Unassuming Leadership

Sergeant Alvin York hailed from Pall Mall, Tennessee, a tiny speck on the map.  He was a conscientious objector, but went to war anyway.  On October 8, 1918, he and 17 others captured a German unit during the Meuse-Argonne campaign.  Getting no rest, they soon found themselves under heavy fire again.  Nine of them were quickly killed or injured by the enemy guns.  Unharmed, Sergeant York, an expert marksman, killed the Germans one by one.  Several Germans tried to overpower their position, but York was going to have none of that.  He unholstered his pistol and shot them all.  The remaining Germans surrendered rather than face the alternative.  Sergeant York and the surviving members of his small unit escorted the prisoners back to the American line, capturing even more on the journey.  In the end, they had killed dozens of enemy soldiers, and gathered more than 130 German prisoners.  As a result of his bravery, he was honored with several decorations, to include the Medal of Honor.

Not wanting the attention that came with such a high-level decoration, Alvin York returned to the small town life in Tennessee, becoming of all things, a farmer.  Sergeant York and those cut from the same mold, inspire us to be more courageous.  Dare we call them heroes?  It would seem fitting.  Actually, it goes way beyond that.  To conquer an overwhelming force, and then return home and farm like nothing happened is what we would want all of our heroes to imitate.  To lavish in the limelight, though surely deserved if for a moment, seems to border on arrogance and pride.  Conversely, the best heroes are the unassuming kind, the ones that you would never recognize in a crowd.  And most of them want it like this. (For more information on Sergeant York, I recommend reading John Perry’s “Sgt York; HIs Life, Legend and Legacy”.)

Tucked away in the book of Judges, is the story of the mighty warrior, Gideon.  Most have heard of this Old Testament guy who “tested” God in order to confirm that he really was the one whom God wanted to use to defeat the Midianites.  I don’t think God could have been any clearer in His call to Gideon, but for the sake of the story, let’s recap how it all went down.

God first shows Himself to Gideon when the latter is secretly threshing the wheat so as to not be caught by the Midianites.  Gideon comes to the conclusion that God must be mistaken because he is the weakest member of his family which belongs to the weakest clan in all of Israel.  So there is no way that Gideon is having this conversation with God, or so he believes.  But God, in His everlasting patience, decides to humor Gideon’s reluctance.  God instructs Gideon to prepare a meal as an offering, and then immediately consumes it as fire springs forth from the altar rock.  I don’t know about you, but that would probably be enough to convince me that this conversation was legit.  But not Gideon.  He needs just a bit more evidence.  So he decides to ask God for another level of proof.  He tells God there is a fleece of wool that he proposes to use in the grand experiment.  Gideon will take the wool and place it on the ground, and if God is really calling him to lead the army, then in the morning, the fleece will be wet from the dew while the ground will be dry.  The Bible says that in the morning, “it was so.”  Again, one would think that this might be enough evidence to convince…but not Gideon.  He asks God for another “favor”…that is, don’t be angry with me but.…  This time, if God is really, really calling him, the fleece will be dry while the surrounding ground will be wet.  God once again does the remarkable and in the morning, the fleece is dry and, well, the ground is wet.

So now Gideon is convinced.  God really does want to use him.  And if the story ended there, it would be quite incredible.  But it doesn’t.  What God does next would blow the mind of every military strategist that ever was.  Instead of using the tactical advantage of a larger, overpowering army, God chooses to accomplish His objective with a minuscule-sized force.  If the situation was controlled by anyone other than God, it would be laughable.  Starting with a force of 22,000, God whittles the group down to a mere 300…this against an Midianite army that is described as filling the valley like locusts in abundance, and whose camels were without number.  Sounds big.  In any case, vastly outnumbering the 300 with Gideon.  Again, laughable, except that God does indeed control the situation.  God.  Alone.  Not Gideon.  Not the 300.

As Paul Harvey used to say, “Now, the rest of the story.”  Interestingly, Gideon is the only individual in all of scripture, called out by God as a hero.  And the crazy thing is, God called him a hero (Judges 6:12, NLT) before he did any of the heroic deeds that are synonymous with his story; even as he cowered in the winepress; even as he questioned God’s faithfulness in dealing with the Israelites; even as he challenged God’s decision to handpick him, the least of his family…the least of his clan.  Shortly after the victories over the enemy armies, the people clamored for Gideon to rule over them.  He replied that he was not going to do that.  Smart.  But what he decides to do next is a post-war blemish on his resume.  He has the people gather the gold from their spoils of war and bring it to him.  He fashions an ephod, a sort of vest, and places it in Ophrah, as a symbol.  However, his hometown crowd “prostituted themselves by worshipping it, and it became a trap for Gideon and his family.” (Judges 8:27 NLT).  In other words, he fell under the seduction of the crowd and worshipped a creation, rather than the creator.

