Buffalo Springfield Ballad

April 13, 2015

Neil Young. Stephen Stills. Richie Furay. Jim Messina.

Those aren’t just random names from the phone book; 49 years ago – this month – they were unknown musicians who came together under the name Buffalo Springfield, and had their debut performance at the Troubadour, in Hollywood.

Together only two years before disbursing into individual fame and fortune in other bands, they left some lyrics as their legacy. Fans would bicker over their best, but the haunting message of this ballad still resonates in the 21st Century: “There’s something happening here; what it is ain’t exactly clear. There’s a man with a gun over there, telling me I got to beware. I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.  There’s battle lines being drawn; nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong. Young people speaking their minds, getting so much resistance from behind. I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down…”

We’re back there, again. Something is happening here. Some say, “Well, things have always been this way.” Really?

“First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this "coming" he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.’ But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men,” (2 Peter 3).

So, have things really always been this way? The Earthquake-of-the-Week has become routine. Volcano activity in obscure places shuts down world travel, affecting convenience and commerce. People entrusted with billions – on Wall Street, and on Capitol Hill – are squandering the life savings of the gullible and vulnerable. And, in our "modern world," war is now triggered almost exclusively by religion.

Drop your blogs; cease your Twitter; close your Facebook. It’s time to go a little deeper on what really matters. First, read this segment of Jesus’ view of the future (could He see the 21st Century?) from Matthew 24:3-44. Today’s news headlines are 2000 years old…

Eschatology (the study of the final events of history) is unplowed intellectual ground for most Christians. “It doesn’t seem to be relevant to life today” is an old argument against this challenging subject. Problem: today has become the tomorrow that biblical prophecy features.

Buffalo Springfield was right: something is happening here. Nightly news – Fox or CNN – are essentially clueless. Are you going to listen to Anderson Cooper or Glenn Beck or Bill O’Reilly for your informed perspectives, or wrestle with the words of Jesus… and the insightful commentary of modern Bible teachers/writers who look at the headlines through the filter of the Scriptures?

“And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is nearly over; the day is almost here…” (Romans 13:11-12).

Bob Shank

Real-deal Resurrection

April 6, 2015

There should have been a one-semester class – at the beginning of high school – called "Freshman Orientation for Life." They were concerned with getting us outta-there in the prescribed time period. Their horizon was four years; not thirty.

What would we have heard? Things like: you’d better take your Spanish seriously, because you’ll be living in the world’s #2 city for the language (LA; Mexico City is #1). PE? Forget the football; join the golf team (your prospective customer will never say, "Hey, your proposal is interesting. Want to get together and scrimmage so we can talk about it?"). Home Economics is a joke (in reality, you’ll live near an upscale grocery boutique that offers "heat ’n eat" gourmet goodies that you can pick up on the way home from another long day at the sweatshop). In Biology, listen-up when they get to DNA (or else, you won’t understand any of the prime time cop shows that depend on DNA). Wood shop? Oh, please! (Anything you need to know about furniture you’ll learn from the instructions that came with your assemble-it-yourself dining room set from IKEA!) And, don’t forget math. (Every year – about this time – you’ll be faced with "getting the stuff ready to go to the accountant." Tax time = Math time.)

We equate math with logic. When faced with a decision dilemma – you’ve got to make a call, and there are facts a ’plenty to consider – someone will give you the mindless counsel: "Do the math!" Translation: 1 + 1 = 2 is hiding somewhere in the enigma.

I did the math this week concerning Easter. I read a poll taken by a national enterprise, focused on America’s awareness of Easter.

Here’s what they discovered: among the 1000+ Americans who answered the phone and were willing to talk, 81% identified themselves as Christian. "Jesus was the Son of God." Agreeing to that statement were 78%.  Was he the Messiah? "Yes," said 76%. Was Jesus resurrected on the third day? This is where it gets interesting: 40% said he was resurrected, physically; 38% said he was resurrected, spiritually. Implicit in that answer is a troubling observation: the "Christians" are "split" on the nature of the Resurrection. Half see it as literal; the other half have found a way to have Jesus "resurrected," without the participation of his physical self. What kind of "resurrection" is that? On that basis, every ghost story smacks of "resurrection!"

