Stuffocated Christmas

I’m STUFFOCATED! I have too many pairs of shoes, too many sets of dishes, too many power tools, too many knickknacks, and too many magazines coming to the house. I need a solid dose of Christmas.

Not the kind where I buy more things. Not the kind where I have to take 20 minutes to find a parking spot thus reserving me the right to go spend hundreds of dollars on stuff my family doesn’t need or want. I need the kind of Christmas that injects HOPE into my weary schedule. I need the kind of Christmas that brings a modicum of PEACE into my rat race. I need the kind of Christmas that brings LOVE into my broken relationships. I need the kind of Christmas that brings REST into my fast paced life. I need the kind of Christmas that bring ETERNITY into my temporary. 

Photo by Heidi Sandstrom. on Unsplash

There is a scene in Les Miserables where the workers are all sewing away and singing. “At the end of the day you got nothin to show for….At the end of the day it’s another day over”. There’s not much hope in that sewing line up nor is there much hope in another Les Mis moment; a song sung by the deeply hurt character, Fantine. She’d just been fired from her job at a factory and was facing life on the street. Thinking back to better days, she sings “I dreamed a dream in time gone by…When hope was high and life worth living….I dreamed that love would never die….I dreamed that God would be forgiving…..Now life has killed the dream I dreamed”

If you’re reading this and you’re a business leader, I believe you’re obligated to create a culture that creates a place of meaning, hope, love, dignity and respect for your team members. Ditto if you lead a family. 

What if this year, we gave our staff members and friends and family some gifts that reflect the gifts Jesus offered us when he shattered time and space and entered this fast paced world. The Roman world was just like our world was it not? Sex crazed, war torn, slave workers, religion on trial, pleasure seeking, power grabbing, political in-fighting and more. Into that world, Jesus Christ brought himself and offered HOPE for the weary, PEACE that cannot be taken away, LOVE in spite of our faults and mistakes and an offer of living forever with him. All of these are antidotes to the worlds pain and problems.

All of our advances in knowledge and technology have not erased what Jesus Christ knew we would need in this modern world.  This Christmas, why not try giving away some of your stuffocated life’s possessions, skip buying anything and give the gifts that matter most. 

An Ethics Quiz for Business Leaders

I remember being a fresh college graduate and on the job in my first manager role. I was travelling on an overnight trip and on my way into breakfast, I bought a newspaper. I had missed reading the one I’d paid for already that was languishing on my doorstep at home, so it seemed quite justified that I would expense the one I bought that morning at Denny’s. A week later my expense report was paid, minus .25 cents for my newspaper. Newspapers were clearly NOT expensible in my company! Of course, I thought to myself, I could just throw in another $1.00 to my tip account! Who would notice $1 dollar in the midst of hundreds?! I had a .25 cent ethical dilemma on my hands.

Photo by Pablo Garcia Saldaña on Unsplash

How about a few bigger ethical dilemmas? Ready? Here we go. What do you do with these issues?

If your friend was fired from their last job, should you point that out on a reference call you receive?

Should you retaliate against someone by not promoting them if they refuse a corporate move to another city?

Should you fire an employee who was drunk on the job?

Should you discipline someone for stealing from the company?

What do you do with a Christian employee who is taking company time to share their faith but their unit is always off budget?

If you are a follower of Christ and biblical teaching, and are asked to work on a project that violates your beliefs, should you dive in anyway since you need the job?

An un-married co-worker suggests dinner with you while you’re both out of town on business for the company and staying in the same hotel. Should you accept?

What is ethics anyway? A set of rules you create? A set of commands you adhere to because of your faith? Could it be that ethics has its roots in the character of an infinite being? It seems clear that you and I can’t simply create the rules as we go along in life. If there’s no line, we end up with it being OK to cook the books to save taxes or use the company credit card to put gas in our car or even enter a massage parlor while telling our spouse we were at a business dinner. There has to be some kind of plumb line that’s always clear and true no matter what the circumstances.

Christian ethics experts note that ethics must have its underpinnings in the character of an ethical moral being. As an example, God is a God who exhibits the character trait of justice. That’s why we should be just in our leadership not simply because of a set of rules we make up. Kindness, fairness, forgiveness, humility, compassion and love would all follow as Godly character traits we should mirror in our leadership. Good ethics is always good business and its roots are in the character of God.

