Jesus Still Lead On
You and I are standing in a shockingly familiar land, like waking up in a nightmare, but having to wake ourselves up again to free us from it completely. I know no other way through this than to remember and live what I believe, and to trust the God I place at the center of those beliefs and my faith.
My best pastoral advice is two-fold: know what you believe; and trust God. No matter what, hold fast to these two things because they will sustain you and they will allow you to help sustain others in the days ahead.
First, know what you believe. It isn’t my job to tell you what you believe, but yours to discern, test and deepen. In my experience, beliefs are best defined, honed and focused in times when we have no other choice but to do so. In these times, we center in, connect with past lessons that inform us in ways we weren’t always clear on. We remember what we need to when we need it most.
One of my childhood faith mentors, our church organist and choir director, shared an important piece of wisdom with me, based in scripture: We must each work out our own salvation. While I have received instruction as I’ve continued through my life, this simple truth, that I am responsible for my own beliefs, is foundational. Another reading underscores its importance and value: “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” Proverbs 4:13
Second, trust God. Who do you know God to be for you? I’m not suggesting you cling to what you have heard about God: I am advising you to take stock of how God has shown up for you and really pay attention to what that has meant for you in your life. How do you want to rely on your God moving forward? These are tough times, the perfect time to ask God for more, and be willing to see where that leads you.
Humanity has always faced tough times, relying on God’s presence and strength as absolute necessities. Biblical times were tough, and “Jesus was asked when the kingdom of God was coming. He answered, “For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.” Luke 17:20,21 Knowing what you believe, trusting God and seeing that kingdom among us as tangible and real is what will bring us through everything ahead with grace, dignity and power.
Work Satisfaction
How satisfied are you with your work?
Whether or not your present position is what you intended for yourself, assuming you show up regularly and make a contribution, it is serving you in some way or multiple ways.
Jesus seemed pleased to get up each day and get to work. He enjoyed engaging people, helping them and training his disciples to expand his work beyond his immediate interactive reach. I don’t know how much strategic thinking he put into this, but he appears to have consistently responded to those he served with grace, dignity and power.
And that can’t have always been easy, given the political, religious and cultural structures within which he lived and worked. Those clashes that we are able to see feel more and more to me like sacred, clarifying moments, not dissimilar to what you and I face too. His work was simple, straightforward and responsive to human need. But it was not always easy.
Satisfying, but definitely not easy.
Handcrafted Closet Cleaning
What does handcrafting your faith feel like?
Handcrafting your faith is like cleaning out a closet you walk by every day, but keep avoiding opening the door because you know there is A LOT of work behind it you simply don’t want to face.
Then, one day, you tell yourself you have the courage to just look inside, even if you immediately shut the door again.
But, in opening the door, you catch a glimpse of a long-forgotten book or dish, once cherished, and now remembered. You don’t need to struggle or give up anything, you just need to hold and cherish it once again.
What have you cherished about your faith that you would like to hold once again?
Increasing Faith
What expectations did Jesus have of those he taught and led??
My sense is that he hoped for their ability to respond from where they were, and to grow in their learning and practices. That seems fairly straight forward to me, and the disciples appear to have done quite a good job in the time they spent with Jesus.
As apprenticeship programs go, Jesus created a pretty solid combination of individual, small group and experiential opportunities for them. He also included public speaking, service projects and a few field trips designed to try out their new skill set on their own.
The true work, and success, of any teacher or leader, is for those we serve to outgrow us and move forward with increasing faith to new roles and places.
What expectations do you have of those you teach and lead?
Look Both Ways
There is a good reason we were taught to pay attention before crossing the street: traffic comes from two directions.
It’s a great habit to bring into our professional lives as leaders and supervisors, this recognition that we are often drawn into a situation through a single perception or bit of information. That can easily distract us, moving us out of the full picture of what is actually going on.
This can become the stuff of rabbit holes.
I learned the practice of looking in the opposite direction years ago while watching the news and consistently hearing opinions expressed and repeated as facts, coming to the conclusion that something was missing. What was missing was objectivity, the full range of information about the topic and a dialogue between the sides of an issue.
What Jesus brought to his work as a religious leader, supervisor and teacher was a voice and perspective that encouraged more curiosity, questions and dialogue from his disciples and from the larger groups of people with whom he worked.
Jesus specialized in this skill with the Jewish religious authorities, the latter of which being revered as the only religious authority. He wasn’t interested in mocking or cornering these men who held the sacred nature of Jewish life for their people.
He wanted to open up space for more God in everybody’s everyday life. Looking both ways, indeed, looking all around, seeing what is going on, what matters, is the way to do this.
You and I can do this as leaders in our work places right now. We can encourage curiosity, questions and increased awareness in those we supervise by modeling this in our own way of being and presenting ourselves.
Considering your own circumstances, how would you like to encourage those you supervise in this way?
Praying
In the three years of Jesus’ recorded public ministry, he spent a good amount of time in prayer. Especially so in the early morning and late at night, the still points in his day. Perhaps those times are special to you for the same purpose.
Jesus prayed for the same kinds of things you and I do, very human desires that make life more comfortable, better and simply easier. He prayed for the people around him in whatever state of being they found themselves at the time they met. And, he prayed for the people closest to him with whom he shared his work. Jesus prayed for the disciples every day, at every turn, that God would strengthen them, guide them and protect them.
Prayer is such an incredibly accessible and powerful tool in living our faith each day, sharing it with others in the most important way possible. While prayer affirms and builds lives, it also creates community and changes our worlds for the better.
It’s not a big stretch to see the opportunity that praying for those we supervise affords our workplaces. In doing so, just as Jesus did, we affirm and build lives, creating community that changes our work environments for the better.
Do you pray for those within the scope of your leadership? If so, do you see the difference it makes?
Releasing Worry
Acknowledging when you are frustrated, anxious or stressed in your work as a leader and supervisor may not always be your first avenue of self-awareness toward shifting and transforming a professional situation. But it is vitally important to your own success as well as your team’s success to do so.
And once you have taken a deep breath, looked around and realized you need a few minutes to center in and refocus, take another deep breath and remember you are not alone.
A particularly helpful reading, I Peter 5;7, tells us to, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
It’s simple, straightforward advice to make any of us pay attention to more than pushing on and dragging other people with us, whether we are doing so intentionally or not.
Ask yourself what you first inclination is when you feel agitated at work. Would you like to give yourself a choice going forward?