Big news, folks: do the math. It doesn’t take much time in the Bible to come to understand the flow of the formula for the Christian faith. Here’s the progression: first issue is the bodily resurrection of Jesus. Did he come out of the tomb on the Sunday of Passover Weekend, physically transformed, from death to immortal, glorified vitality? "Touch me and see," he told his confused followers. "Spirits do not have flesh and bone as I have." If Jesus was raised immortal (key distinction: Jesus "resurrected" Lazarus, but it was a restoration to mortal life, not a transformation to immortality), it changes everything.

“But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” (1 Corinthians 15:12-14)

The bottom line: you can’t be "Christian" … without the real-deal Resurrection. God says so; do the math. Have you done the math… and come to the right answer?

He is Risen; He is Risen, Indeed!

Bob Shank

Betrayal

March 30, 2015

Betrayed.

You can’t find a story worth telling – or, hearing – that isn’t seasoned by betrayal. Sleep comes quickly if your bedside book tells only happy tales of people whose sublime pursuits are never opposed by someone they once loved and trusted.

Every captivating plot weaves a similar tapestry: someone with a powerful, positive future lays the groundwork for their dreams with the formation of friendships founded on love and trust. They begin to advance on their imaginations, while giving of themselves to those around them whose high-value to the hero/heroine is proven by their selfless service and provision.

Then, in the intrusive plot-twist that characterizes captivating epics… with no legitimate  provocation, a trusted friend becomes an embittered enemy through intentional betrayal. Something primal is tapped when betrayal is delivered by one who was unsuspected as capable for the most heinous of violations.

This week’s reminder of the Greatest Story brings it all into focus. Just yesterday, the picture of Palm Sunday featured mostly happy faces. The crowd with palm fronds were zany with zeal; caught up in messiah fervor, the One on the colt was rumored to be the soon-to-be-crowned King. A dozen colleagues – who had been in lock-step with the Nazarene for three years – surrounded the donkeycade; their promotion to prominence would follow His installation.

The Pharisees couldn’t betray Jesus; He never trusted them. Their secret acts of subterfuge were conspiracy, certainly… but Jesus had foretold that as He marched down the timeline of His mission. You expect enemies to strategize your destruction; anything less would be unlikely.

As the Holy Week unfolded, the Betrayer would cross points of decision from which there would be no retreat. The deal made with the religious rulers could have been renounced; the moment of moral clarity could have come in the Upper Room, with a warning to avoid the Mount of Olives later that night. Up until the last moment – with the kiss that picked the Lamb out of the line-up – he could have reneged, and his name would have simply been remembered as one of the 12.

God knows a thing or two about betrayal. His elevation of Lucifer – “Son of the Morning” – to the top ranks of the angelic host wasn’t good enough to keep betrayal out of heaven. The perfection of Eden was the environment most likely to give Adam and Eve everything they could ever want… except that which they could never have. Betrayal is never surprising; great stories cannot be great without betrayal.

An underlying principle, by the Creator’s edict: our better lives – and, our best pursuits – will be utterly dependent on other people. Notably, that’s more than just a proficiency plan: it’s the reminder that community is the foundation for life by God’s design.

But, as soon as community forms, and people connect and partner for common effort, two things happen in parallel: your regard for the person – and, your trust on their dependability – will grow. With those positive relational factors comes the risk of betrayal.

There’s little pain associated with an attack from an enemy; the anguish from a vetted insider can create a wound that will never fully heal…

The world has their own solution for that liability: “We have to distrust each other. It’s our only defense against betrayal.” (Tennessee Williams).

The Easter hero has a different perspective: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:33-34).

Bob Shank

First of the Catch

March 23, 2015

Only 22 days ‘til the Ides of April. Are you ready?

The big question, for many: file, or extension? The longer you live – and, the more complicated your financial affairs – the task of preparing for April 15th becomes more ponderous. No one is excused from the turmoil: whether you prepare your own returns, or have to retrieve and organize your records to give to a pro, the exercise is a once-a-year discipline without options.
Two things will be on your mind as you go through this process: 1) How much will you be able to deduct (from your gross income)? And, 2) How much will you be compelled to pay? The answer to #1 will have a direct affect on #2.

For many Americans who itemize, their largest deduction is for mortgage interest. On the typical tax return, the mortgage interest is twice the size of their charitable contributions. This profile reflects the norm for both religious and non-religious taxpayers…

What right does the government have to the earnings of its citizens? What right does a church have to the earnings of its members?