One is hopeful that he recovers – Hebrews 11 seems to give us an indication that he does, for the writer includes Gideon in the chapter describing the faith of great men and women of the past.  What we do know though, is that, like Alvin York, he returns home and lives out the remainder of his days, dying at a good old age, fading, at least for the moment, into the background.  Like I said, the best heroes are the unassuming kind, the ones that you would never recognize in a crowd.  One gets the impression that Gideon, like Alvin York, would have it no other way.

The Kindness of an Umbrella

Stephen Cleveland might not be a name you immediately recognize.  It is more likely you know him by his “public name” – Grover Cleveland.  He was our 22nd and 24th President of the United States – the only one to serve two non-consecutive terms as the nation’s highest elected official.  Now, in examining the totality of his presidency, historians rate him, for a number of reasons, as an average president.  However, I recently read an account of something he did during his successor, Benjamin Harrison’s, swearing in ceremony.  That day was not a good weather day – our local weatherman would rate it at a factor of three – nasty!  It was a downpour, a deluge of rain.  Harrison would have been drenched as he took the oath of office.  Instead, he had some help.  No, it wasn’t a staffer, or one of his aides.  It wasn’t the vice-president.  It wasn’t Mrs. Harrison.  It was none other than the outgoing President, Grover Cleveland.  The man whom Harrison defeated in the polls to win the election held an umbrella over the incoming President, keeping him dry as he repeated the oath.  Kindness. On. Display.

This simple act should teach us the value of just being kind.  I am sure Cleveland was none too happy to be leaving the White House.  He surely did not want to lose his reelection bid.  In fact, I know this, for when the Clevelands were leaving, Frances, the First Lady, told the staff to take care of the furnishings because they would be back in four years.  She was true to her word.  In four years the Clevelands were back in the White House.

Kindness…it is a trait that is in short supply in the world of American politics.  It seems one party cannot work with the other.  Sadly, kindness is seen way too infrequently in our society as well.  One only has to watch the daily news or read comments in the online news feed or on social media.  Whatever happened to treating someone with kindness and decency?  It would seem it is a lost art.  What can be done to turn this tragedy around?  What is the cure for the circumstances we are in?  It is not difficult.  In fact, it is easy.  What is it?  I am glad you asked…

Travel back a couple thousand years and allow me to set the scene.  Jesus is turning communities upside down everywhere he travels.  We would definitely call his approach “outside the box”.  He’s doing and saying things that others are not comprehending.  Today, we have phrases like “give the shirt off your back” and “go the extra mile”.  We might think we’re pretty clever for coming up with sayings like these, but the truth is, Jesus taught his followers these principles at the beginning of his ministry.  It was Jesus who said that if someone sued you for your shirt, give them your coat too (shirt off your back); and if someone compels you to go a mile with them, don’t just go with them the one mile, go with them a second (go the extra mile).

So we fast forward a couple of years, nearing the end of his earthly ministry.  Jesus has just entered Jerusalem, preparing for his impending crucifixion.  And then it happens…this guy approaches Jesus.  He is, of all people, a lawyer.  The expert in all things law.  Now, I don’t know about you, but if a lawyer walked up to me unprovoked, the internal sirens are going to go off – “What does this person want with me?”  “Did I do something wrong?”  “Is someone suing me?”  But not Jesus.  He doesn’t think like this.  He patiently waits for the man to ask his question.  It’s really unfair though, because Jesus probably already knew the where the lawyer’s heart was.  Remember earlier that Matthew wrote that Jesus knew the thoughts of the crowd that was challenging him. (Matthew 12:25)  So I imagine Jesus knew this man was trying to test him.  It didn’t matter.  Jesus was prepared.  The lawyer asks his question, “Which is the great commandment in the Law?”

Note that he didn’t simply ask, “Which is the great commandment?”  No, he added “in the Law.”  In other words, what is the great commandment that I am bound to uphold because of the Law.  Now, anyone who has read the book of Leviticus knows that there are hundreds of laws and variations of those laws.  Any Jewish person would be bound to adhere to EVERY one of those laws.  At the top of the list would be to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the great and first commandment ”  That probably did not surprise the lawyer.  But what Jesus said next might have.  He once again turns the community upside down…the lawyer thinks Jesus is done.

“And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  Now, most people don’t go around ridiculing themselves, calling themselves names, hitting and abusing themselves.  Jesus, in this moment, is basically saying, because you don’t do those things to yourself, don’t do them to others.  And then he closes the conversation with this, “On these two commandments depend all the Law and prophets.”  In other words, EVERYTHING else hangs on these two statements.  All fails when these two commandments are not followed.  If you don’t love God with all your heart, soul, and mind, you are not going to love your neighbor.  If you don’t love your neighbor, you are not going to love God.  They are like bookends to life, holding everything else in its place.  You cannot have one without the other, and you cannot have anything if you don’t have these two.

