Pondering Proverbs – Leadership (8)

 

 “It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts, for a throne is established in righteousness.” Proverbs 16:12.

 

Do we believe this? Do we believe the two components to this verse? Is it really an abomination for those in authority to commit wicked acts? Or is it acceptable for them to commit wicked acts if the acts achieve our goals?

 

Do we truly believe that a throne, a position of authority, is established in righteousness?

 

In Psalm 45:6 – 7, we read concerning the Messiah, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; a scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.” (This is quoted in Hebrews 1:8 – 9).

 

Is unrighteousness found in the reign of Jesus Christ? Are wicked acts to be found coming from the throne of Jesus Christ and His Father? If the answer is “No,” then how can professing Christians justify wicked acts when they, or when others, are in leadership?

 

No matter where we are in life, any position of authority that we have been given ought to be a position in which we love and practice righteousness and hate and reject wickedness. And let’s be clear about this, Jesus Christ was rejected and crucified – Jesus says, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, because of this the world hates you.” (John 15:18 – 19; see 15:18 – 16:4).

 

If Jesus was rejected and crucified, we can be certain that there will be times when His people share the same experience – in varying degrees and dimensions. If Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords was rejected and crucified, we can be sure that His followers – His brothers and sisters – will know what it means to “know Him in the koinonia of His sufferings” (Phil. 3:10) – and again, this koinonia takes many forms.

 

My point in writing this is that when we read that “a throne is established in righteousness,” that the idea of being “established” does not mean that the throne, or position of authority and leadership, will necessarily continue, it does not mean that the person in authority will necessarily continue in his or her position. Righteous kings and queens, righteous national leaders, righteous local leaders, righteous academic leaders, righteous business leaders, righteous leaders in all spheres of life (including within the professing church) have been deposed from their positions through no fault of their own. Again, Jesus Christ was rejected and crucified.

 

However, Jesus says “He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” (Rev. 3:21).  We are “heirs of God and coheirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.” (Rom. 8:17b).

 

If we hold our positions of authority in trust, within Jesus Christ; if we serve under the authority of Jesus Christ, then we can be sure that we are anchored in the ultimate authority of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, we can be sure that our lives and our positions are melded with Christ and His Throne – for we are “coheirs,” “joint heirs,” “heirs together with Him.” Even now, in this present life, as we overcome in Christ, we can experience what it is to “sit down with Him on His Throne,” – while the fulness of this is yet to come, we can experience a measure of this in Christ today.

 

Life is not about our success or our self-fulfillment or our having “our best life now.” Life is about following Jesus Christ, loving Him and worshipping Him and loving others and serving them as we serve Him. The Cross of Christ is our nexus – as Paul writes (Gal. 2:20), “I am crucified with Christ…” A “throne established in righteousness” is a throne rooted in the Cross – it is laying down our lives for those we serve, it is dying that others might live (2 Cor. 4:12; 1 Jn. 3:16).

 

The book of Proverbs does not contain secrets or principles to advancement or fame or success – the book of Proverbs…as the entire Bible…reveals Jesus Christ and if we are not “seeing” Jesus then we are not “seeing” the Biblical text. The good is the enemy of the better, and the better is the enemy of the best, and Jesus is always and forever the best (Mt. 17:5). It is in Jesus Christ that we find “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

 

If we look at life in the short term, we will prostitute ourselves with the thrones and authorities and powers of this world – we will insist that the ends justify the means for our ends will be those of this present and wicked world system. We will worship at political and economic altars, we will conform to the world rather than submitting to the transformation of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God (Romans 12:1 – 2). If we are seduced by the thrones of the world we will align ourselves with wickedness for the sake of short-term gain, for the sake of sharing temporal power, for advancing ourselves and our agendas – and this is an abomination – we are called to be holy as our Father is holy. (See 2 Cor. 6:14 – 7:1; 1 Peter 1:13 – 25).

 

O dear friends in Christ, let us prove ourselves “to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life…” (Phil. 2:15 – 16). In living this way in Christ, we shall live with Christ on His Thone and offer hope to a dying world.

