Mike Henderson

Promoting From Within

One of the most common pitfalls in a church or any organization is elevating someone too soon.  As soon as a gap opens, we in leadership tend to grab the closest body.

However, Paul advised Timothy to "test people first"; that is, to give promising people a less-prominent task to start with.  Allow people to produce and demonstrate a great attitude and solid work ethic.

Naturally, some will balk at "washing feet"; that is, those who will not do well in leadership prefer to take the elevator straight to the top.  Taking the stairs is lonely.  Go to any multistory building, take the stairs, and you will likely not see anyone.  The crowds tend to take the elevator.

Oswald Sanders in his book "Spiritual Leadership" says, "The story of the church and its mission is filled with examples of failed leaders who were elevated too soon."

While many despise starting at a lower rung on the ladder, often that is the very thing that propels someone to the top.

Two final thoughts:

1. To the leader, help avoid the derailment of a young leader by not promoting too soon.

2. To the employee, relish the first step on the ladder.  Be thankful for the opportunity that has been given.

The Cost of Financial Illiteracy

Let's be honest.  Who among us has not made a boneheaded financial mistake?  Too often it was because we were stung by the power of now.  We simply could not wait, and our impatience led to a financially dumb decision.

While I have made my share, let me take you back in time, about thirty years ago.  While working for my dad we had a guy working for us named Larry.  He had been with the company for a while and was very dependable.  As a result he eventually got a company truck, which meant he no longer had to buy gas, tires, insurance, brakes, and whatever other expenses a typical truck owner incurrred.

As I recall he was making $9 an hour.  Thirty years ago that was not too bad, plus throw in the truck.

My guess is that Larry wanted to make a little more money so he went shopping.  A competitor offered him $9.50 an hour.  That translates into $20 for a forty hour work week.  Or $1,000 more a year in take home pay, or should I say before the taxes come out.  Add up federal, state, and FICA taxes and he probably added $750 to what he took home in a year.

He took the $9.50 and left to work for the other company.  That day I realized many people are really bad at third grade math.  By third grade they typically teach you how to add and subtract.

So let's do a little addition and subtraction.

Let's start by taking away the company truck.  That one subtraction item alone will now add the following expenses to his personal account.

Because I can't recall the price of gas, let's just say it was $1 a gallon.  Yes, those days actually existed.  I forgot to mention, he lived in Winchester, VA.  That means he is driving at least fifty miles one way to work as most of the work was around the Beltway which circles Washington, DC.  That comes out to one hundred miles a day, five hundred miles a week, and at twenty miles to a gallon we arrive at using twenty-five gallons a week.  We are now up to an additional $25 in expenses a week just in gas alone.  Hello $.50 raise, good-bye $.50 raise and I'll raise my personal expenses $5 a week ($20-$25= -$5).

Whoa!  So Larry just took a pay cut of $5 a week and we have not yet added in the cost of brakes, oil changes, insurance, and tires.  Even if all of our estimates are conservative Larry will be spending an additional $1,000 out of his pocket.  Also consider that those expenses come after he pays his personal income taxes.  In other words, to pay the additional $1,000 in expenses, he must make an additional $1,200, because $200 (probably more) will be eaten up in taxes.

Add, subtract, and think through this.  Larry was looking to make more money, but wound up going in the hole at least $1,500 in a year's time.  And that is a very conservative calculation.

Now making $20 more a week seems like a small decision.  For Larry he thought it was going to put him on the road to prosperity.  However, a bad case of financial illiteracy put him in the hole, big time.

At the end of the day financial illiteracy will cost you. 

 

 

 

Why Worry?

Recently I received a phone call from a friend out of town regarding a job opportunity.  He had gone through an interview and really wanted this particular job.

Following the interview, guess what?  He had to wait.  Waiting turned into anxiety and worrying.

Now his question:

All I'm doing is sitting around worrying.  What do I do about that?

No doubt we all have our questions, our unanswerable questions.

What if I don't get the job?

Will my kids ever get on track?

Can my marriage survive?

Now let me be candid.  I would love to have the answers at my fingertips.  But if I did, I would most likely simply be blowing smoke.

