Yellow mode was an idea I gleaned from my community work of being a police chaplain for the city police department. Let me stop you... it sounds more glamorous than it was. You see, we were forced, er, privileged to watch training videos on a semi-regular basis. One gentleman on a particular video spoke of the concept of different "modes" that officers are in at any given time. The one that fascinated me was the mode of yellow. Being in this mode meant that you are acutely aware that trouble could happen at any time. You aren't sure of what, or when, or from whom, but it could happen. You are always on the lookout, always planning and scanning the area, always aware.
I know what you're thinking. How psychotic. Maybe you're kinder and think that this is just "slightly overboard." Well, as a younger man, I prided myself on always being in "yellow mode." Constantly I would size up those strangers around me to see if I could "take them" if it all "went down." (It might not seem the best thought process for your Christian influence, but in light of the word today, I think Tom Ridge, Director of Homeland Security, would be proud.) I have to admit, now that I find myself getting older, and the wear and tear of three small (but getting bigger) boys, yellow mode is sometimes a memory of yesteryear. I came to grips that I was no longer as alert when my wife snuck up on me while I was mowing the other day. I'm calling this new phase, taupe mode, by the way.
All of this does have a point. This "yellow mode" thing is kind of tied in to the idea behind FloatingAx. FloatingAx is a ministry concept that God placed in my heart a few years ago. There is a lot of talk about staying on the "cutting edge" of ministry, of being "beyond the edge." and lots of other cool phrases. You see, you must keep your ax floating, as the prophet Elisha did for that guy with a run of bad luck (2 Kings). By the way, why were they cutting next to water? Somebody could have been killed! I digress.
Just as you can't do anything if you lose your cutting edge, you cannot be effective if you get out of ministry "yellow mode". You know, there are people all around you, every day. Strangers, you know, and it all might go down. "Another terrorist attack?", you ask. Stay with me, ok...
There might just be that moment... that God moment, where you have to be ready to fight the spiritual battle for a soul. Here's the deal. We miss that moment so often. We stay so caught up in whatever is going on in our lives, that we miss the moments that God would have us to interact with others. We make casual those moments that God has set up for us to make a dramatic impact. Opportunities abound, and when they are over, all too often we find ourselves shaking our heads and saying, "What happened?" We could have acted differently... Why didn't I quote that verse?... We should have prayed...
Don't feel guilty. Just make your ax float. Get back that sharp, "yellow mode" mentality that you had when you first got started in this ministry thing. Keep sharp. Don't be afraid. God has the pressure, not you. Remember, you're in sales, not management. Be ready, be instant, and be intense. Change your world. It's the reason you were born.
This is the original post. Prepare for ideas, motivations, and well... stuff.