For a deeper exploration and reading on this topic, Convene recommends “Beyond Integrity: A Judeo-Christian Approach to Business Ethics”, By Dr. Scott Rae

For a video briefing on Ethics in the Workplace, I recommend Dr. Scott Rae’s lecture at Talbot Seminary. 

Living Life at God’s Speed

At what speed are you doing life? Do you feel like a race car driver competing to win? Are you on a Sunday drive? Are you going fast enough? Slow enough? Do you actually see the people you are with or interact with them as people? C.S. Lewis reminds us,  “There are no ordinary people, You have never talked to a mere mortal….It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit…” 

Recently I had a cousin of mine tell me about an important event in his life that had happened. It was clear he hoped I could drop by and say hello in person. We lived 3,000 miles from each other but I was about to do an “in / out” trip to his city in a few weeks. I’d be in Monday late, out Wednesday late. It was an all business agenda with no time for friends…..except, what if there WAS time? What if I could make time? I decided to do just that! I flew in Sunday and we had a deeply meaningful half day of time together. I got to see his world, meet the love of his life, go to his church and be in his home for lunch, none of which would be possible on a phone call or even a video call. I SAW him more deeply. I think I saw him at “God’s Speed”, which to me means I SAW him. Seeing people is important. Do you see the people you meet?

Max DePree writes well on this matter in his book Leadership is an Art. One of his employee’s at Herman Miller was a Millwright and one day the Millwright died. Max thought he should visit the family and ended up at their home in the living room. The Millwrights widow asks Max if he’d like to read some of her husband’s poetry. Max realized that he never knew the man was a poet. Then as only Max can, he asks us an unanswerable question. Was the man a Millwright who worked at Herman Miller who was also a poet, or was he a poet who happened to work at Herman Miller? Do you have any poets you have missed at your workplace?

In his magnificent website, Pastor Matt Canlis talks about learning to live life at “GodSpeed”. Matt writes that the men and women of his church parish in Methlick, Scotland taught him “the pace of being known”. I’d encourage you to stop by and find about 30 minutes to go a GodSpeed and see what Matt learned about seeing the people of his parish. Do you see the people at your office?

If we were finishing up our coffee or coke somewhere near your office, I’d have us think together about these four questions….

1.     Are you living at God Speed? What is that for you?

2.     Do you know your team members? Do you know their spouse or kids names? Do you know what their hobbies are?

3.     Are you seeing your family as much as you should be? Do you know them as well as your work issues?

4.     How could you be fully present with people you are in contact with?

Now may your days and weeks to come be lived at the speed God wants you to live at.

Lessons From My Father

Some days, my dad and I had a rocky relationship. I remember a conversation he and I had while he was at the top of the stairs in my new home. I was 26, married, had a Biola degree and a good job, and was convinced I was a pretty wise young man. We’d just had a major disagreement about how I was not happy with his involvement in writing about whether or not UFOs existed.

He loved writing about it. I thought he was wasting his life in useless pursuits. With tears welling up in his eyes, he softly said, “I’ve lost my son! I’ve lost my best friend!”

The next morning, driving him to the airport for his trip home, he was still teary. He knew that I was not connected to him deeply and that the issue of his writing had created a giant wall between us.

His Final Moments

Flash forward 14 years. The scene is my dad’s hospital bed in the cancer ward. My dad is 70, dying and in a coma. I’m 41 and sitting in a chair by the bed day after day. During what would be the final days of his life, I began to write in my journal all the things I was thankful for that my dad had taught me over the long haul of our lives. I’d run with him for over four decades, and I could feel the weight of the baton being handed to me. The journal pages filled up quickly as he lay motionless and pale and his breathing became heavier. Here’s what I wrote.

“I’m thankful for his teaching me:

• To love others

• To give generously, even when you have almost nothing to give

• To be faithful to my spouse, as he was to my mom

• To have a spirit of adventure in life (like writing about UFOs!)

• To believe in your kids and to be their champion in a world that is negative

• To accept others for who they are, failures and all”

I continued writing: “For too many years, I didn’t believe in him, because I didn’t believe in his UFO CAUSE or ACTIVITIES.”