I'm not sure why Moses had to herd sheep for forty years.

Why did God allow Daniel to be thrown into the lion's den because he faithfully prayed three times a day?

Life is filled with uncertainty and we don't always get the phone call we wanted.  Wouldn't we all like to have everything work out all the time?

Here is what we can do. This comes from one of Jesus' talks on worry.  Actually it seems like He is having a case of ADD.  In Matthew 6 verse 25 Jesus essentially tells us that we must trust in the providence of God.

And in the middle of His talk, He says, "Look at the birds..."  Sounds like something we would say when we get distracted.  But Jesus was not distracted.  He simply wants us to realize that if God is concerned about these small creatures how much more does He love and care for us.

The birds don't just fly around and expect food to magically appear in their nests.  They do their part.  But they are not worrying about their sustenance.

So how do we overcome our anxiety?  Simple, but not easy.

Accept that you have done all you can do.  You have gone through the interview.  You have prayed about the situation.  You took the necessary steps.

Believe that God has your best interests in mind.  Our desires are not always the best.

Commit it all to the Lord. 

With that said, does that mean the anxiety will leave?  Sometimes no, because we allow uncertainty to make us anxious.

Perhaps the best way to sum it up is like Jesus did.  "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)  Devotion to God is a prerequisite for the peace that we long for in the midst of uncertainty.

Put God first and you will have no reason to worry. 

Why worry when you can trust God?

 

 

 

 

Never Let Failure Be Your Undertaker

One final lesson from this week's Super Bowl.  The lesson comes from a favorite quote of mine from Zig Ziglar.  "Make failure your teacher, not your undertaker."

It seems unreasonable that some would consider the Patriot's season a failure simply because they lost the Super Bowl. 

But let's go along with that thinking.  So what?  Does that mean that Tom Brady will pack it in and give up on football?  Absolutely not!

The legendary coach, Vince Lombardy, after whom the Super Bowl trophy is named was an assistant coach at Fordham University at age 35.  After that he went to West Point where his coaching career endured two seasons where 43 out of 45 players were discharged by adminstrative order.  Finally, in his 40's he made it to the NFL.  Was he a failure up to that point?

In baseball, Hank Aaron, the home run king who beat Babe Ruth's record, struck out more than 99% of all other baseball players.

Now most would consider being a line coach at a small, unknown school somewhat of a failure.  Then at Army the circumstances certainly would not qualify for success in today's world. Even though the players were the ones out of line, typically the coach takes the rap at some point.  Neither would the strike out king be up for an award either.  Unless perhaps our definitions of success and failure begin with the wrong presuppositions.

People who succeed also fail, and fail often.  So how do they become a success? 

They persevere.  They stay in the game.  They get ready for the next season, the next game.  They keep practicing and keep learning from their mistakes.

But above all...

They never let failure become their undertaker!

 

Win or Lose; It's Rarely Just One Thing

The sports pundits will be out in full force all week.  Many, including Tome Brady's wife, will point to one thing.  Inability to count.  A dropped pass in the fourth quarter.  A safety on the Patriot's first play from scrimmage.

But did the Patriots lose because of one thing?

Here's the fascinating thing.  One more play in the Patriot's favor and all the talk would be the other way around.  What if someone had caught the hail mary in the end zone at the end of the game?  What if there had been no safety early in the game.  What if twelve men were not on the field on a critical play?

Go back even farther.  What if San Francisco's punt returner had not muffed a punt?  The Giants would not have even been in the Super Bowl.  Everyone is going to overanalyze to where it gets ridculous.

If it helps with the ratings so be it.

We could even step back and say, "Why didn't the Patriots have another receiver who could step in and help fill the gap with Gronkowski injured?"  Then we could say the coaches were at fault.

How many of you noticed the one misspelling at the beginning of this post?  Bothers you doesn't it?  Wow, he can't even spell Tom right!  In fact, for some of you that's all you can think about.  I guess it is just human nature to focus and obsess on a mistake.

I like what Belechick said.  He praised his team and admitted they came up short on winning the Super Bowl.  In a nutshell that's about it.  In any game you could have executed better.  It's not like the Giants played flawless.