 

How Dad Came to Know Jesus - Three Faithful Men (2)

 

Continued from previous post...

Ted did listen, and he prayed, and then he told me about Bob Rich, a brother in Christ he knew who lived in Frederick, MD. Now the thing is that Frederick, MD is about an hour from Silver Spring, MD, maybe longer depending on traffic – so Ted really didn’t know if Bob would be up for the drive to see Dad, but Ted would call and talk to Bob.

 

So let’s get this picture; I’ve called two churches which are ten minutes away from Dad and no one from those churches will come to see him. Ted calls Bob who lives an hour away from Dad, longer depending on the traffic…and what happens? Well, of course you know what happens, Bob visits Daddy.

 

Cindy, I’ve learned that people of integrity tend to associate with one another; that people serious about Jesus and the Gospel tend to stick close together, regardless of their denominational traditions and differences – and I’m not surprised that Ted and Bob knew each other; why if I needed a contact in Alaska today I might call Ted…because you just never know…you just never know. If Ted doesn’t know someone in Alaska, I imagine he knows someone who knows someone who knows someone…

 

Within a week or two of my call with Ted, Dad was telling me about Bob’s visit. What impressed Daddy was how nice Bob was and how Bob went to the pharmacy to pick up prescriptions for Dad. Dad couldn’t believe that a stranger would do something like that for him. Knowing that Bob was going to share Christ with Dad, I am certain Bob did just that – sharing Jesus in both Word and deed. Daddy was certainly open to seeing Bob again – he really enjoyed the visit. It was obvious to me that whatever negative preconceived notions Daddy had of Christians were dispelled by Bob’s graciousness. Dad also couldn’t believe that Bob would drive all the way from Frederick to visit him.

 

However, it soon became apparent that Dad couldn’t live by himself any longer and so your Uncle Bill helped him move to an assisted living facility in Manassas, VA, not far from where Bill and his family lived. At this point my memory fails me as to chronology and the sequence of events. We continued to talk on the phone but I don’t think I saw Dad again until 1999. I do recall a conversation we had as graduation from seminary neared, I remember the conversation because he told me that he was proud of me – that is the only time I ever heard those words from my father and I am thankful he told me.

 

As graduation approached, and your Dad and Uncle Bill were making plans to attend, my Dad told me that he’d like to come but couldn’t make the trip – that was sweet to hear.

 

Around May or June 1999 Vickie and I were visiting Richmond and on our return to Mass we stopped in Manassas to visit Dad. We picked him up from his apartment in the assisted living center and took him to a restaurant for lunch. It was the first time that he, Vickie, and I had ever been together without other people around us – it was, of course, also the last time. It was also pleasant, so very very pleasant. A sweet memory for us.

 

A couple of months later I got the call from your Uncle Bill, Dad had experienced a massive stroke. I drove to Virgnia at once and met Bill at the hospital. Dad was in pretty bad shape with extensive paralysis. The doctor, much to our consternation, wanted to stop feeding Daddy – we couldn’t believe what we were hearing and refused to agree to it.

 

I had some time with just Dad and me. He couldn’t speak but he could make sounds, and we could look into each other’s eyes. He could nod his head. I talked to him about Jesus, about Jesus’s love for him, about forgiveness of sins – and throughout this Daddy was locked into me and nodding in recognition of what I was saying and responding with sounds to my questions and affirmations. I am convinced that without the faithfulness of Ted Tussey and Bob Rich that Daddy and I would not have had the many phone conversations we had leading up to this time in the hospital, nor would we have had this sacred time in the hospital.

 

When I walked to the car in the hospital parking lot I knew that Daddy was dying and I desperately wanted someone who knew Jesus deeply to be with him during however many days or weeks he had left – but I didn’t know anyone in Manassas, VA. What to do?

