The Prodigal’s Wardrobe: Why the Bling Matters

May 16, 2024Leave a comment

Written 3/21/16; revised 5/16/24

So last week, I’m revisiting the prodigal parable when it dawns on me: Before there could be a party (v. Luke 15:23) for the son, there first had to be ‘fashion statement’ (v. 22), an opportunity for him to know why he was being celebrated.

Like others, my last read through of Luke 15 wasn’t the first time in which I visualized the father decking his son with boughs of jolly. To be honest, I used to skim over this part as a side detail. ‘Nice! The dad is thrilled his son is back,’ I’d think to myself.

But having marinated in this passage further, I can’t help but wonder if this excerpt is the most profound part of the entire story.

For starters, not only does the passage highlight a daily reality of God’s father-heart of love, but it also emphasizes the progression of God’s ministry of reconciliation, a progression as follows:

God’s confirmation of our identity
God’s admittance of ‘as we are’ in light of who we are
God’s celebration of #1 + #2

Per the list above, part of the revelation for me lies in how easily we skip from #1 to #3 when reading the parable. We remember the father’s compassion (v. 20) and the party he throws (v. 23), yet we forget how the father loved on purpose in between as evidenced by his desire to adorn his son with specific garments:

The robe representing a fresh outpouring of grace…
The ring representing a symbol of sonship and authority…
The sandals representing a charge for the son to walk afresh and anew (under both coverings)…

…pretty remarkable, right?

Clearly, the father wasn’t content on just running to embrace his son.

Was he overjoyed? Of course! Was he relieved? Absolutely.

However, as much as the father wanted to welcome his son, he wanted even more so to establish him into a renewed sense of identity, place, and purpose! Accordingly, one has much to gain connecting the parable to real life.

‘Cause truth is: We’re ALL prodigals in some capacity. We’ve all stumbled into rough places and tough times at one point or another. We’ve all encountered rude awakenings involving unexpected setbacks, and in some cases, our own depravity.

Yet, when we receive the power of this parable, we ultimately discover how the story doesn’t end with God forgiving us. In fact, it’s only the beginning!

For even in the wake of our setbacks, our Papa God never stops seeking a way to reconcile us as heirs with an inheritance (Romans 8:17), as anointed children blessed with a destiny. Put another way, God always has a party invitation with your name on it secured in an envelope sealed with grace. And while you’re not forced to open it, if you decide to, you’ll not only find directions, but also information on how to prepare for it. How awesome is that?

The next time you’re tempted to mentally wallow with the pigs, remember God isn’t satisfied to slap an “I forgive you” onto your wrongdoings, your past hurts and failures, and call it a day.

Moreover, God wants to remind you…

…your identity is not lost…
…your place at the table is unclaimed…
…and oh, by the way, when you choose to change, heaven celebrates. Like a good neighbor, He’ll not only help you arrive at a better place, He, by His Spirit, will help you stay there, too.

My encouragement to you today is to claim the robe, the ring, and the sandals, put on the garments of praise (Isaiah 61:3), and live knowing you’ve been fully reinstated into wholeness with God. Sure, there may be days when your self-perception seems hopelessly chained to dark, dreary memories, but that doesn’t mean there’s not a way to walk in your sonship!

For me, whenever I find myself in that taxing tug-of-war, I…

Confess I’ve been forgiven and set free…
I declare my identity as a mighty man/son of God…
Recommit my ways unto the Lord.

Abiding by this pathway, I affirm God’s confirmation, admittance, and celebration of who I am and *wallah*…God’s mission of reconciliation is complete in that moment.

Well, folks, I’m out of words today. As always, if you need prayer, a word of encouragement, a dose of stimulating dialogue, Lys and I are here.

‘Til next time, stay thirsty, my friends…

Selah.

Cover graphic creds: Dr. Eltan Bar

Pride Killer: Why Humility Always Wins

May 6, 2024May 7, 2024Leave a comment

Written 12/9/2016; revised 5/5/2024

There’s something you should know about me: I make mistakes.

Not a few, not several, but a lot. Why I have no problem admitting this, I don’t know.

Granted, I count it all joy, yet this doesn’t mean I enjoy confessing weakness given I prefer to shadow it under the comfort of closure.

Yet, after digesting one of the worst weeks of 2016, I can honestly say while it hurts to fall down, there’s gain in the rise up.

‘Cause truth is: A good leader best learns from his failure not by how he stays ahead of it, but by how he responds to it.
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Permit me to unpack…

When we talk about leaders doing ‘leader’ things, it makes sense those things remain above reproach. I think we can all agree there.

However, given leaders are people too, one must remember their mistakes are just as inevitable. Thus, how leaders handle adversity, setbacks, and errors in judgment is worth discussion.