Then I remembered that I needed to accept and love people just like Dad accepted me. I prayed that my dad would wake up one last time.

Fifteen minutes later, he did and we talked. He said he had never accomplished what he’d wanted to in life.

“Dad,” I said, “let me tell you what I just wrote down about you in my journal, and why your life was a success. You left a legacy of character for me.”

Then I picked up my journal and read him the list. He heard every word. When I got to the final point about believing in others, I apologized for not believing in him and for not loving him for WHO he was, not WHAT he was involved in. Then, in a profound moment, my 70-year-old father whispered to me, his 41-year-old son, “No forgiveness necessary, pal. It’s all part of growing up. You were always there for me, and you’ve done everything for me. I love you.”

Those were the most lucid last words he spoke, and then he went back to sleep. He had just elevated the concepts of forgiveness and acceptance to the most important things he would ever say to me. That moment was ordained by God to restore my lack of honor towards my dad.

Honor Your Father and Mother

Maybe you’re angry at your mom or dad, maybe they hurt you, even abandoned you, yet they did create you. Your parents’ love for each other in physical union created you and God tells us that we must honor our father and mother. When we honor and value them, we also honor God. This fifth command is the first command with a promise attached. You get a reward for obeying it. Your days will be “long in the land” says the Old Testament verse and “it will go well for you” says the New Testament passage. We don’t outgrow this command, it lasts from birth to death.

There are some negative consequences for not honoring your parents. You may end up being too focused on yourself and your own needs and if you don’t correct the state of dishonoring prior to the death of your parents, you’ll clearly have some guilt and sin to work through for missing God’s best.

Recently, I was meeting with a young leader who shared that he was struggling to figure how to do something meaningful to honor his dad. He had in mind an event or party with family and friends. There would be plane tickets to purchase, great food and maybe even an anniversary-type cake to honor dad and mom. He was wondering how to make all this happen when his parents lived far away. As he was talking, my mind was slowly drifting back to that hospital bed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1998 with my dad. There were no friends, there was no food except the melted ice cream in the little cardboard cup and there was no cake. Just my dad, me and my journal.

It seems no party is necessary to honor your parents. It can happen anywhere at any time as often as you want. I also am pretty sure the command does not end when you walk out the front door of your house and head to college. The lesson from my heavenly father regarding commandment number five — I know, commandment is such a tough word because it means we have to do what it says even if we don’t feel like it — says that we should honor our mother and father.

A few years ago, my afternoon work activities were interrupted by a phone call from my then-24-year-old son. He was riding his bike to Western Seminary in Portland where he would eventually complete his Masters in Theology and Biblical Studies and another one in Psychology — yes, I’m proud!

“Dad,” he exclaimed as he took quick, deep breaths navigating the rainy roads, “I just wanted to say thanks for all you’ve done for me in my life. Without you, this day of beginning my Master’s degree would not be possible.” Wow, did I feel honored. There was no party needed, no special ceremony, no cake, no speech from a podium, just pure honor.

The Unlikely Man Behind the First English Bible

Late at night, in the year 1523—almost 500 years ago—a preacher and a business leader strike up a conversation in the lobby of St. Dunstan church in London, England. After taking an interest in each other’s worlds, they set out into the streets of London, passing the flicker of street lamps.

The first wave of the Reformation had come six years earlier, when Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg. Luther then translated the New Testament into German in 1522. But German isn’t English and there was no English Bible in 1522.

The business leader? You’ve never heard of him. He was a wealthy merchant who had made his money in the cloth business. His name was Humphrey Monmouth.

The preacher? You’ve heard of him! His name was William Tyndale. He played a significant part in the Reformation. Tyndale was young, Oxford educated, a scholar who learned Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and he wanted to translate the Bible into English for everyday people to read for themselves. The Church of England thought that practice was unhealthy.

Taking the Risk

Tyndale had been rebuffed by the established church for a huge project he had in mind. But Monmouth was quite taken by Tyndale’s ideas and not put off by the obstacles associated with it. We business leaders like big ideas and we love to solve problems!

At the time, there were only a few partial translations of the Bible in play in England. Tyndale was a reformer, a critic of the Church and he lived the life of man on the run from the religious leaders and government officials of his day. Tyndale’s plan was to translate the Bible into English directly from the original Hebrew and Greek texts, by-passing the Latin in order to be more accurate. Then he would take advantage of a new technology to make copies faster. 