 

As I wept for my Dad, I cried out to God to lead me to someone in a place where I knew not a single person. I drove out of the parking lot weeping and praying, asking God to guide me. I drove down one road, then down another, then (I suppose, I can’t really remember) down another. I was driving down a street when I saw a church belonging to an obscure (to me) Presbyterian group. I parked at a door, walked into the building, and there were a man and a woman in an office.

 

Through my tears, for I was still weeping, I told them why I was there. The man, who was the pastor (the woman was his wife), asked me to come with him and took me back to his office. Now here is where the most bizarre thing happened, he wanted to talk theology.

 

You see, I was wearing a knit shirt with my seminary’s logo on it; having noticed it he wanted to talk theology. I couldn’t believe it! I was still crying and talking about my Dad and this guy wants to talk theology. I started wondering whether I was in the right place. I asked the Lord if I was in the right place. Should I leave and go elsewhere? This was crazy.

 

But then he finally said, “I’ve got the perfect man to visit your father. He is a recovering alcoholic, and he is a faithful brother in Christ.” (The pastor had, after all, been listening to me!). The man’s name was John Sheldon.

 

Cindy, a few weeks later, when your grandfather died and Vickie and I returned to Virginia for the funeral, we met John Sheldon. Every day John visited Daddy, reading the Bible to him and praying with him…every day. John told me, “Your Daddy knew Jesus.”

 

Three faithful men; Ted Tussey, Bob Rich, John Sheldon. Three faithful men who were faithful to Christ and faithful to others – whose faithfulness God used in Christ to bring your grandfather to know Him.

 

I preached my Dad’s funeral – there are some things you just don’t let strangers do. The text was the story about two sons (Matthew 21:28 – 31). It’s the way we finish that matters. As I wrote above, sometimes God only needs the blink of an eye to restore what we have lost.

 

Ted Tussey, Bob Rich, John Shelton – three faithful men…serving our Faithful God.

 

Cindy, I am so thankful that you know our Lord Jesus and I hope this testimony of His faithfulness, and the faithfulness of these three men, encourages you and your dear family.

 

I love you!

 

Uncle Lou

 

 

How Dad Came to Know Jesus – Three Faithful Men

 Last week my niece asked me how her grandfather came to know Jesus - here is my response:

 

A letter to my niece, by Bob Withers

 

Dear Cindy,

 

My Dad, your grandfather, up until a few years prior to his passing had been hostile to the Gospel. I don’t mean that he was unreceptive, I mean that he was hostile – he didn’t want to hear anything about God or Christ. When I consider how inconsistent my own life was after professing Jesus Christ as Lord, it is a wonder that Dad ever came to know Christ. Yet, to God’s glory, a time came when our Lord did some amazing things in my life – your Aunt Vickie playing a vital role in my life in Christ.

 

Dad and I went from having no relationship, to treating each other decently when we saw each other, which was usually at your Uncle Bill’s. Again, I’ll give Vickie lots of credit for this, as well as your Uncle Bill and Aunt Linda – after all they invited us up when Dad was around. I think Dad saw stability in me and my marriage that he hadn’t seen before. Now since this happened around 1989, I am obviously condensing the history of our relationship – but this is about my Dad and three faithful men and I want that to be the focus.

 

In late spring 1996 Daddy had a stroke. He was living by himself in an apartment in Silver Spring, MD. The stroke required brief hospitalization and then some time in a nursing facility – after which Dad could return to his apartment. Vickie and I were in the midst of moving from Richmond to the Boston area – we must have been about four weeks away from the actual move when the stroke occurred.

 

Before we left Virginia, I visited Dad in the nursing facility. I brought a photo album with me that contained pictures of a large farewell luncheon given to us by friends, as well as photos of one of the all–time great practical jokes played on me; with Vickie’s connivance friends absconded with my motorcycle and held it for ransom, but that is a story for another day. It was a sweet time as I turned the pages of the album and explained who the different people were, friends from work, from ministry, from life.