Over in the book of Luke, Jesus tells the story of a good Samaritan who comes to the rescue of an injured traveler (who by the way came from a culture despising Samaritans).  Nevertheless, the Samaritan is the one who helps this stranger, when the stranger’s own people passed him by.  The Samaritan is the neighbor. The Samaritan, in one of the most beautiful pictures in scripture, was kind to this man; and the Samaritan’s kindness saved this desperate stranger.  We might do well to wonder what our kindness would do for another…

One more footnote on the life of Cleveland.  During the Presidential race of 1892, Cleveland was attempting to recapture the office from the man who defeated him four years earlier.  During the final months of the campaign, Harrison’s wife died.  This prompted President Harrison to stop actively campaigning for the office.  This shouldn’t surprise anyone.  However, Cleveland, in a show of kindness and respect, stopped campaigning as well.  Kindness. On. Display.

Charmin and Courage

“He-Man and the Masters of the Universe” was one of those animated shows (cartoons) that you couldn’t get enough of.  It was only on tv for a couple of seasons, but thankfully it lived on in reruns for years.  In times of trouble, always started by Skeletor and his minions, Prince Adam wielded a magical sword and by saying the phrase, “By the power of Grayskull”, was transformed into He-Man, champion of the planet Eternia.  Every young boy watching the show dreamed of lifting the magical sword and becoming He-Man and saving the universe from the evil clutches of Skeletor.  Ah…the power of television.

Things don’t change much when those young boys grow up.  They still dream of chest-thumping courage and saving the world (or at least the girl).  It is no mystery why action movies are so popular among “manly” men.  They usually involve saving the world (or their small part of it) or rescuing the girl.  I could give you a million examples, but here are a few: “Star Wars” (Luke saves the Rebellion by destroying the Death Star (twice in fact, though Han Solo gets the girl); any of the Die Hard movies (Bruce Willis must get tired of stopping terrorists); “The Avengers”, “Iron Man”, “Spider-Man”, “Thor”, “Ant-Man”, and any of the other Marvel or DC comics movies (each time they literally have to save the world from those who would destroy it).  I could go on and on and on, but you get the picture.  And just like the actions of kids after watching He-Man, every young boy stepped out of the theater and pretended they were Luke Skywalker, Iron Man, or Superman.

Now, we all know that the Avengers and the like are just fantasy, but that doesn’t stop us.  We want to be known as courageous – the ones who can stop the bad guy and save the world…like He-Man.  But did you know that the world has its share of real-life heroes – individuals of courage and strength of character?  Of course you did.  But have you heard about the one named Whipple?  Now, for those over the age of about 35, I know what you just thought of…squeezing Charmin toilet paper.  For those who happen to be younger, “google” it.  But that is not the Whipple I am referring to.  William Whipple was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  You want to see courage?  Look no further than those who put pen to paper and signed that epic piece of parchment.

After signing the declaration, William Whipple went off to war with the Continental Army.  He fought bravely at the Battle of Saratoga as a brigade commander.  He is not as well known as Horatio Gates or Benedict Arnold (though who would want to famous for what he did).  He was, however, selected to receive the surrender of the British army under General Burgoyne.  This particular victory was instrumental because it convinced the French to enter the war as an American ally.  In the end, General Whipple plays a supporting role in the revolution to Washington and Gates, but his involvement was important nonetheless, and he has his name on that declaration to prove it.

I want to close with the story of someone else who showed immense courage.  If you really want to see courage on display, look no further than the young man named Daniel.  What does it take to stand for what you believe, even at the expense of your own life?  What kind of courage is reflected in someone who gets betrayed and thrown into a pit with lions.  I don’t know, but that is the kind of courage I want.  I want to be able to stand in the midst of starving lions and not fear what will happen, knowing God will take care of me.  Of course, coming to grips with believing that is easier said than done.  But it can be done.  Daniel did it.  We can do it.  But it takes letting God be the prime factor in the equation.  It means He has to infuse into us the courage necessary to stand for what we believe in, much like Whipple and the 55 others who, according to Benjamin Franklin, would, “…indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly…hang separately.”

So, the next time you are in the store walking down the toilet paper aisle, and you pass the Charmin, think of Whipple.  Not the one from the commercial.  Be thankful that our nation had courageous men like William and his patriot friends to start and finish the revolution.  Celebrate this “real” He-Man.

Help, Not Just Anybody…

It is a sad story, that, in the end, turns out miraculous for one man.  In the Gospel of John, we read of a man who had been laying by the pool of Bethesda for a long time.  We don’t know exactly how many years he had stayed there.  What we do know is that he had been an invalid for 38 years.  The story goes that when the waters of the pool were stirred up, the first person with a sickness to enter the waters, was cured of his disease.  So, day after day, individuals with diseases and sicknesses lay around the edge of the water hoping that they would be the next one to enter the water first and be healed.  But there is this one guy.  He was so sick that he needed someone to help him into the water.  But, alas, he had no one.  This is how he described his situation; “I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”  No one to help him walk into the miraculous water.  No one to help him dive deep into the life-altering liquid.  No one to carry him to the restorative reservoir.  No one.  That is the sad commentary on this singular man.  He is alone.  He needs help.  He is…not unlike us.  You see, we all need help.  Even the Beatles recognized this truth.