 “After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, ‘Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?’  ‘Yes, he does,’ he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. 

“ ‘What do you think, Simon?’ he asked. ‘From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes – from their own children or from others?’ ‘From others,’ Peter answered. ‘Then the children are exempt,’ Jesus said to him. ‘But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.’ ” (Matthew 17:24-27).

That little story has generated cartloads of commentary by Bible teachers seeking to explain the floating factoid of the Temple Tax. Tied in history to a one-time assessment dating to Exodus, some stretch to make the case for the notion that a tax – any tax – once instigated gains eternal life, and never goes away. Others propose that the Roman government saw an opportunity to exploit the religious routines of their Jewish captives and charge them for their worship activities.

Whatever the backstory, what’s clear is compelling: if anyone could make a case for passing on the payout, it was the Son of the God worshipped at the Temple. But Jesus didn’t come to major on the minors; his message was already causing offenses that he welcomed; he wasn’t about to cause offense by coming off as an opponent to the tax system.

The intriguing provision in the picture: Jesus sent Peter to work – they were in Capernaum, Peter’s home town, and his fishing business was based on the Sea of Galilee, which was 100 yards away – to catch a fish. In short order, he brought in a pile of fish; the first of the catch had cash in its cheeks sufficient to cover Peter’s tax obligation as well as Jesus’ share.

Not much has changed, then to now: a commitment to not cause offense, but to sustain the responsibilities of citizenship is the commitment given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ. If we accept that assignment, what will he do for us?

Go to work; examine your results. From the top-line revenue, settle the tax burden while giving an appropriate portion to Jesus. For Peter, that was just an even split: half went to his tax bill, the rest was Jesus’ portion…

Would that be a good way to calculate Jesus’ share of your income, in the future?

Bob Shank

10 years ago

March 16, 2015

Where were you… 10 years ago, today?

Back then, I was filling two roles: about 60% of my time was devoted to serving and expanding The Master’s Program, across America. With the other 40%, I served as the Program Director for Franklin Graham’s evangelistic events around the world, under the auspices of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Following is my Point of View, 520 weeks ago:

Tasmania is an island state of Australia, about 150 miles off its southeast coast. About 400,000 call it "home;" the capital city, Hobart, has 140,000 of those folks. On Sundays, less than 4000 attend church in Hobart. Everyone is white, English speaking … and, with very rare exception, lost.

We had our rehearsal on Thursday night, then launched the event Friday evening. After two nights, we’ve had nearly 7000 people in attendance; 400 who have responded to the invitation to come to faith, with one night to go. The church leaders are thrilled.

On Thursday – during the insider meeting, with a few hundred local folks at the Event Center – they were receiving an offering toward the expenses of the Festival. An older lady came running to Ross Rhoads, one of our team from America, who had just led a dedicatory devotional. She bee-lined to Ross… and then told him her story.

She said she had no money with her for the offering, and he – graciously – reached in his pocket to "loan" her some. "No, that’s not what I’m after," she told him, as she took off her wedding ring. "My husband died about five years ago, and I don’t need this ring any more. It’s just ‘stuff.’ I want you to use this to help with the costs of the Festival." It was a modest gold band, with a miniscule diamond, but it was her most precious possession. Ross resisted, but took it, and thanked Dorothy for her sacrifice.

He led the team devotions the next morning, and retold this story … as he taught from Mark 12: “… Many rich people threw in large amounts, but a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny… Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others…’ ” (v. 41-43). What a powerful contemporary picture of a Bible story he had just witnessed the night before.

It didn’t end there. Franklin challenged our team to help, and there was a great response. From our group, we "redeemed" the ring (over $3500 was raised). The cash was put in the offering last night at the Festival, and Dorothy was invited to meet Franklin before the event.

She hugged Franklin (way out of character, for him!) and told him that, on the first night, her adult daughter – a struggling alcoholic – had responded to the invitation and given her life to Christ, along with a friend. Dorothy was ecstatic. Franklin told her that the team had purchased her ring, given the money to the Festival, and now wanted to give the ring back to her, “for safekeeping."

She was overwhelmed. She had given-up her most precious remembrance of her late husband. She brought her daughter – who had grieved her heart – to the Festival.. God had great outcomes in mind for her: she got her ring back; she produced a significant financial return, for the Kingdom (no pawn shop would have paid her $3500!). And, she got what mattered most: her daughter exercised a saving faith that will reconnect her family, in Eternity.