For instance, in my ministerial role, there are times a protective heart can become overprotective if offense (real or perceived) compromises trust. Knowing my weakness, there are moments when I start to feel anxious and troubleshoot a problem before praying into it.

In these moments, I find the best way to realign and reset is humility.

Now, humility is one of my favorite topics, in part, since Jesus sets the ultimate example, not to mention, when I’m healthy, the trait isn’t difficult to employ. Growing up, I wasn’t always teachable, but once I started integrating humility into relational troubleshooting, maturing in meekness became more seamless, clicking into gear the more I realized I needed forgiveness on a daily basis.

In the case of this post’s inspiration, I overstepped a boundary in my attempt to establish one. Despite good intention, the execution was marred by impulse and entitlement. After processing my lapse in judgment, I realized…

To receive grace, one must first accept mercy.
The best way to do this is to yield our humanity to humility.

Applying these two steps, it wasn’t long before I went to my pastor and set up a meeting to apologize to those I offended. The process was exhausting yet liberating to the extent I allowed myself to be a grace filter. The more humility flowed through transparency, the more offense evolved into peace and understanding.

All that said, my point in sharing this story is:

1. Humility is a precious gift but also a powerful weapon and an exit strategy for those tempted to take reconciliation into their own hands. If pride (or any derivative) is like being locked out of your car, humility is the wire hanger that breaks the jam and gets you back to where you need to be.

2. There will be times when we think we’ve got it, only to find we’ve lost it. Thankfully, when we receive grace and apply humility, we become more concerned about what is right than who is wrong. By dying to our right to be right, we essentially find the right way to the right path. That’s the power of humility in action.

As for the month ahead, stay tuned as I plan to revisit my toxic workplace series and unveil some traits of healthy/non-toxic work cultures.

‘Til then, stay humble, my friends, and consider praying in the Bible verses below.

Selah.

Graphic creds: Adobe Stock

Office Angst: 7 Signs of a Toxic Workplace (Part 2)

March 22, 2024March 23, 2024Leave a comment

In my last post,  I examined the first four of seven toxic workplace traits and provided Biblical support to each section. For today, I want to conclude this series with my final three attributes along with a recap pod summarizing my points. As a reminder, while we’re exploring cultural and environmental red flags, we’re not hiding from leadership issues as the topics ultimately cannot be detached. 

Without further ado, let’s tie a bow on this…

5) Inconsistent Leadership

 When we talk about toxic work cultures, there are several dismissive characteristics we could cite from narcissism to manipulation to arrogance; however, there’s one, in particular, encompassing a multitude and that is incongruence (I.e. when a person’s actions contrast their words).

Ask any leader or tenured employee with authority and they’ll admit responsibility and accountability are essential to positive team performance and morale. Yet, where there are inconsistencies between expectation and execution, there is room for misinterpretation, miscommunication, tolerance, even negative emulation down the line.   

The good news here is the fix doesn’t have to be complicated: If you’re a team lead, supervisor, or director, walk the talk.

For example, if you say you’re not a micromanager, don’t micromanage, even if your intent is to the contrary. Rather, assess your intent to probe past normality and be willing to receive feedback if the actions involved communicate distrust or produce uncomfortable vibes. Remember seeking clarity is one thing but second-guessing motives without compassion, grace, and understanding is another. 

If you struggle to model any of these qualities, dare to explore any area where intention and action aren’t aligned. Naturally, no one should want to be inconsistent in their work; hence, why leaders especially should understand consistency isn’t limited to the fruit of one’s hands but also the words of their mouth and the reflections of their heart. 

Supporting Bible verses: Psalm 19, Matthew 7:3, Mathew 23:3, Luke 16:13, 1 Corinthians 15:58, Galatians 6:9, 1 John 4:20

6)  Overtolerance and Permissiveness

To be fair, this point flows from the one prior, but based on perceived abuse, this warrants a separate explanation. If you say certain actions won’t be tolerated, don’t make the principles behind them conditional. Instead of granting exceptions based on seat or situation, handle moral failures and detrimental conducts consistently regardless if the person involved in an established personality or rookie within their probationary period.

From what I’ve seen, the top-down ripple effect of steady rationale and decision making can be empowering in the long term, even if it’s messy in the short term. Whenever trust bends or breaks, abiding by proper protocol will not only enhance security but also encourage people to adhere to higher standards of integrity. 

Put another way, if you’re a leader, don’t sacrifice reproach by synonymizing forgiveness and tolerance. If an employee has an established track record of poor conduct, scale the offense, and timely oversee the appropriate actions in a way that benefits the whole of the team. When in doubt, just say ‘no’ to permissiveness and ‘yes’ to due diligence and follow-through.