 

To put this in context, I was 46 years old and I was spending meaningful time with my father for perhaps the first time in my life. I know that sounds dramatic, but it is true. Also, I suppose for the first time I was the “giver” and not looking for something for myself. Again, to also add context, I had only been seeing Dad periodically since 1989 at your Uncle Bill’s. Looking back this is both shocking and joyful – shocking that so many years were wasted, joyful that we had at least some time together. I am reminded of God’s promise to Judah, “Then I will make up for the years that the swarming locust has eaten…” (Joel 2:25a). Sometimes God only needs the blink of an eye for restoration.

 

After reading the above paragraph, I should also add that forgiveness was part of our reconciliation – I ought not to gloss over this. I needed to forgive Dad for the hell of alcoholism in which I grew up, and Dad needed to forgive me for more than a few things. Had either of us held on to the past, had we played those old tapes, we would have had no hope.

 

After we moved to MA, Dad and I talked on the phone regularly. After he went back to his apartment to live, during one of our conversations, I asked him if he’d like me to find someone to visit him and talk about Jesus. Dad said, “Yes.”

 

Cindy, the joy in my heart was overwhelming when I heard that “Yes.” This was a miracle, for as I wrote above, Dad had been hostile to the Gospel, and I mean hostile.

 

Since I didn’t know anyone who lived close to your grandfather who I could ask to visit him, I found a church nearby which I knew believed in Jesus Christ and had a high view of the Bible. I called the church and explained Dad’s situation. I was told that someone would call him and follow up the call with a visit. The church was about ten minutes away from where Dad lived.

 

One week passed, two weeks passed, three weeks passed. I was embarrassed to ask Dad whether anyone had called and visited – because each time I asked the answer was “No.”

 

I called another church that was near him and had the same conversation with that church. One week passed, two weeks passed, three weeks passed. It was the same sad and embarrassing story. I couldn’t believe it. (What I could not believe then, I can easily believe now; professing Christians, including those in vocational ministry, do not care to share the Gospel with others – even with those who have asked for someone to visit them.)

 

Cindy, my heart was breaking. For years I had prayed for Daddy to know Jesus, for years I had prayed for his heart to be open to Christ, and now that an opportunity was presenting itself I couldn’t find anyone to visit him. How could this be happening?

 

Then I thought of Ted (there were photos of Ted in the album that I showed Dad, little did Dad or I know the future role that Ted would play in our lives).

 

Shortly after we had been introduced to Needle’s Eye Ministries in Richmond, Vickie met Ted. Ted was leading a small group study that Vickie was in. Since Ted was also in property management and real estate, I had an affinity with him that was in Christ and in our shared real estate vocation. For a time Ted and I worked for the same company, and there was a period during that time in which we met weekly with other coworkers to pray, read the Bible, and fellowship.

 

Ted Tussey is one of those people whom I would trust with my life and with the lives of those I love. He is also a man unashamed of Jesus Christ. Ted and I belonged to the same professional association, and I recall someone once telling me that the local chapter stopped asking Ted to do invocations at meetings because Ted always prayed in the name of Jesus. My response to the person was, “That’s the kind of man I want to be associated with.” Ted is a brother, alongside Nathanael, in whom is no guile (John 1:47). He is also a brother who is all about sharing the Gospel and finding solutions to challenges.

 

So even though Ted lived in Richmond, and Dad lived in Silver Spring, MD, I called Ted – for at the very least I felt that he would pray with me and give me counsel, and I also hoped that he just might have contacts who lived close to Dad.

To be continued....

Pondering Proverbs - Leadership (7)

 

“A divine decision is in the lips of the king; his mouth should not err [be unfaithful] in judgment. A just balance and scales belong to Yahweh; all the weights of the bag are His concern [work].” Proverbs 16:10 – 11.

 

There are two dichotomies of death in the church, one is the clergy – laity dichotomy, the other is the sacred – secular dichotomy. While not to diminish the special vocational call of ministry in the Word to the Church, this special vocational call is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry,” it is not to do all the ministry in the Body – far from it! Does not the very notion of a body teach us this? See Ephesians 4:11 – 16, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12.

