Delighting in Anonymity for the Sake of Christ

That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, "It is the Lord!"

Unlike other gospel authors, apostle John chose anonymity rather than identifying himself by name.  Referring to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loves" wasn't just an act of humility but also of one of delightful endearment.   John was celebrating the essence of his identity - the simple fact that Jesus loved him.

Too often I can end up locating my identity in all the wrong places

Sometimes I will locate my identity in personal performance - "top performer", "great father", "loving husband", etc...  It's about how well I'm doing in all the roles I play.

On other occasions, my identity is found in my position - "project leader", "senior executive", "doctor", etc..

Often, the opinions and perceptions of others can form the basis of my identity - "respected", "wise", "smart", etc...

The problem is that all these pose a no-win scenario.  For I find myself crushed emotionally when I do poorly, when I fail to live up to my own performance or when I fall short of what others may think of me.   In those occasions, I'm often despondent and discouraged.

Even worse than a poor showing is a good one.   Should I do well even for a brief season, it only serves to reinforce my misplaced identity, trapping me in an ever tightening grip.

My hope is to do as John did - to pursue anonymity for the sake of a better delight - to be known and loved by Christ.    When stories that intersect our lives unfold, whether at work or in other spheres of life,  how would you seek to be known and remembered?   Would you be satisfied simply to be known as one whom Jesus loved?

Quote of the Week

"The only way Jesus will save himself, and save his people, is by hanging on that wretched cross, in utter powerlessness. The words the mockers use to hurl insults and condescending sneers actually describe what is bringing about the salvation of the Lord.

The man who is utterly powerless - is powerful."

D.A. Carson, Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus, p. 24

The Gospel and Authentic Leadership

It can hardly be called a groundswell, but over the past couple of years, there has been an increasing appreciation for authenticity in leadership.    Harvard Business School professor, Bill George has been at the forefront of this discussion.   His book, True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership promotes the idea that effective leaders are first and foremost, authentic leaders.  Leaders with character, rather than simply charisma.   In this HBS podcast interview, he discusses some of the concepts in his book.  

I think Bill George is absolutely correct about the importance of authentic leadership.   However, I'd like to extend the discussion in a specific way by suggesting that it is the gospel that truly and ultimately brings authenticity into our lives and hence into our leadership.  

The lack of authenticity in life or leadership stems from our fallen nature.   We seek to obscure who we are, consciously or otherwise, because we find it difficult to confront our own fallen state.   As David says in Psalm 51 - "For I know my transgression, and my sin is ever before me... Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me". 

Without the remedy of the gospel, we have no recourse.   But in the gospel, we discover the both the gravity of our moral failure and the power of God's gracious love for us.    We are freed to love and serve others rather than to live for ourselves.    We are freed to lead, based on what is right rather than what is popular.   We are freed to fight injustice at great cost to ourselves because we have a eternal treasure in Christ that transcends our experience in this life.   Most importantly, when we fail, perhaps even in being honest or authentic, we can dispel guilt by remembering the work of Christ on our behalf.

For our sake, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.    (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Here's the point - authenticity means being who you were really meant be.   The effect of Christ's saving work restores us to our Maker and frees us to be, exactly who we were created to be.   Want to be an authentic leader?  You might want to start by believing and applying the gospel daily.

Quote of the Week

"For Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee."

Augustine,  Confessions, Book I, Chapter 1

 

Quote of the Week

"I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

Jesus Christ (John 11:25-26)

Kelly Tilghman vs Dana Jacobsen - Which is Worse?

If you're into sports, you've probably heard about the controversy surrounding Golf Channel announcer Kelly Tilghman. A couple of weeks ago she suggested on air that the only way to beat Tiger Woods might be to "lynch him in a back alley". Her off the cuff, poor attempt at humor earned her a two week suspension and significant criticism. After serving her suspension, she was recently back on the air, starting with a clear and sincere apology before diving into the substance of her work.

A lesser known debacle involves Dana Jacobsen, the ESPN anchor. In a celebrity roast for the hosts of the Mike & Mike show, she cursed like a sailor and used an expletive in reference to Jesus. ESPN's response was slow coming but under pressure by religious groups, they eventually gave her a one week suspension coupled with a weak apology.

I'm no social or cultural activist but this really bothers me. Let's see how the math on this works:

Humorously suggest lynching Tiger Woods - 2 week suspension
Curse and blaspheme Jesus Christ - 1 week suspension

Don't get me wrong - both are reprehensible but the outrage surrounding the "lynching" comment far outweighed the response to the Jacobsen's blasphemous tirade. It's a commentary about what the American popular culture functionally views as valuable and important. Let's face it - for mainstream popular culture, God doesn't really exist nor does He weigh upon the national conscience.

