Leadership is Not Spun

Great discoveries are inspired by great leaders. Great leaders are inspired by knowing, understanding and encouragingly developing great people. Great people are inspired and led toward great discoveries.

Great leaders.  Hmf.   I've been trying to process the essence of great leaders, first, because I see so much poor leadership, and second because I feel I am called and designed to be a leader, and finally because I have found myself steeped in the examination of leadership and management as I participate in a wonderful class I have been taking.  Now before you stop reading or think my call to be a leader too prideful a statement, I believe we all are called and designed as leaders, every one of us!  I know this because if you place yourself in the opening circular thinking statements, you will discover  your personal movement around the circle.  If you pay attention, I believe you will realize the power of living comes as we learn and inspire, while inspiring more learning and inspiration in others.  I know also because I believe the statement is founded in gospel truth.

How I wish, I could speak of people like my President, Congress or national leaders as such, but alas many of them have lost connection to my opening volley.  I have worked with many wonderful visionaries and discoverers at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.  I discovered that leadership isn't rocket science, but is essential to rocket science.  The tasks and goals of exploration and accomplishment in space is complex, near impossible to achieve and wrought with risk and great cost.  Even the janitor could cause a loss of millions of dollars if not included in the discussion and scope of clean room practices where essential.  At JPL, leadership is everyone's job.

We have become a nation of looking for leadership heroes, relegating it to others while we ourselves have failed to launch, losing the call to leadership.  I truly believe that the forefathers of our nation not only were onto something steeped in truth, but led our nation as ones who saw leading it as public service rather than personal 'profit' and pride.  They understood that they together did not have the wisdom to lead, but trusted in The One who could impart such unearthly wisdom.  The One who raises and deposes leaders for His kingdom, the kingdom of God.

Great leaders understand they must be first to sacrifice.  Great sacrifice is knowing that great people are developed through endurance.  Great endurance moves great people to become great leaders.

I stand here humbled.  I would remain frozen in fear as I ponder great leadership as I see how short I fall from the mark.  My call to inspire those around me to all rise like a hawk catching the thermals flying in the circles of leadership is daunting.  If it were not for the fantastic 'unknown to most', high quality leaders placed in my life, and my willingness to learn from them, I would still be standing frozen in fear of my call.  But I'm not, and my hope is you, who read this, will be moved to join me.  

I have a college degree, and had the blessing and honor of inspiring young hearts toward discovery in my classrooms.  My fifteen years career of teaching has seemingly come to an end in this enduring, struggling economy.  I find myself now working for less pay than my own two boys who do not have college degrees as a part-time salesman for a national home improvement center (the better of the two you might think of, and this hint should be sufficient).  And yet, you may wonder how I can have the inspiration and positive attitude continually displayed in this blog?

It is because I believe I fit in the statements I posited in bold text earlier, before you.  Leadership is not 'spun', it inspires many to get things done.  It begins and ends with sacrifice, and costs everything.  Where do you fit in my circular thinking?  Have you, like so many leaders stepped outside the circle, thinking you know better?  What are you going to do about where you are standing?  Why don't you think of yourself as a leader? And finally, will we all join together following our great leader, God, to great discoveries and meaningful ways?

 

 

It's Father's Day! (really!)

Yes it is. Every day is Father's Day, just as every day is Mother's Day! Here, a great picture of a great grandfather, my father. He is great on many levels, not in title only. 

My son, new father, now taking up the torch and adventure I was blessed to start twenty-eight years ago!

And finally me, stepping into the new shoes of my dad, holding for the first time, my grandson.










 As I ponder my life of faith, I can take no more credit for it than I can in 'choosing' my dad. Yet, as I found myself holding my prodigy (my sons), and now holding the continued prodigy (my grandson), I stand at the same precipice as before, yet with greater understanding, wisdom (I hope) and gratitude.

No one gets to pick their dad. He gets 'picked' for you and me. I find myself standing in the best of grandfather shoes a man could ever have. They are comfortable, stylish and 'fit' perfectly! Having not been raised with a grandpa (both exited the planet before I remembered), I missed the blessing of living with that relationship. Watching my children benefit and thoroughly enjoy having both, on both sides of our family, was a treat.  It helped me understand what I missed and how blessed my kids are to have had such rich connections to their grandparents, since it was not mine to have. It is striking to me, how many forfeit the opportunity to live and breathe fully the role, but some, like in my case, transitioned off the planet.  Yet it is because my parents are still alive today, that I know how challenging it is and the costs of parenting and grandparenting.