Thanks for indulging me; what a great story! You’ll not find it in today’s paper in your town, but it’s top-of-the-fold on the front page in Heaven!

Bob Shank

Ngiyakwemukela

March 9, 2015

Orphan.

The word strikes emotional chords. UNICEF says that there are 153 million orphans in the world; the designation applies to a child who has lost one or both parents. Only 10% have lost both parents; of those, only 5% are under five years old. In the country of South Africa, the orphan population is estimated by UNICEF to be approaching 5 million.

Minus one.

Six weeks ago, a family of five left Orange County bound for Durban, South Africa. Today, a family of six will land back in OC. Benjamin (his new given name) Wandile (wan-dee´-lay; his birth name) has joined the clan photo; my daughter and son-in-law have made room in their family life for a little man (he was 4 in August) who has no clue what’s about to unfold.

Four weeks ago, a judge in a Durban, SA courtroom pronounced the adoption legal, and then asked the whole family – Jason, Erin, Max, Cate and Avery – to come down the hall to his chambers, with Ben Wandile in tow. When the door closed, the judge prayed a blessing over BW and his new family (only God could orchestrate a Christian judge to invoke divine favor over this holy affair!).

The last month has been a reminder that what God blesses, government complicates. The process has been arduous – meeting the requirements of the South African protocols and obtaining immigration documents from the American Embassy – but necessary. All of the boxes were checked Friday. Without control over the approvals, no advance travel reservations were possible. Walk-up tickets for a king’s ransom, finding six seats on international flights, connecting in Atlanta after a week of winter weather delays; the obstacles continued to be real, but the motivation was robust: they were heading home!

The Krusiewicz family will come to baggage claim to find a cheering flash mob of friends and family who are putting Monday demands on hold as they extend a robust welcome to a little guy who speaks more Zulu than English, but will read the body language that transcends vocabulary.

From a rural orphanage north of Durban to a suburban community south of Los Angeles, he’s getting off a space ship to find life on another planet. Wildebeest and giraffe came calling for BW a month ago; now, he’ll be hiking in Peter’s Canyon with dogs on leashes and coyotes in the bushes. Erin and Jason began the process 40 months ago – before he even arrived at the orphanage – and the whole family started talking with the Father about the son they wanted to bring into their family. He didn’t have a name until Thanksgiving, when the South African social services folks zeroed-in on BW.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…” (Ephesians 1:3-5).

God uses family – constantly – as metaphor to describe His relationship with us. Jesus described His Father as our Heavenly Father (Matthew 6:9); Paul portrays the relationship Jesus has with His Church as a parallel to monogamous marriage (Ephesians 5:25). And, our individual acceptance into God’s family is imaged using adoption – not natural birth – as the picture of the genesis of the bond.KruKids

Next year, our Christmas picture will have a 12th person, on the front line. He’ll be easy to spot; he’s the only African (soon to be American, when all of the final paperwork clears) in the mix.

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands…” (Revelation 7:9).

Ngiyakwemukela – Welcome home, Benjamin Wandile. Can’t wait to meet you…

Bob Shank

Making History Together

March 2, 2015

The world changed on January 9, 2007.

Steve Jobs used the platform at Macworld in San Francisco to make this pronouncement: “We’re going to make some history together today.”  Before he finished, he unveiled the first iPhone. Deliveries began on June 29th. Today, 600 million iPhones – in eight different generations – have been sold.

We’re going to make some history together today.

I’m using this virtual platform – my weekly Point of View – to unveil a movement that will change the world and build God’s Kingdom. Today marks the launch of Master’s OnLine.

Twenty years ago, TMP was conceived over lunch in Chicago. Bob Buford – author of Halftime, one of my mentors – challenged me to challenge leaders to a higher calling. That vision birthed a strategy that has now touched thousands of participants – and, through their callings, millions of beneficiaries – because men and women who have been called to produce fruit are 100x multipliers. Click here to meet 12 men and women who have been forever impacted through their time in TMP.

We’ve seen astounding results from TMP since our first “deliveries,” back in 1997. But, we’ve been somewhat limited: imagine if every iPhone was handmade, in a technology lab, instead of scaling the production to meet the demand. What would we need to do to reach further, going deeper?