 

Service within and to the church is not the only sacred work of life, for all work ought to be sacred, offered unto God, be a form of worship, service to others, and be a place of our transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. In other words, the work of the butcher, the baker, and the candlestick maker ought to be a form of worship. As Paul writes, “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.” (Col. 3:23).

 

Every time well-meaning pastors speak to their people of secular work they unwittingly degrade the vocational callings of their congregation.

 

Now, why are we focused on this regarding Proverbs 16:10 – 11? Because the way we live and work is sacred, the way we treat others is sacred – whether we are kings or just getting started in our vocational lives. Whether we are pastors or evangelists or accountants or carpenters or farmers or computer programmers, we are called to serve God in our work and to worship Him. God is Creator, and our work is to emulate Him – are we not made in His image?

 

Proverbs 16:10 – 15 speaks to us of kings, of those in leadership and authority, of the way those in authority ought to think and act, and it begins by saying, “A divine decision is in the lips of the king; his mouth should not err [be unfaithful] in judgment.”

 

How might we think about the idea that “A divine decision is in the lips of the king”? Does this mean that it is always in the lips of the king? How can the second part of the verse help us think about this? “His mouth should not err…” We have the potential for being on the mark, as well as the potential for being off the mark. We also have the potential for getting some parts of a decision right and other parts wrong.

 

One of the ways we can strive for righteous decision making is by using a “just balance” in all that we do – not to be swayed by selfishness, favoritism, or a host of other elements that can distort our judgment. We want to learn to fly by the instrumentation of God’s Word as opposed to what we see, for our sense perceptions can deceive us and lead to spatial disorientation, which in turn may lead us to crash the plane with great loss. We don’t want to judge based on the way things appear to be, we want to judge based on the way things really are; and while our first impressions can be right, they are not always right. While the story people tell us the first time may seem like it is right, the story others tell us as we delve into a matter may bring other elements of a situation to light.

 

And…as smart as we think we are, we are nevertheless human, we have our limitations – we are not God, we are not omniscient and we cannot be omnipresent; often we will never know the entire truth of a situation – and so we look to our Lord Jesus for wisdom, we look to His Word for guidance, we listen to trusted mentors and counsellors as we grow in vocation and holistically as men and women – and hopefully we don’t look to our own understanding, even when we think we have understanding, but look to Christ in all things, acknowledging Him and allowing Him to direct our paths of thinking and action (Proverbs 3:1 – 12).

 

I’ll close this reflection by suggesting that there are (at least) two key elements to keep before us when we ponder decision making. One is that all of our decisions ought to be divine decisions, for we are the daughters and sons of the living God and our lives are in Christ Jesus, our elder brother. We are not to go off on our own and do what we want to do the way we want to do it, making up our own rules and principles and agendas – we belong to Jesus Christ and God is our Father. We have been “bought with a price” and we ought to clearly live as those who no longer belong to themselves.

 

The other key element is to live “under authority”. This dovetails with the above element. I cannot stress this enough in our lawless society and lawless professing church. The centurion (Matthew 8:5 – 13) saw that Jesus was “under authority” just as he, the centurion, was "under authority." I have never seen anyone understand this when reading this passage – never. Show me a man or women in authority who is not accountable to someone else, or to a group of people – and I’ll show you someone who is dangerous to himself and others. And let’s be honest, there are those who are accountable on an organizational chart but in reality, not only don’t think they are accountable, but often ensure that governing boards of directions or trustees are simply “yes” people.

 

And for professing Christians, we are always accountable to God and ought to live under His authority – and without submission to Him any authority that we may have is all the more likely to result in pride, selfishness, and ultimately abuse of power.

 

No matter the level of responsibility that we have been given, it is an opportunity to learn from Jesus how to use authority in our daily worship, in our service to others, and in our witness to Him.

 

My Friend Bill - Part 2

 Continued from yesterday....

