Think About It

The other night Jeane and I spent the evening watching the of biographies of General Robert E. Lee and President Jimmy Carter.  (Yes, our lives are that exciting!)  I enjoyed the programs because they brought to light some very interesting conflicts.  Each of these men had some incredible traits and each of them endured some unimaginable struggles.  The assessment of their success is often determined by a person’s understanding of the times in which they lived and the values they shared (or despised). At the conclusion of the evening I got to thinking about the word “legacy”.  The end of General Lee’s life was played out in Western Virginia as he contemplated the role he played in the history of the United States.  President Carter’s legacy continues to be shaped, but he, too, struggled with the mark he had made after his defeat by Ronald Reagan.   These men faced the challenge of pondering their own personal use of the gifts and opportunities ...

          Have you ever found yourself rooting for someone else’s failure?  Now, on the surface this may sound a bit mean, but it may be more common than we might like to admit.  When another person’s idea is accepted over ours do we think, “Fine, I hope that they go ahead with it and it falls flat on its face”?  When those who have been rough on us in the past find themselves in a bind do we reason, “It serves them right, now I hope they find out how I felt”?  When another person makes a bad choice, do we hope, “I can’t wait until they get what they have coming to them”? Often, there is a fine line between vindication and vindictiveness.  Sure there are natural consequences for all of our actions – both good and bad – but we must be careful not to wish ill on others.  Who actually wins when people fail – often the answer is no one.  When people suffer (even because of choices that they made) we need to be careful not to glo...

Last week, one of the church members who takes care of preparing for our weekly Communion Service was carrying in several bottles of grape juice.  As we got to talking about the jugs of juice she said, “Wow, this stuff cost a lot.”   When she said that my first thought was, “Yes, it cost our Savior His life.”.  I am not a deep thinker, so I was a bit surprised that my mind headed in that direction, but it did.  The money we expend for the sips of “the fruit of the vine” pales in contrast to the real expense.  When the Apostle Paul tried to help the early church understand their Communion Service he wrote, “ In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”  (I Corinthians 11:25)  Jesus wasn’t satisfied to go down to the local grocery store and purchase grape juice so that we could commune with Him, He was willing to...

In a modern discussion of traitors among United States citizens two people are apt to come to the forefront:  Judas and Benedict Arnold.  Benedict Arnold was a military leader in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War who would eventually change sides and command some of the British Forces.  Among the theories presented for his actions, one of the most prolific seems to be his ego – he felt underappreciated by his contemporaries.  No one will know for certain when and why he decided to change sides, but his discouragement seems to be present as early as 1776 when he wrote to another Continental general, “ The drafts from the regiments at Ticonderoga are a miserable set; indeed the men on board the fleet, in general, are not equal to half their number of good men.” and “We have a wretched motley crew, in the fleet; the marines the refuse of every regiment, and the seamen, few of them, ever wet with salt water.”  These observations might be true, but...

          As leaders, one of the toughest tasks we face is to realize the long-term impact of our decisions.  Many of us have been involved in businesses, organizations or relationships that are struggling and we must make decisions about what to do.  As we assess the choices before us, one of the most telling questions is, “Will this action actually ‘change’ the outcome or will it merely ‘delay the inevitable’?”  This challenge can manifest itself in a variety of ways:  will an infusion of cash breathe a fresh breath of life into a business or merely delay the debt collectors … will a change in management provide us with a fresh start destined for success or just hand the same old problems to a new person … will an innovative approach to advertising or recruiting garner the results we need to restore productivity or will it just deplete capital and increase discouragement?  In today’s world sometimes meaningful change is the only way s...

I didn’t tend to rebel as a teenager – even though I was a preacher’s kid – but, there were still times when I needed some “direction”.   Throughout adolescence I was given guidance by my parents – sometimes by way of gentle reminders and other times their message was a lot more direct and to the point.  As I look back on those days I recall that I did not always appreciate their insight, yet it wasn’t necessarily because they gave me bad advice.  More often than not, when I didn’t like what my parents were saying it wasn’t because they made bad decisions, it was just because I didn’t like the answers. You might think that the older I get the more I have come to appreciate answers I don’t like, but I am not sure that is necessarily true.  We all find ourselves in positions where we don’t get the answers we want and we have to make a decision what we are going to do with the input we receive.  When we find ourselves standing at the crossroads of reacting ...

One of the things I like about sports is that though the game is played on the field (or the court), fans have figured out a way to analyze performance.  Some numbers (like batting average or yards per game) offer an overall look at the accomplishments of the performers, but there are some special numbers that determine a player's performance at crunch time.  In baseball, a  batter’s value might be determined by his average with two outs and runners in scoring position and a relief pitcher might be gauged by now many inherited baserunners he allows to score when he comes into the game.  In football the standard might be how many “two minute comebacks” or “game winning drives” a quarterback has engineered.  Statistics tell the story across the board, but there are some stats that help us figure out who we want leading our team when the game is on the line. How are we when it comes to helping people in crisis?   Many find it easy to be solid friends a...