In fact, think about this.  Which player made what could be called two bonehead plays?  I can't think of anyone except Bradshaw.  He fumbled early in the game and scored prematurely at the end of the game.  But who cares?  No one, because the Giants won.  Had the Giants lost that fumble would be the talk of the town and Bradshaw may not be able able to show his face in New York.

Bottom Line:  The Patriots did not lose because Wes Welker dropped a pass late in the fourth quarter. The guy was phenomenal all season with over 120 catches.  But he's not perfect and even the best will drop a ball at some point in the season.  Sure, you would rather not do it in front of the largest TV audience of all time, but no one and no game is flawless.

Let's just admit that it was a great game.  And do we really need a scapegoat?  The Giants did not win because of one thing, and the Patriots did not lose because of one thing.  Win or lose; it's rarely just one thing.

Life Lessons From Super Bowl XLVI

Once again football has provided us with some incredible life lessons.  Here are several this year's Big Game.

1. Pay attention to details.  New England recovered a fumble inside the 10 yard line, but they had twelve men on the field rather than eleven.  That allowed New York to maintain control of the football and eventually score a touchdown.  That one little mistake gave the Giants 7 points.

2.  Never quit.  At one point in the season the Giants lost four in a row.  They wound up with only nine wins, which rarely turns out well.  But New York never gave up.

3. Always communicate.  At the end of the game Bradshaw accidentally scored a touchdown.  No one made it clear that the goal was not to score a touchdown but simply be able to run the clock down. That way the Patriots would not have time to do anything.  It turned out ok, but Bradshaw never got the memo.

4. When things don't turn out avoid placing too much blame on yourself. This happens in parenting, at work, and in sports.  Welker made incredible catches all year long, yet his one drop late in the game gets all his focus.

5. Win as a team, lose as a team.  This was one of those games where one player was not the hero, and no one player was the goat. 

6. Be careful of your criticism.  Just a couple of months ago many in New York wanted the coach Tom Coughlin fired.  Last night they realized that their criticism was wrong.

7. Analyze, but don't overanalyze.  This game could have easily gone the other way.  One play is all it would have taken.  One play the other way and all the analysts would be talking way differently following the game.

8. You don't have to be perfect to win.  You will make mistakes.  You will have setbacks.  Just keep playing. 

9. Don't put too much pressure on just one person.  Tom Brady is without a doubt one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.  But even the great ones need other great players around them.

10. Never sell yourself short.  There were a ton of players who went undrafted and went to no-name schools.  But they were playing on the biggest stage ever.

11. Enjoy the journey.  Both teams had ups and downs during an fascinating and enjoyable NFL season. I'm sure there were times when it was not fun.  As they look back I'm sure they would admit that it goes by so quickly, they wish they had enjoyed the ride a little bit more.

Picking Painful People

Who of us hasn't picked the wrong person?  Even Jesus had Judas on His team.  Now Jesus did not make a mistake, but in the end Judas caused Jesus great emotional pain.

With that in mind, why do we succumb to picking people who in the end simply do not work out?  Here are some lessons I learned on the baseball field in high school.  Yes, I made an error more than once when picking teammates.  Perhaps you can identify, because these three lessons play out in real life all the time.

Three things stand out:

1. Pressure.  Let's face it.  If someone is your friend you feel pressured to pick them, even if you are not sure they can hit the ball.  And then it happens.  At the critical moment, your friend strikes out.  Yes, that's painfull.

2. Productivity.  In high school we had a new guy move to town.  Being new I guess he felt like he could snow us, and he did.  He talked about all his great expoits, so we picked him, because quite frankly, we felt like he could deliver the goods.  He flaunted a great resume, but at the end of the day he could not produce on the ball field.

3. Prejudice.  This is all about assumptions.  We get in a hurry and look for the most promising person.  After all, they look the part.  They dress right, talk right, and look right.  At the end of the day we make our decision based on outward appearances, and we miss the Davids in life.  David went on to kill Goliath, however, on the front end, he did not look the part.  So much for our prejudices or faulty assumptions.

No one is immune from making an error on the baseball field or in life.  But if we take heed to these three errors we can avoid a lot of emotional pain that comes from picking painful people.