What was the new tech? It was called the printing press. The planned result? The first of the new English Bibles of the Reformation. It would be a challenge to the control of both the Church and the laws of England. 

Others had denied Tyndale the support he needed, but Monmouth decided to take the risk. He quickly saw that Tyndale needed food, clothing, money and a place to stay where he would not be discovered. So he did what you would do if you were in Monmouth’s shoes: he had William Tyndale sleep at his house for six months and started paying him about ten pounds a year. 

Bibles Smuggled in Cloth

But all of the money did not come from Monmouth. Monmouth was part of a secret society of London merchants called The Christian Brethren. This was an under-the-radar group of guys that financed and imported Christian literature to advance the cause of the Reformation in England. The Christian Brethren hatched a plan so that when the Bibles were translated and printed, they would agree to use their ships to smuggle the contraband Bibles throughout England. 

As the religious and government pressure increased, Tyndale had to leave Monmouth’s house and flee to Europe to continue his work. The New Testament was published soon after he arrived in Worms. 6,000 copies were printed and smuggled into back into England in 1526, a couple years after Tyndale met Humphrey Monmouth. 

But how did it happen? The freshly printed Bibles were smuggled into England in the bundles of cloth on ships that were the basis and product of Humphrey Monmouth’s business along with his friends’ businesses. They also came in bales of cotton and sacks of flour!

Tyndale’s work was the basis of the King James Authorized Version. It was completed 10 years after meeting Humphrey Monmouth who supported him with his friends in the Christian Brethren movement. These were men and women who believed in the power of the word of God and used their companies’ leverage to do something about it. The results? Tyndale’s work tilted the course of history and his work is still felt today in 2017. 

The Price of Kingdom Partnership

But Monmouth and Tyndale paid a high price for their kingdom partnership. Monmouth ended up in prison in The Tower of London. Not many donors end up in prison for the ministry they love. That’s bone deep belief! In 1535, Tyndale was arrested and on October 6, 1536 he was strangled and his body burned at the stake. His last prayer was, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes."

Within two years of their deaths, the King of England ordered that every parish church should receive its own copy of the ENGLISH Bible. Within 75 years, the king, “King James” authorized an updated English translation, of which around 80% came from Tyndale’s translation. Today, almost 500 years later, the King James Bible, has become what could be called the most influential book in the world. The English Bible you read and carry, is also carried by 600 million other English speakers, and is built on Tyndale’s translation. 

Business IS Mission

We all know the name Tyndale…I say it’s time we remember the catalytic power behind this scholar preacher. It was a business leader named Humphrey Monmouth. If we’re not careful, we could see this as a story about business leaders supporting missions causes. But that’s only half the story. That would assume the only good thing a business leader can do is to write checks to missions agencies like a human ATM machine.

The fact is, the Bibles would never have been translated, printed, or distributed without Monmouth. Without his business making deals, selling cloth, being profitable, being excellent at what they did, loving people, serving customers, collecting invoices, negotiating with government, importing, exporting, the Bible piece would be another great idea that was never realized.

The theology of the matter is that doing business, in and of itself, glorifies God. The cloth Monmouth sourced, or made, and ultimately sold to consumers glorified God…period. Don’t miss the mission in his merchant work. Don’t miss the mission in his strong margins. Don’t miss the mission in his loving employees. Don’t miss the mission his loving customers. Don’t miss the mission of making beautiful cloth. All of those activities glorify God in and of themselves! 

Yes, it’s true. No Tyndale, no translation. But I say this. No textiles, no Tyndale. No ships, no scriptures. No business, no Bible. No ROI, no Reformation. 

What do you make? What service does your company provide? Is your company a solid vehicle that is honoring God? Don’t miss the mission in your business. You’re not just an ATM machine for missions. Your business is a mission for the Kingdom.

Trading in my Status Cards

I kindly reminded the front desk clerk as I checked in to the hotel: “Oh, and I’m a gold member.” Earlier in the day, I had walked up to the airline counter, hoping for a seat on an oversold earlier flight as 150 people pressed into the boarding area, and noted to the nice young woman, “Hi, I’m Greg. I’m Platinum…” All in hopes of getting a bit more attention, a better room, a better seat, just a little more legroom please, a bigger car! What about the Land Rover instead of the Chevy?