I have been fortunate to follow and seek the wisdom, not of this world, but of my God, discovering the means to cherish and of self-sacrifice. But my understanding not only came from God, but the man he gave me as my father. No dad is perfect, and having walked in those shoes, I am chief of imperfection and error. I often tell others of my surprise that my kids are the quality guys they are, giving full credit to their mother for it (and the incredible grace of God). My mistakes have been numerous. But if ever a dad were 'perfect' for me, it would be mine. I learned diligence and discipline (oft imparted fearfully, and painfully in the early years).  I knew of his great love and desire for his son to become the best he possibly could. I learned how to find ways to encourage the gifts and talents rising up inside me. I learned that the best things in life do not come easy but require the greatest of efforts. I discovered how to work through unknowns and decisions, with all the family together. I saw that struggle would come and working through it would reap incredible rewards. I now know that 'do overs' and 'start overs' are opportunities to become someone much more than before. And, I have passed these on to my boys, as best as I could.

Yes, today and everyday is Father's Day. Not because of what we get, rather what we give. I have found I need no other gifts than those found in my boy's great decisions to forge ahead in life with even more 'tools' than I was given. I hope they pass on to their children the like. I now have new understanding of the progeny 'list' of fathers in the lineage of Jesus Christ. Joseph and Mary's family contributed immensely to who they were as well as their qualifications to be 'parents' of this most holy child. As we head rapidly toward the annual time of celebration of this event, I find myself thankful for my family as I'm sure Jesus was for his. Sure, Christmas is a magical season because of Christ, but then again, what also made it magical was his incredible father. He often spoke of His Father (22 times in the gospel of John). And so here, I do the same. I am blessed to know my amazing Father, God, but He poured out an amazing blessing giving me the dad I have. So today and everyday is my father's day. Dad, I know you read my blog, and I know others do too.

While it isn't really Father's Day, I'm just sayin', thanks dad for being the amazing dad, grandpa and mentor I needed, and mostly thanks for always being here for me. It isn't something I take for granted, it most certainly is something I cherish and appreciate with all my heart with great regularity. I am a very blessed man with a wonderful dad! I know your grandparents weren't available for you, yet you have filled those shoes in my boys well, leading the way for me.  You get to start, and I get to continue what hasn't happened in generations, but something tells me its all going to work out just fine, great grandpa, and you are great!

Humbling Awe of God's Great Glory

Many a grandparent who, arriving here, having pressed forward, can relate and have shared with us the glory of this ascension. It is wonderful to have, first of all, parents who have demonstrated with us, the ways of grand parenting well, being excellent role models paving the way ahead. Wonderful again, are the multitude of friends we have grown up with, who also walked and press forward in our familial promotion to 'grandparents'. 

Struck by the honor, blessing and privilege of the new title, Carrie and I are grateful too that my life was spared from a life threatening malady over a decade ago.  It seems the older I get, the more humbling the circumstance, my life continually moving from enabling expectation, to quiet appreciation for the grace of God's descendant blessing upon us. I have come to expect little, yet continual showers of great blessing wash over our lives as we endured and forged through struggle together for the glory of our God.

As I finish my second sermon for a ministerial class I am taking, I was struck by how often, in the gospel of John, Jesus addresses to those around Him words about "my Father". I ponder.  Fathering is crucial to the health of all of us, for as we see our dads, our relationship with him colors our response to all Jesus stated in scripture about His Father in heaven. Not that it should, it just does.  All I have gleaned from my father, I invested in my son, and now my son gets his chance to do the same. Imperfect as we all are as dads, for me, it is gracefully apparent that God took my meager offerings, multiplied and filled it with His glory, in the heart of my son; and for all this, I am humbly grateful.

In this singular event, my father graduated to great grandpa, I to his esteemed role and my boy to mine. Wow. Do you feel it? To all the fathers who find themselves alienated from this privilege, I stand here to tell you, I am humbly grateful for the grace and gift God has given me to not have missed any of the struggle and great joys of being there for my boy, and I am confident that he will do the same for his boy, Ethen Michael. I have prayed for decades for God's provision of a wonderful wife for my son and He has, like He did for me, provided him such a wonderful woman. Confident as God's grace has been poured into me, He will also do the same and more for my wonderful son and his perfect bride.

There is great peace that rises from lives choosing to honor God. This new grandpa has already been praying and will continue doing so for his sweet grandson, for my hope and legacy is principally found invested into and with my family. If we all choose to be and do as God intended, our world would be powerfully transformed as His glory and grace becomes lovingly revealed through the bounty of our lives, not earthly bounty, but spiritual. Not only in daily bread, but in miraculous faith. I have seen it, I have lived it, and I expect it to continue; His majesty and glory poured out into our world through lives set apart for our Master.

While I may try to take credit for where I find myself, I truly find myself standing in awe of the wonderful work of my Lord, who, taking my meager offerings, multiplied them beyond my wildest imaginings, opened the floodgates of heaven, blessing me beyond what I deserve, not that I may boast in my accomplishments, but rather boast in all my God has done with me, for me and in the lives of those I love, especially my family. May His honor rise within this heart for all the days of my life finding myself standing in humbling awe of my God's great glory.

Thank you too, dad, for pouring your life into mine, your grandson, and now, your great grandson...