A recurring declaration by TMP grads: “I wish I had TMP when I was younger!”  We’re asked, constantly: “What are you doing for the ‘next generation?’”  For two decades, our participants have been Boomers (now 50 ), and Gen Xers (now 35-50), and they both see the Millennials in their wake (now 18-35) and are wondering: who’s going to help them through the minefield of young adulthood in a culture that is increasingly bereft of meaning and models?

We’ve had great impact with the Millennials who have become TMPers, but this generation (80 million, in America) is challenged. Student debt; underemployment; delayed life-launch has millions back home and waiting for a breakthrough. For them, time and money are tight; they can’t get a day off during the week. They are comfortable in an on-line community, and use their mobile device to “do” life. They’re everywhere… but they’re not within an hour’s drive of a TMP satellite site, for a “live” group meeting, once per quarter. How about three years on-line for the cost of one year, “live?”

Noah Elias is a 2x graduate of The Master’s Program; he’s an artist and entrepreneur for whom I’ve been a mentor for over 20 years. He’s my co-presenter and partner in TMP OL; he’s the Gen X leader who’s helping me – the Boomer leader – impact Millennial leaders. Sounds biblical…

A three-year experience – with video content delivered every week, in TED-styled focus and brevity – building themes of balance, margin and focus that have been the hallmarks of TMP. Social media that will bring the participants together to connect and process; content and application that will give new foundations for a life of order and influence; experience-based testimonials from TMP grads that validate the brand… and a monthly “live” Q&A on-line that will give everyone a chance to be heard.

Made for Millennials… but we’ve already had Boomers and Xers say they want to test-drive it! Grads of TMP 1.0 will benefit from the refresher they would get from TMP OL. Whosoever will…

Want to test-drive Master’s OnLine? We’ve created a crisp, three-part video intro – “Life: Some Assembly Required” – giving a chance to explore the experience before they enroll. Take 10 minutes and see what we’re offering: click here to watch the video on-ramp for Master’s OnLine.

Forward this e-mail – with a personal intro – to anyone you think would benefit from this incredible opportunity! The iPhone won’t be in Eternity… but the fruit of the lives of Christian leaders impacted by TMP OL will be, in 100x potential! Go to www.masters.life and check it out!

Bob Shank

Winning and Losing

February 23, 2015

Winners… and, losers.

This morning, ISIS has been crowded out of the headlines. Terrorist threats to America’s cathedrals (our retail shopping malls) over the weekend have been taken in stride. In a culture more inclined to entertainment than engagement, Oscar trumps the field of nasty newsmakers…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary association, with just under 6000 members. No one volunteers to be part of the Academy; membership is by invitation by the Academy Board of Governors. The roster is a guarded secret, but in 2012 the Los Angeles Times managed to identify 88% of the membership: 94% were Caucasians, 77% were men, 54% were over 60, 33% are former nominees, and 19% are past winners.

If the size of your television audience is any indicator, there’s no contest between the Academy Awards and the Super Bowl. It’s too soon for numbers from last night, but last year saw an audience of 111.5 million watching the competition between the Seahawks and the Broncos for the Lombardi trophy, and 43 million watching the competition between American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything and Whiplash for the Best Picture statuette. Young, buff men in uniforms on astroturf out-draw young, buxom women in designer gowns on red carpets by 2:1.

Super Bowl features one big half time show, with a featured musical guest to create a break for beer and bathrooms. The Oscars depend on serendipity for highlights: last night, it was host Neil Patrick Harris in his underwear, and presenters and winners taking their unscripted moment to make passionate political declarations.

Oscars. Super Bowl. Presidential Campaign 2016. Global Terrorism. Promotions at work. Contracts for future opportunities. Proposals for lifetime matrimony. Upgrades on long flights. Recognition for extraordinary efforts that benefited someone else. You can’t go through a day without being reminded that winning and losing is embedded in the rhythms of life.

There are 24 Oscars awarded each year; there are dozens of nominees competing for them. Thousands of professionals in the movie business spend a lifetime in their careers without nomination. Reality: most winners progress to a future where they’ll be forgotten in their achievement and assigned a place on the NetFlix backlist.

Paul – one of the lead actors in the History of Humanity (you know it as The Bible) – had a pretty clear sense of the field: “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10). People? Fickle creatures, whose approval was not that important to Paul.