Too often people think they can handle everything on their own.  However, this simply is not true.  Lone Ranger needed Tonto, Fred needed Barney, Starsky needed Hutch, Laverne needed Shirley, Gilligan needed the Skipper, Batman needed Robin (though he would never admit it because, after all, he is…Batman).  The epidemic of “I can handle this”, is especially troublesome for those at the top of their game.  Fortunately, this was not the case in what has gone down in history as the “Miracle on the Hudson.”  Everyone is familiar with the story of how, on January 15, 2009, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger landed US Airways 1549 on New York’s Hudson River after a flock of geese took out both engines.  Needing everything to fall perfectly into place to survive a water landing, Sully guided the Airbus 320 to the only available place to land a large aircraft – the ice-cold Hudson.  In the film depicting the event, Sully (played by Tom Hanks) is criticized, reprimanded, and raked over the coals for his decision.  The computers, we are told, recorded that he could have made a safe landing at two different airports, instead of dumping the plane into the water.  In one of the greatest scenes in the movie, Sully challenges the findings of the computer and the simulator scenarios.  Fed all of the information that Sully had at his disposal, the “crews” in the simulators find that, indeed, Sully could not have made it safely to the airports.  Sully’s decision is validated.  The whole movie is worth the look on the faces of the safety “experts” as they realize that Sully made the right decision.  Afterwards, one of the panel members says to Sully,

“I can say with confidence, that after speaking with the rest of the flight crew, with bird experts and airplane engineers, after running all the scenarios and talking to each of the players, there is an X in this result.  It’s you Captain Sullenberger.  Take you out of the equation and the math just fails.”

Sully’s response is priceless, and a sign of a great leader;

“I disagree.  It wasn’t just me.  It was all of us.  Jeff (Skiles, the co-pilot), Donna, Sheila, Doreen (the three flight attendants).  The passengers, the rescue workers.  Air traffic control, ferry boat crews and scuba cops.  We all did it.”

Just before this scene, Sully is alone with Skiles.  Sully tells him, “I am so proud of you.  We did this together.  We were a team.”  Perhaps Sully foresaw what was about to happen – that he was going to be the face of something unheard of (some say miraculous), that is, landing an aircraft on water and saving everyone aboard.  And he wanted his co-pilot to know that he could not have done it alone.

Sully needed help…and help showed up.

The invalid needed help…and help showed up.

In two separate scenes involving water and desparation, our lead actors (Sully, and the invalid) find themselves in need of critical help.  Sully found his in the faces of those he mentioned in his reply to the safety panel expert – Skiles, the flight attendants, the rescue crews, air traffic controllers, etc.  The invalid found his in the face of Jesus.

Just as all 155 people walked away from the landing in the Hudson, the invalid walks away from the pool.  Neither story should have played out like it did.  A plane doesn’t crash land in water with everyone walking away.  An invalid for 38 years doesn’t stand up and walk away, healed of his disease by a few words of a stranger.  But that is exactly what happened.

That line in the Beatles song rang true for both.  “Help, I need somebody.  Help, not just anybody.”

Sully had Skiles…and Skiles did not disappoint.  With no one else to help him, the invalid relies on the Son of God…and Jesus did not disappoint.

History Makers

My favorite band of all time is Delirious.  They are (or were, as they are no longer together) a Christian worship band from the United Kingdom.  One of my favorite songs they recorded was a tune called “History Maker”.  The lyrics include:

“Well, it’s true today, that when people stand, with the fire of God, and the truth in hand;We’ll see miracles; We’ll see angels sing; We’ll see broken hearts making history. I’m gonna be a history maker in this land, I’m gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind.”

Leaders must strive to be history makers. Leaders of all flavors must, as Martin Smith and the D-boys sing, speak the truth to all mankind.  Leaders who avoid truth and the speaking of it, place themselves in a position where they become ineffective.  It matters not what position a leader is in…from the lowest level to the highest paid CEO, CFO, or whatever initials follow the name – the greatest leader speaks truth…and speaks it always.

What is crucially missing in the world today is an abundance of these kinds of leaders in all manners of work.  I recently read a Forbes online article about Winston Churchill.  After returning back from a visit to the United States, it seems Churchill found the British people in a state of depression following their poor performance in the war.  After several days of discussion, Churchill rose in Parliament and spoke these words:

“I offer no apologies, I offer no excuses, I make no promises. In no way have I mitigated the sense of danger and impending misfortunes of a minor character and of a severe character which still hang over us, but at the same time I avow my confidence, never stronger than at this moment, that we shall bring this conflict to an end in a manner agreeable to the interests of our country, and in a manner agreeable to the future of the world. I have finished.” (forbes.com)

Churchill did not sugar-coat anything.  It was bleak to be sure.  He knew it…everyone knew it.  But this was not a time for speaking words of no effect.  He needed to kickstart the British into gear and out of their misery.  And he used words of truth to do it.  It wasn’t overconfidence.  It was what the people needed to hear.  Words of truth.  And don’t you think that his words of truth spoke to broken hearts?  Broken hearts that, in turn, made history.