Within a day or two of my lunch with Les I called Bill, introduced myself, and told him about Les’s comment. Bill then told me about Needle’s Eye Ministries in Richmond, an outreach to the business and professional community. He also said that they had a Friday morning Bible study at the Shoney’s in Carytown. After our brief conversation I called Needle’s Eye and got the details on the Bible study – and as they say, the rest is history. However, since you don’t know the history, here are some highlights:

 

Vickie and I became regular attendees of the Bible study, led by Buddy Childress. O what a time we had and the friends we made in that lively and gracious group.

 

Micheal Daily was in that group, and Michael has been one of the most significant people in my life over the years. He and his wife Carol are dear to Vickie and me.

 

About the same time that we began attending the Carytown Bible study, Vickie met Ted Tussey through a Needle’s Eye luncheon. Years later I would participate in Ted’s ordination process and celebration, and Ted’s encouragement and friendship in our lives took many forms. Through Ted I would meet another dear friend, Steve Allsbrook. If I hadn’t talked to Bill DeWorken Vickie and I would not have met Ted, if I had not met Ted I would not have met Steve – if Bill had not had a testimony about Jesus Les would not have mentioned Bill to me and I would not have called Bill.

 

But get this – my Dad, who for most of his life was adamantly opposed to the Gospel, came to know Jesus through a chain of people and events that began with Ted Tussey. My Dad lived in Maryland, I was in Boston, Ted was in Richmond, and Ted had a friend, Bob, in Maryland. At my plea for help, Ted asked his friend to visit my Dad who was sick – this visit prepared the soil of my Dad’s heart to receive Jesus a few months after the visit.

 

Bill DeWorken’s witness to Les was a link in the chain that led to my Dad coming to know Jesus Christ. See how many ways Bill DeWorken was an answer to not just one of my prayers, but to many prayers. God was answering my prayer for my Dad to know Him years before the culmination of my Dad’s life on earth.

 

Vickie became a leader in Needle’s Eye small groups for women.

 

I became involved in a small group for men, later becoming its facilitator – and later becoming the small group coordinator for Needle’s Eye – I think we had about 40 small groups at the time.

 

In that first small men’s group I met Joe Bobb. Joe and Sharon Bobb are two significant people in our lives – the last time we saw them, just a few months ago, it was as if we were caught up to heaven and as if heaven had come down to earth – as if the New Jerusalem was descending – a sacred time in our Lord Jesus.

 

If it were not for Buddy Childress and Needle’s Eye we would not have moved to Boston for seminary. How many people have Vickie and I served since then? I could go on and on and on and on. There isn’t a sermon I’ve preached, a hospital visit I’ve made, a grieving family I’ve cared for, a family Vickie and I haven’t served – that can’t trace its beginnings back to Bill DeWorken being an answer to my prayer that afternoon in my office in Richmond, VA. Most of our friends, not all but most, are a result of Bill being used as God’s answer to my prayer.

 

So…my dear friend Bill…thank you for allowing God to use you, not only to pray for others, but to also be an answer to prayer. My life would not be the same without you!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

 

Psalm 139.

 

Much love to you (and Mary) Billy!

 

Bobby (& Vickie)

My Friend Bill

 

My Friend Bill…An Answer to Prayer

Bob Withers, August 12, 2023

 

Today is Bill DeWorken’s birthday, he is 80 years old. This reminds me of my childhood visits to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in which I was in awe of the dinosaur exhibit. The Lord willing, I will one day take my own place in this exhibit, after all, I am not that far behind Bill, but these matters are best left to our dear Lord Jesus. As I reminded Bill the other day, Moses was 80 years old when he encountered God at the burning bush – now there is a candle that you just can’t blow out.

 

There is much I could write about Bill, and much that I could write about Bill and Mary. Vickie and I have shared many evenings of laughter, as well as poignant times, with them over the years. Bill and I have been in small groups together, and just the two of us have spent countless hours at Panera. Around 1990 Bill and I even traveled from Richmond, VA to Baltimore, MD to judge an industry competition as a two-person team, that was the first time we spent any time together, and it may have even been when we first met – though it was not the first time we talked…the first time we talked was brief…and for me it was life-changing.