If the trophies of the temporary aren’t compelling – for people who are wired to win – how do you give meaningful attention to the competition that matters? “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things…” (Philippians 3:13-15).

Winning does matter, clearly. But, picking your arena of approval is even more important. Better to finish in the pack in the right race, than to win the trophy in the race that doesn’t matter.

May you win your race: the one that matters. The only vote that will be cast – for winner or loser – is from the One who has the only agenda worth serving…

Bob Shank

President’s Day

February 16, 2015

President’s Day. Washington’s Birthday.

The third Monday of February is the federal holiday honoring George Washington. Nearly half of our 50 states have made President’s Day the state holiday, expanding their focus to include all of our former presidents. The details of history do matter.

That reality was highlighted about two weeks ago, at the National Prayer Breakfast. President Obama offered his thoughts after NASCAR veteran Darrell Waltrip gave the keynote. Waltrip recalled a crash in the 1983 Daytona 500 that changed his life. He asked himself the key question after regaining consciousness: “What if I’d lost my life?… Would I have gone to heaven? …I got down off my high horse and got down on my knees… and that was the greatest day of my life. That changed everything…”

Obama followed Waltrip; while he made sweeping observations about faith and life, it was his comments about the historical context of the ISIS that caught many off-guard. Regarding the current actions of ISIS in the Mideast, he said: “And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ.” That “high-horse” seemed to get around at the Prayer Breakfast…

Our generation is far more fixated on the future than precise about the past. Drawing moral equivalence between the Crusades – waged between 700-900 years ago – and the emergence of the push for a worldwide Islamic Caliphate by ISIS is a frightening rewrite of history.

Thomas Madden is an American academic – former chair of the history department at Saint Louis University; now the Director of the University’s Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies – and author of the book, The New Concise History of the Crusades. His perspective: “The crusade, first and foremost, was a war against Muslims for the defense of the Christian faith…. They began as a result of a Muslim conquest of Christian territories.” Madden says the goal was that “…the Christians of the East must be free from the brutal and humiliating conditions of Muslim rule.”

The contrast between protection of Christians and the recovery of territory taken by conquest and the contemporary effort by ISIS to slaughter everyone who does not embrace their view of Islam and wage war against Western Civilization is startling and demands challenge with the facts of history.

Bill Warner holds a PhD in physics and math. He has been a university professor, businessman and applied physicist. His personal interest is religion and its effects on history, and for years has studied the source texts of the world’s dominant religions. He founded the Center for the Study of Political Islam, and is its director (see www.cspipublishing.com).

Click here: learn more in five minutes with Bill Warner than you would ever know from listening to the politicized rewriting of history that makes the nightly news.

America relates to countries; war – American style – is waged between countries. Today, we’re faced with a war between cultures, based on the clash between two faith-based worldviews.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Today, there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world that Jesus died to redeem. The god of this world, Satan – radical Jihadists call him Allah – is out to steal, kill and destroy. The God of Heaven – He calls Himself Jehovah; His Son is the Lord Jesus – is out to rescue and redeem.

Make no mistake: there are significant spiritual forces in play – around the world, and here at home – even on our holiday, President’s Day.

Bob Shank

Outsider Opinion

February 9, 2015

“So, when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by a RPG (rocket propelled grenade)…” The incident was back in 2003, and Brian Williams – network news anchor for NBC – was flying in a military Chinook helicopter with an American army general, over Iraq.

From reports at that time until now, the circumstances have become more swashbuckling, and it appears that the vaunted reporter rewrote history to make himself a central character in the story.

If Williams was a timeshare salesman, you could write his bravado off as zealous fictionizing. Entertainers are given a “pass” when they go off-script: no standards of ethic, truth or morality are applied to anything said by them, on-or-off camera. Politicians are assumed to pander their crowd or their donors, if it leads to an election victory. Journalists, however, are presumed to be precise: multiple sources are supposed to assure that their reports are rock-solid by the time they are aired in public.

Mr. Williams is now on an unscheduled break from his role in the anchor chair on NBC Nightly News. The network has commissioned an internal review to match the facts of the matter with the accounts offered by Williams in various interviews and public retellings. His reputation is experiencing a live autopsy to determine whether it’s dead or alive.