Now, it is important to be reminded that the effective leader does not speak truth out of cruelty or abuse…but out of compassion and care.  Churchill wasn’t berating the British people.  He was encouraging them – by speaking truth.  The Apostle Paul said it best,      “…speak the truth in love.” (Ephesians 4:15).  In context, Paul was saying that to speak the truth in love would essentially lead to others finding their purpose in Christ.  I understand that not every leader makes decisions based on their faith or religious beliefs, but every leader should be overly concerned with helping his or her people find their purpose.  EVERY leader.  Every CEO, CFO, and COO.  Every military officer.  Every floor supervisor, shift supervisor, and manufacturing manager.  EVERY leader.  These are the ones who are going to be the real history makers.  These are the ones who, in spite of being surrounded by cut-throat deception, will stand in truth and speak it.  These are the ones who will see broken lives put back together.

If I am working in an organization, that is the kind of leader I would choose to follow, and my money is on the fact that you would too.  One that speaks truth in love and compassion.  One that is concerned with helping me determine my purpose.  One that finds the broken hearted, and does everything in his or her power to put them back together.

That is the leader.  That is the speaker of truth.  That is the history maker.

Who Guides Your Steps?

On August 5, 1914, a strange new contraption was installed on the corners of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street in Cleveland, Ohio.  Given the patent 1,251,666, James Hoge invented what is considered by any sane person to be a wonderful contraption.  It made life so much better especially as the gradual disappearance of horse-drawn carriages occurred.  It consisted of four pairs of red and green lights serving as stop-go indicators mounted on a corner post.  The Cleveland Automobile Club said that this system was, perhaps, destined to revolutionize the handling of traffic in congested city streets and should be seriously considered by traffic committees for general adoption.  Thus became the first electric traffic signal.

Each person has an internal traffic light that guides them through life, through traffic jams so to speak.  While in the Air Force, I, along with thousands of others, believed it all started with the core value of integrity first.  But what is it that guides us to this point?  I mean, you could have all the odds stacked in your favor and still make the worst decision.  What drives you to considering integrity first?  Maybe you define it as conscience.  Maybe an internal moral compass.  But can those things be counted on to always show red when you should not go down that road, and then turn green when you should?  Can they be counted on to turn yellow when there is caution ahead?  To help ensure we get this right, we need help.  I’ll get to that momentarily, but first a story.

Many of today’s generation were introduced to Sacagawea through the movie “Night at the Museum”, in which a wax statue of her comes to life after the museum closes.  She ends up befriending Theodore Roosevelt (played by Robin Williams).  Interesting, but not very historical…Roosevelt was born after Sacagawea died.  But then, it was just a movie.  Of course we know the real Sacagawea assisted Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their famous expedition. We don’t know for sure, but Lewis and Clark might not have made it without her as a guide and interpreter.  Certainly, they would have faced increased levels of difficulty, and may not have made the right decisions based on their language skills and levels of knowledge.  As a guide, she was pretty important.  At least the United States Mint thought so…they created a coin in her honor.  Not many people can claim that honor.

So, what is this help I referred to prior to the last paragraph?  It is a life-saver, literally.  It is life’s bonus.  It is a great promise found in Proverbs 16:9.  It, too, serves as a type of guide.  It reads, “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”  Said another way, a man sees in his own mind that the light is green and the path ahead is clear, but the Lord is telling him to stop, and to take a different route.

Much like following traffic lights will help get you safely to your destination, there is a result of following the direction of God.  It is abundant life (who wouldn’t want that); it is what the writer in Psalm 1 quite pointedly wrote; If you follow his leading then you will walk not in the counsel of the ungodly, you will bypass standing in the path of sinners, you will avoid sitting in the seat of the scornful.  If you follow his leading then you will be like a tree that is planted by the rivers – full of life and strength, you will bear fruit – in which others will benefit from you living a life reflective of God.

 

“I’ll Take the Blue Uniform, Please.”

I have written before about one of my favorite sci-fi series, Star Trek (the original series from the 60s, not the newer versions), and I want to return there again.  I was watching it the other night, and like most of the episodes, the crew beams down to a planet to investigate unknown life readings.  It is a beautiful planet, at least in 1960s-era special effects.  Chekhov calls it Eden.  It is not long before the investigation turns to tragedy though (kind of like the original Eden).  One of the crewmen that beamed down with the landing party was killed by a flower that shot poison darts.  Now, if you know anything about the 1960s Star Trek series, you know that the guy who wears the red uniform always dies.  So it came as no surprise when the poison darts hit the guy in red.  What was unique about this particular episode compared with others, was the extra large size of the landing party.  There was not just one guy in red…there were four dudes (and a lady) in the dreaded red uniforms.  And you guessed it…they all met their demise…and in different ways.  Of course there was the dart guy; then there was a guy who stepped on an explosive rock; a guy who was struck by lightning; and a guy who was clubbed in the head by a member of the alien species.  (The female in the landing party doesn’t die, because that just would not be right).  It was not a good day for the red-wearing crewmen.  Of course, it never really is.  One has to wonder if they all got together before beaming down and had the discussion about which one would not be returning to the Enterprise.