In short, the point isn't what these controversies say about Ms. Tilghman or Ms. Jacobsen - it's what it says about us. Make no mistake about it - this loss of the fear of God is a sad indictment on our nation.

---

What do you think?

We're Not Made For Bread

Last weekend, my church held a one day seminar on Biblical Meditation by Mike Bullmore, pastor of Crossway Community Church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. I was only able to make it to the morning sessions but something Mike Bullmore said in the second session, particularly impressed upon my heart.

He read from Deuteronomy 8:1-3.

The whole commandment that I command you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers.
And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Commenting on this passage, Mike Bullmore caught my attention when he made this vital point: "we are not made for bread".

The passage tells us that God led the Israelites through the wilderness to humble them. At times, He even allowed them to go hungry, only so that He might satisfy them with manna. He did this to show the Israelites that they were not made to be satisfied by physical food alone, but by the very word of God. They were created to be satisfied by God Himself.

We need food, water, shelter, clothing and many other physical things. We are also given many things, simply to enjoy - good books, loving relationships, fruitful work, relaxing vacations, Disney World, summer picnics, etc... But, we ought to remember that we were not made for these things.

Dear friends, we're not made for bread.

If you'd like hear to the entire second session on Biblical Meditation, here's the link.

Quote of the Week

"Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God."

Bruce L. Shelley
Church History in Plain Language, p. 3

Build to Gain the Reward

Commenting on my last post, Mark Goodyear posed a couple of interesting questions. Rather than paraphrase, I'll let his comment speak for him -

"...the only success that has any significance is whether we are transformed into the image of our Creator. Still, I imagine an entrepreneur trying to build a business wants to do more than conform himself to Christ. He or she wants to do both--conform to Christ and build a financially successful business. Is it wrong to want both? Are they incompatible?"

Mark's questions dovetail with an important point in the "how to build" series of posts - Build to Gain the Reward. I find Mark's first question particularly intriguing. How do we think about pursuing success and pursuing God simultaneously? I think at different points in our lives, we've all experienced the inherent tension between both pursuits.

Here's how I think about this in my life - I'm building to gain a reward. Whether we're building a business or working on a project, the aim is to receive a reward from God. This might include the satisfaction that comes through using our creativity and completing a task. It might also include monetary reward that comes from having a successful enterprise.

Yet all these rewards pale in comparison to this - the reward of knowing and experiencing Christ. It is by far, the greatest gain we can receive because it is of greatest value and eternally lasting. A passage that captures this for me is found in Psalm 73.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

(Psalm 73:25)

I love Psalm 73 because it captures this tension between pursuing success in this life and the treasure of knowing Christ. To me, verse 25 is the pinnacle of the psalm because the psalmist resolves the tension by concluding two things -

1. There is no treasure that compares with knowing God.
2. Knowing the living God is sufficient for all his desires.

This verse has become a wonderful guide as I build and pursue success. The truth is I want rewards of all kinds when I work and build. I love rewards and I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with that. Yet by God's grace, most of all, I want the everlasting reward of knowing God. He is the Treasure of everlasting value.

What do you think? How would you answer Mark's questions?

Who is Jesus?

For this week leading up to Easter Sunday, I'm setting aside the usual faith/work, gospel centered cultural engagement theme to focus on a person - Jesus Christ.

We live in an increasingly, pluralistic, multi-cultural society with religious diversity. And, I happen to believe it's a good thing that we should welcome and embrace.


However, in a pluralistic environment, it's vital for the foundational distinctives of our faith to be clear. For the Christian faith, that starts with the person and work of Jesus Christ. Here is a passage from Hebrews that speaks to who he is.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:1-3)

If you want to know what God is like, the writer of Hebrews would say - "look to Jesus". This verse reminds me that in God's wisdom, he has chosen to definitively reveal himself to us through the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the "exact imprint" of God. This vast universe we live in was created for him, through him and upheld by him.

In reference to this verse, an excerpt from the book, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe. Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. Jesus Christ, the Person, never had a beginning. He is absolute Reality. He has the unparalleled honor and unique glory of being there first and always. He never came into being. He was eternally begotten. The Father has eternally enjoyed "the radiance of His glory and exact representation of His nature" (Hebrews 1:3) in the Person of his Son...To feast on this forever is the aim of our being created and our being redeemed.


Artwork copyright JR Bell (Used with permission)