 

In early 1989 Vickie and I moved from Baltimore to Richmond, we didn’t know anyone, and we didn’t have jobs. We both quickly got jobs, mine with a local multi-family management firm. God’s hand was with us in an amazing way during those first few weeks of transition – from leading us to our new house, to having our new house located just minutes from a group of people who, in Christ, who would become dear friends. We still have friends, though we have lost some, whose friendship we can trace back to my early days in the multi-family business in Richmond. We have many more friends we would not have had it not been for my first conversation, brief as it was, with Bill DeWorken.

 

Those of you who know Bill know that he prays for others. He usually carries a small notebook in his pocket in which he writes down prayer requests. He transfers these requests to a three-ring binder. When Bill takes his morning prayer walk, he takes a few pages from the three-ringer binder with him and prays over the requests. It is not unusual for Bill to pray with folks on the spot as they share their burdens and needs with him.

 

This story, however, is not about Bill praying for others; it is rather about Bill himself being an answer to prayer, to my prayer. When I decided to write something for Bill on his 80^th birthday, I decided to write something for Bill rather than about Bill – I decided to write something for Bill about how significantly God has used him in my own life, in the shared life that I have with Vickie. I decided to write to Bill about something that he probably doesn’t realize.

 

Not many months after our move to Richmond, I was in one of my satellite offices one afternoon – lonely for Christian fellowship in the marketplace, for is not the marketplace where we spend most of our lives? Is not the workplace where our spiritual formation in Christ occurs? Is not vocation that place within which our witness and worship are forged and refined?

 

In my own life, church and seminary may have taught me about God, but in the workplace God taught me about Himself.

 

As I sat at my desk in my office at the intersection of Forest Hill Avenue and Roanoke Street I prayed, “Lord Jesus, please help me to meet Christians in the workplace.”

 

A week or two later I was having lunch with Les, a vendor, at the Shoney’s restaurant in Carytown. As I turned the conversation to Christ – (for are we not called to witness to Him?) – Les said, “I think there is a Bible group that meets here that you might be interested in. Bill DeWorken knowns about it.”

 

I had never met Bill. I knew that Bill was the president of another multi-family firm in Richmond, but we had not met or spoken, our paths had not crossed. Les’s maintenance – supply firm did business with most apartment management firms in Richmond, so it was natural that he would know Bill professionally.

 

Somehow, someway, Les knew enough about Bill to know that Bill knew about the “Bible group” that met in the Carytown Shoney’s. This means that as I was witnessing to Les that Les was associating what I was saying with Bill DeWorken, which in turn means that Bill had witnessed to Les.

to be continued....

Pondering Proverbs - Leadership (6)

 

“The king’s favor is toward a servant who acts wisely, but his anger is toward him who acts shamefully.” Proverbs 14:35.

 

What do you see in this verse? Have you known people in leadership who rewarded people of integrity and good work, and who also held those accountable who lacked integrity and performed substandard and shoddy work? Have you also seen the reverse? That is, have you seen people in authority who have favored those who lack integrity and who ignore, or even eliminate from their positions, people of integrity? Perhaps you have known leaders who are an inconsistent mix of these things?

 

Does integrity matter anymore? If it does matter, how much does it matter? Is money and success and power and position more important than integrity? Are dividends to stockholders and investors more important than integrity?

 

I am using “integrity” along with “wisdom” and acting wisely because the wisdom of Proverbs and the Bible is a wisdom of integrity – it is not a cheap pragmatic wisdom that trades eternity for the here and now, that barters away a relationship with God for immediate success and gratification.

 

One of our challenges is that we live in a world that insists on instant results and gratification, and that values the material and sensual above everything. The speed of life and the transmission and volume of noise demands that we participate in the insanity around us, responding with cooperation and participation…unless…of course…we choose to live in Christ; unless…of course…we learn to live in the One in whom we will find “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col. 2:3).