Supporting Bible verses: Proverbs 21:16, Romans 6:1-2, 11-15; 2 Timothy 4:1-2, Ephesians 4:2, 1 Peter 3:8-11

7)  Lack of awareness and accountability 

No workplace is perfect, and employees, leaders and teams may display negative traits from time to time. However, if that behavior is pervasive, leadership must consider how the culture they’ve cultivated may be impacting the trend. Unless a single employee is the root of the hostility, a leader best serves their company by investigating beyond the conflict into its source region.

Often, if an employee starts deregulating, there’s a corporate tie-in, be it a lack of recognition/development, unclear communications, and/or insecurity. Yet, even if these currents aren’t underlying, there could be larger problems involving personal, domestic, and/or health issues, which leads me to a key point:

When a work boundary is breached, don’t automatically assume ill-intent but gauge the transparency of your corporate principles and reassess them before the repercussions.
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Handled the right way, a potentially volatile situation can de-escalate into a refreshing reset when humility meets resolution. Conversely, if a leadership committee lacks awareness and accountability, the employee will almost always follow suit.

For instance, you may have a teammate or subordinate who acts ignorantly at times. Yet perhaps he/she feels ignored, like a number within a company that hoards autonomy and withholds clarity. In these cases, don’t deal with the contention topically but with meekness that anticipates understanding.

‘Cause truth is: If leaders and teams don’t take inventory of their internal processes and how they affect personnel, discouragement, even burn-out will inevitably result. Why not rightfully deal and scale tension internally before your clients and supporters smell smoke?

Supporting Bible verses: Proverbs 11:14, Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 4:15, James 5:16, Hebrews 10:24-25, 1 Thessalonians 5:11

As always, selah, thank you for reaching and…

Cover photo creds: Wellable

Marketplace Ministry Origins: A SOAP Study on Mark 6

November 5, 2023November 6, 2023Leave a comment

If you’re a longtime follower, you know it’s been a while since my last vocational post. Thus, I figured for today we’d travel back in time to 2016 when I first started to explore Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (Luke 19:45-48). To guide our discussion, I’ll once again we taking a SOAP Bible study approach to help us synchronize revelation.

Get ready, set…

Scripture: “When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.”

Observations: Taking a bird’s eye view at Mark 6, we soon realize there’s much going on in this passage. While author ‘Q’ is renowned for his truncated style, this doesn’t undermine the literal and figurative ground covered in this chapter.

After Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth, we note he is intentionally mobile starting in v. 7 where we find a Great Commission preview in the sending out of the 12 disciples. Verses later, we find a surprisingly long account of John the Baptist’s death (No offense, John, I think your 16 verses could have been cut in half and we would have been fine) followed by the feeding of the 5,000 and walking on water accounts (v. 30-52). Honestly, it’s almost like author ‘Q’ is creating this Gospel popery, an EP of Jesus’ greatest hits for future generations to share. For most, the chapter concludes in v. 52 once Jesus has calmed the storm; however, in terms of time lapse, there’s still over half the book to go.

Enter v. 53, where we find Jesus passing over into Gennesaret* and setting the stage for one of the most overlooked segments in Scripture (I.e. v. 54-56). To best understand the significance of this excerpt, we must first take note of the setting. Having crossed the Sea of Galilee from Bethsaida, we find our Ocean’s 13 crew in an exhausted state, more from past pitstops than the 9.8 km sail. Upon porting, we note the crowd instantly recognized him, which may be a subtle detail to some but bears emphasis when we zoom out.

For before Jesus’ presence could be seen, it was often first felt.
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Even when oral tradition and word of mouth were the only vehicles, the awareness of Christ’s authority kept increasing. Just imagine if social media existed 2,000 years ago. Jesus would have needed 12 bodyguards in addition to the 12 disciples!

Either way, with corporate cognizance ignited, the hustle put into rounding the sick and afflicted makes sense. After all, the Isaiah 53 prophecies were compelled to verify in light of the Messiah. No wonder there was such an initial reaction considering the anticipation was manifesting off the heels of past divinations.

Contrasting the comps of this passage, I can appreciate the conclusion in Matthew’s account:

“…and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.” (v. 36)

A safe and sound finale, it’s no surprise author ‘Q’ takes a similar approach lacing the climax and resolution with one swoop; however, while he maintains the same canon, we’re gifted a slight wrinkle in v. 56. See if you can find it…

“...And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.”

Pause. Did you catch that? Where did they lay the sick again? The marketplace, you say?

Indeed, from city to country, the social fulcrum was corporate Israel!

Ya’ll, that is crazy and completely mind-boggling. Just think if that were to happen today, how much culture shock this would cause on social and vocational levels. As much as the church would be expected to help in these situations, would it yield some responsibilities to non-religious epicenters?