Now, there was probably nothing that could be done about the three other guys in red, but the one to die from the poison flower was an anomaly.  You see, moments after he died, Spock, too, gets hit by a poison flower dart.  But this time, Bones (the doctor, for those who are not Trekkies) injects some medicine into Spock, and saves him. So you have to wonder why he didn’t save the doomed red-clothed dude.  I guess when you are the unknown crewman in red, you don’t merit having your life saved.  Geico would say it like this: When you are the unknown crewman and wear the red uniform, and beam down to a strange planet…you die.  It’s what you do.

Speaking of unknowns…real history is full of them as well.  Who were the members of George Washington’s spy network?  What happened to Amelia Earhart?  Where is Noah’s ark?  And of course the other things that inquiring minds want to know – is the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot real?  But one story of an unknown rises above them all.

It is October 24, 1921, in the French town of Chalons-sur-Marne.  At 10 o’clock in the morning, an American serviceman enters the town hall building carrying a spray of white roses.  Accompanying Sergeant Edward Younger are French and American officials. Inside the hall are four caskets, each draped with an American flag.  According to the official account, Sergeant Younger entered the chamber, circled the caskets three times, then silently placed the flowers on the third casket from the left.  He then stood at attention and saluted the fallen warrior.  So began the journey of the Unknown Soldier.

Bearing the inscription, “An Unknown American who gave his life in the World War,” the chosen casket traveled to Paris and then to Le Havre, France, where is was placed on the cruiser Olympia for the voyage across the Atlantic.  Once in the United States, the Unknown Soldier was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  Interestingly, this is an account of an individual who became prominent not because his fellow soldiers identified how gallantly he fought on the battlefield, for no one knew where he had fought and died.  No one knows whether he was a young 19 year old, or a seasoned 35 year old.  No one knows whether he was a private, a sergeant, or a captain; or if he was single or married.  The only prominent feature was that he was, and is, unknown.

There is one other instance of a famous unknown.  In this account, the Apostle Paul is standing on the Aeropagus overlooking Athens.  He recognizes the Athenians are a very religious people.  They have many objects of worship, to include an altar with the inscription, “to the unknown God.”  Paul declares, “This unknown God is the one who made the world and everything in it.  He gives the breath of life.  For in Him we live, and move and have our being.”

In this moment, a moment that has been repeated millions of times since, God moves from a seemingly unknown and unknowable far-away entity, to a close, knowable, relational God and friend in whom those who follow him live, move and have their being.

One more thing.  Thankfully, this known and knowable God sent his Son Jesus to save everyone, and not just the main characters.  In this story (the only one that counts), you can be saved…even if you are the unknown crewman in red.

Highly Illogical, Captain

Logic…it can be a person’s friend, or enemy.  You can add two plus two, and get the sum of four.  Logical.  Or you can get up at 3 AM and fight the Black Friday crowds.  Illogical.  Probably the individual best known for discussing logical and illogical things was Spock.  I can remember him on more than one occasion telling Kirk, “Captain, that’s highly illogical.”  His reasoning?  He replied that he was a man of science, as if that was supposed to answer every question we, the viewers, had.  But you don’t have to be a scientist to see things as illogical.  Watch the evening news.  Read the latest headlines.  It stands to reason that you have said (or thought) those same words at one time or another about something that, well…seems illogical.

History is full of events and people that defy logic.  Take the Wright brothers.  It completely defies logic that they would be the first to conquer sustained, controlled, heavier-than-air flight.  They were just bicycle repairmen.  Their competitors, Samuel Langley, Octave Chanute, Glenn Curtiss, and others, had the money, the education, and the “corporate” teams to help.  The Wright brothers had none of this.  It is illogical that these two brothers could take some spruce, cotton, and 15-gauge bicycle spoke wire and create a contraption that would eventually be famously known as the Wright Flyer.  However, on December 17, 1903, the illogical became real…if only for a few moments.  That first flight lasted only 12 seconds, going 120 feet, with the speed topping out at a whopping 6.8 miles per hour.  For perspective, the fastest measured speed of Olympic Gold Medalist Usain Bolt is over 27 miles per hour…and the fastest recorded speed of an aircraft (SR-71) is roughly 2,200 miles per hour!  If we could travel back to 1903 and tell Orville and Wilbur that in 73 years, man would run four times faster than their flyer, and an aircraft would fly 2,200 miles per hour, they would probably find us, to quote Spock, “highly illogical”.

The story of God is one that defies logic. Here are but a few examples:

God says to man: “March around this city one time each day for 6 days.  Don’t make any sound with your voices.  On that seventh morning, wake up march around the city seven times – on the seventh time scream at the top of your lungs, and the city will be yours”.

God’s power is on display.

How about this one:

Boy goes out to meet brothers.  Boy sees bully.  Boy stands up to bully.  Boy takes the simplest of weapons. Boy chooses five stones.  Boy launches stone into bully’s head, killing said bully.  God uses said boy for the rest of his life, in spite of cheating and second degree homicide.

God’s redemption is on display.