In December, NBC signed Williams to a five year extension of his contract as anchor and managing editor of their evening newscast; speculation placed his pay at $10 million/year. Last week, a survey commissioned by Variety – the weekly magazine focused on the entertainment sector – found that 80% of the people who watched or read his apology think he should be terminated. Compensation: high. Reputation: gone. Future: don’t bet on it.

A Harris Poll just assessed the American public’s view of company reputations. They offered 100 businesses to 27,278 people and asked their opinions of trust and desirability. Among the top ten were neighborhood favorites – Wegmans, Costco, Publix – internet champs – Amazon, Google – and some manufacturers – Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, Apple. The Top Three at the Bottom of the Barrel: Goldman Sachs, AIG, Dish Network. Profitability: high. Reputation: low. Future: anyone’s guess.

Who cares what anyone else thinks? What if you have to choose between relational regard and financial gain? Solomon has an opinion: “A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (Proverbs 22:1)  Is public relations just salve for losers, or is it worth something to have the respect that reputation reflects?

A thousand years after Solomon weighed in, Paul –  the tentmaking Apostle – proposed standards for the leaders in the church in Ephesus. Among other criterion for candidacy: “…He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap…” (1 Timothy 3:7)  Paul’s standard: don’t just ask his church friends. Commission a poll with the prospect’s public contacts to see what they think of his credibility as a Christian example, out in the “real world.”

Brian Williams’ career may be downed by an RPG reputedly fired 12 years ago, or he may land it and be back in his anchor chair. Goldman Sachs has some work to do. Their core business principles are: 1) Our clients’ interests always come first; and, 2) Our assets are our people, capital and reputation. If any of these is ever diminished, the last (reputation) is the most difficult to restore.

It’s my job to live in a way that meets the minimums for Kingdom leadership. In that pursuit, reputation isn’t window-dressing: it’s mission-critical. I might fool the insiders, but the real test is measured in the opinions of the outsiders, whose view of me isn’t airbrushed by friendship that lacks objectivity.

The polls about you and me are constantly updated; how’s your world rating you?

Bob Shank

Take Over

February 2, 2015

Phil says six more weeks, but the chill in Seattle may last longer.

In case you’re on headline overload, the folks in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania have already finished up their annual tradition with their local vermin-of-note. Groundhogs are classified by Farmers’ Almanac as a pest/rodent/varmit, but don’t raise that distinction with the folks in Punxsutawney.

For 364 days every year, their diet and burrowing make them a nuisance to farmers and gardeners who would prefer to eradicate, but on Ground Hog Day, they become the furry favorite. Ol’ Phil is given his 15-minutes-of-fame as his natural talent – coming out of his hole to see his shadow – becomes a national fascination. This morning, he came out, saw his shadow… and called it a day. Six more weeks of winter, or so the legend goes.

It’ll run longer than that, if you happen to find yourself in line at Starbucks in Seattle behind Pete Carroll. Ask him about his play call – with seconds to go – and the logic behind the decision: on the one yard line, second down, three time-outs left… and Marshawn Lynch in your backfield. The choice I had between the Honeybaked Ham and the chicken biscuits at the Super Bowl Party was tougher than the one Pete had in front of him: give Lynch the ball, and tell him to hold on tight while he won the game!

Instead, it was Malcolm Butler’s opportunity of a lifetime. He had been burned one game-minute earlier when Seahawk Jermaine Kearse made the reception of a lifetime, at the 33 yard line. Circus clowns can’t juggle balls any better than Kearse did in front of the millions who were not looking for their shadows, but watching for the officials’ call. A great reception, but it was New England’s Butler who stepped into the spotlight of Super Bowl history and cast his own shadow with his interception.

There’s no way to calculate the office pools and side bets, but the above-the-table wagers made in Vegas had to be huge. In last year’s contest between Seattle and Denver, $120 million was in play; yesterday’s action had to top that. Some are calling it the Greatest Super Bowl, ever; some are calling Pearse’s catch the Greatest Reception, ever. The term “Worst Goal Line Play Call, ever” is bouncing around the Google World as we speak…

Next month, players from across the NFL will gather – with their wives – as Pro Athletes Outreach helps them develop strategies to help them win in life. Guys from Seattle and New England will be there, along with hundreds of their competitors. There will be Super Bowl rings all over the room, but games past and future won’t be the agenda on the multiple-day program. The common denominator for the assembled will be the part of their life that is far more than a game: their faith in Jesus Christ will be the unifying value that is the great equalizer. They believe that the shadow cast by the Cross – 2000 years ago – is far more predictive than Phil’s shadow this morning…

There were Christians on both sidelines yesterday – with pads and helmets – at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Whose side was God on? Who was He cheering for?

