Next Christians is definitely worth reading or listening to on a commute and while I listed this post as off topic, I am now seeing that this post may in fact be very relevant to how we rasie and prepare our future children to carry the faith and love the world.
If I can raise my children to love God and express that love through outward expressions of love and grace to the world, I have accomplished my mission.
- Lance
CHRISTMAS IN NOT ABOUT JESUS. It's about...
Encore! Encore!
Back when I started this blog in 2005, one of my first subscribers was a guy named Joe Wasylyk. Joe was in search of a way for Seniors over 50 to give back to society, leave a legacy and share their wisdom and talents through entrepreneurship. Five years and a ton of research later. Joe is releasing his book entitled: Encore! Encore! Seniors (50+) As Entrepreneurs: Their Time Has Come.
Joe is releasing his book tomorrow on Lulu.com, iPhone, iPad, Amazon and other outlets.
Here is a sneak peek at what it's all about.
The purpose of the book is to inspire more research and discussion to provide additional quality Lifelong Learning opportunities for Seniors (50 Plus), and to empower Seniors to become either for-profit business entrepreneurs (Seniorpreneurs) OR non-profit social entrepreneurs. In this long-term economic turmoil environment we desperately need more Seniors to get enough Financial Education, Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurial skills in order to find business opportunities to supplement their fixed pension incomes.
There is an urgent need to focus on Seniors (50 Plus) and help them raise their level of activity from entitlements and withdrawal to attaining social and economic power. Let's get involved by helping Seniors become more active, creative, productive and useful in Society as compared to the traditional image of Seniors as isolated, unimportant, politically weak, social discountable and economically insignificant.
We at Legacy Dad want to say congratulations to Joe and invite all Legacy Dad members to check out Joe's new book.