Or we have this one:

Young man prays.  King makes decree.  No one will pray to anyone except the king.  Young man still prays to God.  Young man taken and thrown into pit with lions.  God muzzles lions.  Young man pulled out of pit.  Deceivers thrown in – off come the muzzles.  Not a pretty sight.

God’s protection is on display.

And finally:

God tells old man to build something that has never been built before.  He calls it an ark.  What’s an ark?  It’s this huge structure that is going to float on the flood waters.  What is flood water?  You’ll see God says, just do as I say.  The old man does what God instructs him to do, and then God does what he said he would do.  The flood comes.  The boat floats.  The old man is saved.

God’s faithfulness is one display.

Throughout the story of us, we, like Joshua, David, Daniel and Noah, find ourselves at intersections of God’s power, redemption, protection and faithfulness.  We clearly miss many of these moments, so God beautifully allows one other trait to shine through – His patience.  He reminds us that if and when we put on our faith-lensed glasses, we see all that He is doing around us, through us, and in us.

Spock would most definitely call this illogical.  But you know what?  I will embrace the illogical power, redemption, protection, faithfulness, and patience of God every day.  To not do so, would really be…highly illogical, Captain.

Leadership…Cape not Required.

Perhaps at one time or another you have seen the cover of Action Comics #1.  Though it’s ok if you haven’t.  You might not be a comic book fan.  But, if you were a fan and you could have only one comic, Action Comics #1 would probably be it (because an original copy sold for more than $3 million).  On the cover, Superman is lifting a green car and smashing it against some rocks.  Why?  Maybe it was a runaway car and he was rescuing the guy crouching in fear behind it.  Maybe it was used by bank robbers and Superman was stopping them cold in their tracks.  Or maybe he harbored bad feelings for that make and model.  Actually, if you owned the comic and opened the pages you would discover that in this scene, Superman is rescuing Lois Lane from a kidnapper who happened to be driving the green car.  In this comic and in subsequent issues, Superman always saw something that had to be done (runaway car, bank robbers, people in distress), and he leapt into the fray.  In other words he took action.

George Clymer took action too.  I know what you are thinking…“oh, sure, ol’ George Clymer.  He sure was a man of action.”  Or maybe you are thinking, “Who in the world is George Clymer?”  If you find yourself in this latter group, let me offer you a small glimpse into the life of this relatively unknown guy.  George Clymer was born on March 16, 1739.  When he was 36 years old, he was appointed as the Continental treasurer, responsible for tracking the funds for the American Revolution.  But he was not just any old treasurer.  He led the efforts on getting corn, flour, gunpowder, and other essential items into the hands of the Continental Army.  But he didn’t stop there.  He helped fund the war effort by exchanging his own gold and silver for Continental paper currency.  This was an enormous gamble, for if the war for independence failed, Clymer would have lost it all.  Of course we know how hard it was for George Washington’s army to get anything they needed, which makes Clymer’s story even more compelling.

George Clymer was not without his personal tragedies though.  The story goes that when the British Army defeated the Continentals at a battle near Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, the British then went out of their way to ransack Clymer’s home in Chester County.  As his wife and children hid in the woods and watched, the British Army destroyed all of his belongings before moving on.  When the British invaded Philadelphia they targeted what they believed was another of Clymer’s homes.  As they were tearing the house down, they found out that the home was actually owned by someone else.  Clearly, the British hated this guy.

It was Benjamin Franklin who purportedly said as he was signing the Declaration of Independence, that they (the signers) “…must, indeed all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”  Well, George Clymer would have been one of those hanging next to Franklin.  Clymer was a delegate from Pennsylvania who penned his signature to the document that would forever seal the fate of the colonies.  Clymer also signed another of our nation’s most important documents – the Constitution.  In fact, George Clymer was only one of six individuals to sign both the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States.  He saw what was going on around him, perhaps runaway horse carriages, robbers, and people in distress.  He certainly saw injustice at the hands of the British.  He witnessed this and leapt into the fray.  In other words, like Superman, he took action.

But that is where the comparison ends.  As much as we might not want to believe it, Superman is not real.  He faces imaginary villains, has imaginary powers, and the story almost always has a happy ending (kind of like every Hallmark Christmas movie ever made).  George Clymer did not have that same kind of guarantee.  Things could have turned south for him really quick.  Fortunately, they did not.  Clymer and the others took action and led the efforts of the colonies to unite against the British, risking everything in the process.  That is what leaders do.  They see something that needs to be done, and they do it.  They see an injustice in the world, and they tackle it.  They see those in need, and they help.  They see a fledgling nation struggling to gain its footing, and they act on the desire to have a better outcome.

Nehemiah, too, was a man of action.  With his city laying in ruins, Nehemiah asked the king for an extended leave of absence from his job as the cupbearer.  This wasn’t going to be one of those “take some time over the weekend and report back to me Monday morning” gigs.  HIs city was basically rubble.  This was one of those projects that was going to take time to put back together.  And Nehemiah was not one of those who could sit on the sidelines while the work was done.  He saw people in distress, and he needed to help.  He put on his architect’s hat and examined the destruction, envisioning a better tomorrow.  He put on his city planner’s hat and organized the people into teams.  He put on his soldier’s hat and prepared to lead the Israelites in defending the walls against its enemies.  He put on his coach’s hat and encouraged his countrymen in recognizing their strengths and talents.  In other words, he took action.