While the answer there is a blog for another day, when we consider the ending of Mark 6, we must understand the temple and outer peripheries where marketplace extended were social hotspots. In fact, if you analyze the places Jesus roamed during His ministry, the temple/marketplace tandem topped the chart! As we transition into potential applications, one must wonder what today’s “marketplace” looks like…

Application: Outside the sanctuary, where would Jesus be hanging out if he came back today? Bars, clubs, cafes, and transport hubs come to mind. Per your comment adds below, I’m sure there are many others. Regardless, I can’t help but marvel knowing the workplace was at one point in history the nerve center for where Jesus did ‘business’. Put another way…

The brunt of Jesus’ labor occurred not in the synagogue, but in the highest concentrations of people and their transactions.
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This speaks to me on several fronts. For starters, the modern tendency is to endure work, be it a basic necessity or worse, a necessary evil, on route to finding Jesus anywhere else. We may reference Christ a few times throughout the day, mostly internal. But for the most part, we’re pressing through the office part of our day to get to the good stuff.

However, in Jesus’ time, the black and white lines of today didn’t apply as He constantly referenced the Father within His itinerary. In past posts, I’ve talked about the intentionality of Christ and how it manifests administratively, to planning, leadership development, and time management among other criteria. Interestingly, when you layer Mark 6 with Matthew 14 and Luke 9, we find the Spirit-yielding logistics of Jesus’ mission as the backbone of His greatest works. As much as we tout the miraculously, we must also acknowledge the leadership of His lordship from delegation to per diem.

Secondly, Jesus never advised His disciples outside of what He’d already established as best practice. Whatever He asked the disciples to do, He had already done and was doing alongside them. Could one argue Jesus was the great middle-manager in history? Absolutely. However, unlike some we may know in real life, Jesus did not direct apart from His directive. To that which Jesus was on mission, so were His disciples on co-mission. And the encouragement for us is two-fold:

Just as Jesus established the marketplace as a place of freedom where teachings and miracles occurred, so, too, did He empower His disciples to do the same in rural areas.
Just as Jesus intended the marketplace to serve as an apostolic arm, so, too, must we embrace this corporate call in current times.

Granted, I understand how thousands of years have made certain external factors a case of apples and oranges. Still, I can only imagine what could happen if more marketplace ministers today served as compassionate conduits of Christ’s desire to heal, as ambassadors reconciling others through the ministry of prayer and availability! Whatever changes in our midst starts from within and I implore you, my friends, to not segregate the sacred from secular at work but live your faith transparently. Do not literally hide God’s Word in your heart in so masking the evidence of sanctification. Rather, love on purpose so others may find your company as an extension of safety to where requests are exchanged and prayer has more runway.

I’m telling you, even a few mindful tweaks can have deep, far-reaching impact. Follow the Gospel model set forth by Jesus and His Spirit will awaken you as you yield and abide.

Prayer:

Footnotes

*The name Gennesaret is associated with the area mentioned in two NT references (Matthew 14:22; Mark 6:45). After feeding the 5,000, Jesus’ disciples crossed over the Sea of Galilee to Bethsaida (6:45), then crossed back again (6:53) and came to land at Gennesaret. Sometimes, however, the name is not restricted to the district, for Luke speaks of the lake of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1), referring to the Sea of Galilee

Graphic creds: Tenor

Halftime: Reflections on 2023 and the Road Ahead

July 4, 2023Leave a comment

Three Impressions From 2023 So Far

Boundaries are an amazing thing when they are based in health and life wellness where self-preservation isn’t the primary driver but an overflow. I think many times we manufacture parameters that keep us comfortable, sometimes sheltered; however, this should never be a function of self-effort. Regardless of your situation, if you’re contending with mental and/or emotional deficits, if you’re being unfairly handled with negative physical implications, adhering to limits and routines can be healthy.
Grief is a gift that allows you to encounter and encourage people who have been there. Grief tears down walls, lets you meet people who understand pain and suffering with compassion, and promotes vulnerability along the way. Essentially, grief is a powerful tool in our ministry arsenal and can capture hope (and our ability to respond to it) in relatable ways.
Contrary to popular belief, not only is there a difference between mourning and grieving (see breakdown below) but there’s room to receive hope and choose joy in each case. While some people think you have to grieve to mourn only to get to the “good stuff”, this simply isn’t true. If we try and move people away from sadness instead of encourage them through it, we’re marginalizing God’s ability of reconciliation as it intends to operate through the saints. In an ideal world, the church can be a leader in the conversation, serving as an oasis for those in crisis where God’s healing presence is fostered.

Note: Per point #3, consider grief as a container holding your thoughts, feelings, and experiences when someone (or something) you love dies. In short, while grief is the internal meaning given to the experience of loss, mourning is when you allow grief to manifest externally with the aim to persevere and endure.