I used to have to actually get out my pack of loyalty / status cards and flash them for hotel and airline and rental car agents. But now the glow of the computer screen already shows the agents that I must have used their company services a lot because they usually say thanks for my “loyalty” to them. “Thanks Mr. Leith for being a member since…..ugh, OH! Since 1983! My! Thank you Mr. Leith.”   Translated, that means I’m not home as much as most people, since it takes a lot of five A.M. wake up calls to gain all this status. This week I spoke with someone who had top tier status on three airlines. That’s about 300,000 miles…..he’s likely gone more than he’s home.

Well, I got to thinking as I was running my day through the filter of God’s words to me, written years ago when there was no airlines and no cars (they did have little country inns but they were so full that people could not get a room even if they were about to give birth the son of God or something like that!). OK, back to my reading in the ancient scriptures…

I was reading that this earth is not my home, that I should not feel like I’m settled here or that I’m anyone important. I was reminded that I am to be last, not first, and that an ancient religious leader named Paul said all his religious status was like rubbish and that all the things I will be measured on and that I should care about for my run here on earth had already been laid out by God. Things like giving stuff away, being excited about God, serving others, persevering through trials like getting a bad seat on an airplane (just kidding!), disciplining myself and obeying God’s rules and teaching others about God and his ways. 

Clearly, status had nothing to do with any of the things God cares about. Turns out the plastic status cards will melt pretty fast in the fire God builds. The fire will likely be so hot you won’t even be able to see my name emblazed on the status card. That’s okay, because I’m working hard on making sure what’s left after the fire dies down is something worth it. Something about which God will be able to say, “Hey Greg, good job! You got close to 100 times what I gave you to watch over.” You see, when I get to heaven, I won’t have to flash a status card, my entry ticket is that I believed in the claims of Jesus Christ and I accepted them for my life. I exchanged my life for his death and God says that’s the only status he will find valuable at the literal end of the day.

If God made your people creative, why are you still deciding everything?

Does God speak to your team members or just to you? I think we all believe He speaks to everyone, but if that’s the case, why are you still deciding everything at your company? In other words, does the brochure REALLY have to be the size and color you want? Or can your team member decide the size and color? After all, God made them creative too! He made them in His image, he gave them natural talents, he gave them spiritual gifts….and he wants them to use them, so why not let them?

Does God have anything to say on this matter? Let’s find out.

God reminds us that people are created in the His Image (Genesis 1). That, of course, includes your team members. Let’s peer into some leadership principles that flow from this truth.

First, since God is the creator, and people are created in His image, people are also creative. It follows then, that as leaders we should:

1. Value the input from people into their own work and into our work.

2. Provide opportunities for people to express feedback on how they view their work.

3. Be creative in our utilization of the creative talents of others.

4. Be promoters and sponsors of the potential of the people we lead.

Secondly, since God intensely values each person, people are his most valued creation. Therefore people have value (Psalm 139:13) and as leaders we should:

1. Treat people with respect and dignity.

2. Lead people, as we want to be led.

3. Serve the people we lead, seeing them as ends not means in accomplishing work.

4. Help people be something as well as do something.

Finally, God created people with certain gifts. Those gifts and talents don’t get erased when they punch your company clock only to be re-instated when they punch out and go home! It seems reasonable and biblical then, that as leaders we should:

1. Recognize God-given gifts in those we lead.

2. Help them develop these gifts to become all that God meant them to be.

Your role as the leader of the firm is to create and maintain a culture that values and honors people, encourages individual growth and allows creativity so that people can develop their talent at work as well as when they’re not at work.

How’s it going at your firm? How about a quick survey asking your team members how they feel about this? Maybe you’ll discover you’re doing great! Maybe you’ll discover there’s latent creativity just waiting to be unleashed. Maybe it’s time to ease into the “people are created in the image of God, therefore they are creative” space.

Here’s an idea. Next time a team member comes into your office to have you decide something earth shattering like which coffee service to use, why not try the phrase, “You decide.” C’mon! Give it a try! The only thing you have to lose is another team member to the competition.