 

We could ponder Proverbs 14:35 every day for a year and not exhaust how it might look in various settings; for now I’ll just make a few observations, certain that you have much to add.

 

A person in authority should encourage those who act wisely and help them to grow in wisdom and share that wisdom with others – to mentor others. At the same time the leader himself should always be growing in wisdom. The person in authority should, in word and action, send a consistent and clear message that integrity matters and is honored. This message ought to be communicated within and without an organization and it must be nonnegotiable – it cannot be sold or compromised. The leader must always be self-critical, asking the Holy Spirit to search his own heart to reveal anything that would poison his or her integrity and thus poison those around him or her.

 

Leaders and organizations must be willing to pay a price to maintain integrity and live in wisdom – and sooner or later it is likely that a price will indeed have to be paid.

 

Leaders ought not to expect others to live in wisdom toward others unless the leaders themselves model wisdom and integrity in their own relationships. It is not enough to tell people how to live, leaders ought to show people how to live.

 

Those leaders who have leaders above them, those who are directly accountable to others, ought to model integrity to those above them, as well as to their peers and to those below them. That is, godly leaders are called to model wisdom to everyone; they should model God’s wisdom to those above them as well as to those below them in an organization.

 

What to do when someone acts shamefully?

 

Sometimes it is helpful to show anger, sometimes it is not. We need not show our anger for it may not be helpful. When we do demonstrate anger, it ought to be subject to our Lord Jesus Christ and we ought to be careful about it, lest we become self-righteous and self-indulgent and shameful.

 

When someone acts shamefully, how can we be redemptive and hold the person accountable? Consider how patient Jesus was with Peter on more than one occasion – though to be sure Jesus once said, “Get behind me Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests but man’s.” (Mt. 16:23). Straight talk is often redemptive talk – people need to hear the truth; hopefully we speak the truth with care and concern.

 

Then there are times when shameful actions must result in dismissal from a position, the loss of a job or other position. Hopefully, in the long run, this will also work redemptively in the other person’s life. As we considered in a previous reflection, we are called to use just scales in our judgements and actions.

 

We also need to protect others from shameful behavior, we have a duty to all, not just to one or two or a few. In my own workplace experience, sexual harassment, stealing, violence to others, and discrimination were zero tolerance actions that led to dismissal.

 

While I had zero tolerance for falsifying business documents, lying is such a part of our society that I tried to teach people who lied to tell the truth. Of course I also noted those who lied, including those who lied about inconsequential things – for the person who will lie about a small thing will lie about an important matter. When many of our national leaders lie, when national and multi-national businesses lie, when much advertising and marketing is built on lies and deceit – can we expect these things not to affect our behavior as a people?

 

At the same time, as Jesus teaches, “To whom much is given, much is required.” The more responsibility and authority a person have the higher the bar, the higher the trust level, and the greater potential to do harm to others and poison an organization. Again, from the top downward in our society (and in the professing church) we see few examples of people in authority taking ownership and responsibility for their shameful actions – indeed, the shameful has been turned into the reasonable and justifiable and excusable in our world and in the professing church.

 

Those in authority are both gatekeepers and those who provide shelter and cover for others. Kings and those in leadership ought not to provide cover for those who practice shameful actions, while they should be a safe place for those who practice wisdom and integrity. Those in leadership ought to be careful about who and what they allow through the gates of their organizations and communities, and when it is necessary to have people leave through the gates, they need to make the decisions and take the actions to ensure it happens.

 

Wherever we may be, we are there as the servants of Jesus Christ, as sons and daughters of the Living God; we are to reflect the Life of Christ within us, to display that Life. When we are in positions of influence and authority, we are called to exercise that authority and influence under the authority of Jesus Christ – we are accountable to Jesus Christ before anyone or anything else.

 

Let us make no mistake, every child of God, in Christ, is in a position of influence and authority – therefore, every child of God should manifest the character and attributes of godly kingship and authority as taught in Proverbs, in the Bible, and in our Lord Jesus Christ.