You don’t have to lift a car over your head, sign your life away, or put a city back together again to be a leader.  Having all of that on your resume would be pretty sweet though.  To be a leader, what you do need to do is equally important.  When you see an injustice in the world, tackle it.  When you see those in need, help them.  When you see individuals in distress, that is your cue…take action.

Are You a Timex?

Imagine a series of events that starts with your alarm not waking you up.  While you rush around trying to get ready for work, the kids miss the bus.  So, you have to take them to school, which only makes you later for work.  The next day, on the drive to your job, the car breaks down.  After calling three towing companies, one finally agrees to come and get you.  “Joe” informs you that it is going to cost $1,000 to fix your car, never mind it is a $1,000 you don’t have.  The next day does not bring any relief.  The doctor’s report comes back with less than positive news.  To top it all off, over the weekend your spouse decides to he is ready to change you in for a “younger” model.

What would it take to get you to climb out of that bed the next morning?  You just want to close your eyes and make it all go away.  You are not sure you can go on.  I mean, after all, your world sort of just fell apart.  But here is the thing…trust me, you can make it.  You are more than a conqueror.

People experience life shattering events of all flavors.  Military spouses get a visit from a casualty notification team.  Phone calls occur informing of a death in the family.  Doctor reports have the c-word in the diagnosis that no one ever wants to receive.  Supervisors call in employees and tell them that their position was “done away with” because of company downsizing.  And worlds continue to fall apart.  But, trust me, you can make it.  You are more than a conqueror.

You are more than a conqueror.  I could just stop there with those six words.  But I want to tell you a story.  It is the story of a conqueror.  His name was Robert Preston Taylor.  He was a chaplain stationed with the Army in the Philippines when Japanese forces overtook the island.  Taylor was one of thousands captured and later forced into the infamous Bataan Death March.  He survived for more than three years in the Cabanatuan POW camp, including several weeks in solitary confinement and the “heat box”, which he shared with flies, maggots and mosquitoes, all for smuggling food and medicine to prisoners in need.

In October 1944, Taylor and the other prisoners were loaded onto “Hell Ships” and sent to the Japanese main land.  American bombers patrolling in the area spotted the ships and began attacking them.  Taylor was injured twice during these bombing attacks.  The Japanese soon abandoned the ships and left the prisoners to die in the holds.  However, a bomb ripped a hole in the deck of the ship Taylor was on, so he and the others were able to climb through and jump into the water.  Fortunately, the dive-bombers realized the men were fellow Americans so they called off the attack.  Chaplain Taylor survived only to be put onto another prison ship and sent to yet another POW camp.

On September 11, 1945, Chaplain Taylor’s nightmare finally came to an end.  The Allies liberated the POW camp, so Taylor was headed home.  He arrived in San Fransisco on November 1st and was reunited with his wife Ione.  He ran up and embraced her.  But something was wrong.  She did not return the affection.  She explained that she had heard that he was killed, and in the months since, had met another man and remarried.

Can you imagine surviving 42 months of captivity in several POW camps, watching many of your friends die in front of you?  Can you imagine being crammed into a metal box for weeks, where it felt like the sun was 10 feet away?  Can you imagine being wounded by your own forces because they mistook you for the enemy?  Can you imagine sailing on that ship for San Fransisco, each moment caught up in only one thought – seeing your wife for the first time in four years?  Can you imagine your spouse explaining that she had remarried because she thought you were dead, and now there would be no future together?

I tell this story because the world needs Robert Preston Taylors.  Too many people face daunting challenges and feel as though they cannot take another step forward.  Those suffering today need to know and understand that others have survived equally devastating news and have found a way to bounce back.  Today, we call that resilience.  A friend of mine compared the idea of resiliency to the old Timex watch commercial (you know the one where the tag line is “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking”).  What we call it is the least important aspect of all this.  I doubt the word resilience ever graced Chaplain Taylor’s lips, but he knew he could “take a licking and keep on ticking,” because of his faith.

The apostle Paul understood this as well.  In his second letter to the Corinthian church, Paul wrote:

“In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often…  Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen…in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea…in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst….” (2 Corinthians 11:23-27)

Sounds eerily familiar with Taylor’s own experience…beatings, prison, sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, cold, in perils of water, and even perils of one’s own countrymen (remember the bombings at the hands of his fellow Americans).  In spite of all this, Chaplain Taylor understood, like Paul, that while suffering at the hands of this world, we can bounce back, but more importantly, we can be “more than conquerors through Him who loved us”.

**As a footnote to this story, Chaplain Taylor remained in the service, transferring to the Air Force and eventually becoming the third Air Force Chief of Chaplains.  You can read his story in the book, “Days of Anguish, Days of Hope” written by Billy Keith.