One Good Thing This Week
This week, I got to celebrate a group of young men I have been discipling. A few nights before they 'graduated' we had a dinner with all of our families. Around 30 people crammed into a cafe, a feast of flatbreads and quesadillas before us.
About halfway through the night, I placed a chair in the middle of the room. I told the men, one by one, they would have to sit in the chair. As each man sat, I opened up the room, inviting anyone to speak words of love, affirmation, and encouragement over these men.
The next two hours were some of the sweetest, most powerful hours of my life. Most men are not comfortable, sitting and receiving affirmation. Many men have never experienced such a thing. I watched men laugh and cry. I watched men, downcast in spirit, be lifted high by the words of a loved one. One by one, seeds of life were planted, and I watched as men blossomed, some for the first time.
Friends, never underestimate the power of a chair in the middle of a room. Never minimize the power of a loving and encouraging word.
Here is what I know: most men fail for lack of encouragement than for any other reason. And nothing, nothing succeeds like an encouraging word. The best part? "You can’t hold a torch to someone else’s path without brightening your own."
Encouragement for the win.
It was a good week.
Something Beautiful This Week
I was never a big Duck Dynasty fan. I found the show a bit gimmicky. But I had a deep admiration and respect for Phil Robertson. I was scheduled to meet with and interview him shortly before he passed. I am sad I missed that moment. I feel like I would have been better for knowing him. I especially appreciated the way he loved and honored his wife, always calling her Miss Kay.
Enjoy the next four minutes. Phil Robertson: husband, father, beautiful man of God.
Something Worth Imitating
I was reminded this week that "Scripture starts with a garden and ends with one. A faithful man doesn’t just protect—he plants. He tills the soil of his home, his children’s hearts, his marriage, his community. He’s not just a shield—he’s a seed-sower."
It’s not enough to play defense, to keep the bad out. We also need to play offense, we have to put [sow] the good in.
Defense and Offense. We need both.
What good did you sow in the hearts of your wife, kids, and neighbors this week?
My 3 Favorite Quotes of the Week
"Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity." — Simone Weil
"Half the world is composed of people who have something to say and can't, and the other half who have nothing to say and keep on saying it." — Robert Frost
"Parents, you’re not raising kids to fit in—you’re helping them discover their mission. You’re stewarding a mystery." —
Stat(s) I Found Interesting This Week
The Harvard School of Education released a study centered on the mental health of young adults. Titled, the Making Caring Common Project, researchers discovered that almost 2 in 3 GenZ’ers [58%] feel as if they have no purpose, or do not know their purpose in life.
58%. This is staggering. I have long said that when a thing [like purpose] is not rightly defined or understood, the neglect or abuse of that thing is inevitable. Look for an article on Tuesday unpacking this…
My Favorite Pic/Meme This Week
I believe this…
Book(s) I Read This Week
I read Robert Iger’s The Ride of a Lifetime. This is a must-read. It was not only the best leadership book I’ve read in years, but one of the best books I’ve read, period. Iger is an ordinarily fascinating man. Common birth, common upbringing, but an uncommon character that led to extraordinary achievements. The best and sweetest part of the book was watching his friendship with Steve Jobs unfold. Incredible.
My favorite trait of Iger’s is his unwillingness to be pessimistic. He gives us a masterclass in optimism…
"Optimism. One of the most important qualities of a good leader is optimism, a pragmatic enthusiasm for what can be achieved. Even in the face of difficult choices and less than ideal outcomes, an optimistic leader does not yield to pessimism. Simply put, people are not motivated or energized by pessimists."
"Don’t start negatively, and don’t start small. People will often focus on little details as a way of masking a lack of any clear, coherent, big thoughts. If you start petty, you seem petty."
"A few solid pros are more powerful than dozens of cons,' Steve said. 'So what should we do next?' Another lesson: Steve was great at weighing all sides of an issue and not allowing negatives to drown out positives, particularly for things he wanted to accomplish. It was a powerful quality of his."
Song(s) I Listened To This Week
There is something to this truth: It don’t take much to have it all…
"I'm young and free like the wind in a live oak tree…"
What God Taught Me This Week
"And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." — 2 Cor. 3:18
Jesus is teaching me integration. Last week I wrote [quoted]: "…You just have to love God enough to let that love shape your next choice." Unpacking that further, this week, I read;
"The opposite of devotion is disintegration—when our faith is separated from our actual life. It’s when Christianity is a category, not a way of being. You might still go to church, say your prayers, quote a few verses—but the love doesn’t touch how you speak to your child, handle your money, respond to criticism, or treat the stranger in traffic.
False devotion is performance spirituality. It’s driven by ego, not love. It’s the person who prays loudly but lives cruelly. It’s the inner critic that whispers, 'If I do everything right, maybe God will love me.' It’s spiritual perfectionism dressed up as holiness."
I don’t want to dress up and cosplay my holiness or devotion to God. I want true devotion. The product of true devotion? As my friend Thad says,
"It humbles you. It makes you gentler. Slower to judge. Quicker to weep. More eager to forgive. It reshapes everything—from how you scroll your phone to how you treat your enemies."
Jesus didn’t come and die so that I could have my best life now, or become a better version of me. Jesus came so that I could be more like Him. Jesus isn’t just the Redeemer—He’s the roadmap. The Christian life is not moralism. It’s imitation.
I'm learning to watch the way He walked and step into His stride.
If you’re in these areas over the next few weeks, I’d love to connect:
Lake Church [Sunday Service], June 8, Arlington, TX
SBC National Gathering, June 8-11, Dallas, TX [If you are at the SBC come visit us at the BetterMan exhibit. Let us know you read Good Trouble and we have a gift for you!]
Flat Creek Baptist [Father’s Day Service], June 15, Fayetteville, GA
Brothers, my pledge to you…
"You will never suffer at my hands. I will never say nor do anything knowingly to hurt you. If you're down and I can lift you up, I'll do that. I will always, in every circumstance, seek to help and support you. If you need something and I have it, I'll give it to you. No matter what I find out about you, no matter what happens in the future, either good or bad, my commitment to you will never change."
For the King,
—Harp
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This is an immediate blessing to me and those in my circle, Harp! Love from Memphis, brother. Keep working!
Hi Harp!
I appreciate your emails. This week’s post on devotion didn’t include the source; can you help?