Joshua was doing his scouting trip to Jericho – just before the Jews vs Jericho Super Bowl kicked off, about 3700 seasons ago – when he ran into an armed military leader who wasn’t wearing a jersey denoting his team loyalties: “Joshua went up to him and asked, ‘Are you for us or for our enemies?’ ‘Neither,’ he replied, ‘but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.’” (Joshua 5:13-14).

When God comes into our world, he doesn’t come to take sides; He comes to take over. Victories deliver trophies; metal, wood and crystal don’t begin to compare with the living prizes He earned with his come-from-behind play at the Resurrection…

Bob Shank

Parked

January 26, 2015

My “office” – home, or away – is usually a coffee specialty store; my typical day begins with the first cup at/around 5:00a. Watching the early morning weekday caffeine crowd come-and-go creates an intriguing demographic study…

This morning – before daylight – a Beamer convertible pulled into the clearly-marked handicapped parking spot, directly in front of the entrance. The woman was 30ish; she was in her workout finest, probably headed for the gym for her spin class. With one smooth move, she pulled the blue placard out of her door pouch and hung it on her rear-view mirror before bounding into the store, and getting into the line for her latte…

Currently, in the State of California, there are 24 million licensed drivers… and 2.1 million Disabled Person Parking Placards (or license plates). Who gets those gold-plated, renewed-for-life, free-pass-from-parking-toll goodies? Here’s the criterion:

You may qualify for a DP placard or DP license plates if you have impaired mobility due to having lost use of one or more lower extremities, or both hands, or have a diagnosed disease that substantially impairs or interferes with mobility, or one who is severely disabled to be unable to move without the aid of an assistive device. You may also qualify if you have specific, documented visual problems, including lower-vision or partial-sightedness.

The person who fits that narrow definition must be present when the vehicle bearing the DP credential is parking in a designated space. “This is my grandmother’s car,” or, “I’m here to pick up my handicapped friend” doesn’t meet the test (especially when you’re on your way – alone – to your daily workout at LA Fitness).

Municipalities are warming to the importance of enforcement… because they’re losing revenue from their parking monopolies. The application for the permit must be signed by a medical professional; I wonder if the same docs who do bogus DP permits have a higher-than-average rate of referral for medical marijuana?

The point: things are not always what they seem. People who say they are – and people who are what they say – are not necessarily the same.

Every day, there are lots of cars parked in the blue spaces by people who are not disabled. And, every Sunday, there are lots of people parked in church auditoriums who are not redeemed.

The enforcement for the Sunday crowd won’t happen until the End, when Jesus checks the tags, personally:  “Knowing the correct password—saying ‘Master, Master,’ for instance – isn’t going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience – doing what my Father wills. I can see it now – at the Final Judgment: thousands strutting up to me and saying, ‘Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.’ And do you know what I am going to say? ‘You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don’t impress me one bit. You’re out of here…’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23 in The Message).

It doesn’t matter who signed my baptismal certificate; even thoughtful people can be scammed. All it takes is faith to get the grace that saves; that bona fide opens Heaven’s door. But… how can you confirm the presence of that saving faith?

According to the Gatekeeper (that’s Jesus; he didn’t delegate that role to Peter), it’s serious obedience that confirms the validity of saving faith…

Bob Shank

Build Movements

January 19, 2015

He was only 39.

It has been 20 years since my friend Bob Buford wrote his signature book, Halftime. I remember reading the manuscript – in a three-ring-binder – before its publication, and writing my endorsement.

Now 800,000 copies are in print; Bob’s challenge has been heard around the Christian world: why settle for success – in your career – when significance awaits – through your calling? The question seems appropriate when one reaches “halftime“ in life. The mystery: when, exactly, is halftime?

Life expectancy – for American Baby Boomers – is now calculated at 78 years for men, and 81 for women. Do the math: the game is half over – for Boomers – when you hit 40.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Baptist minister. He was 28 when he helped form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and served as its president. He was 34 when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his timeless address, “I Have a Dream.” At 35, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He was only 39 when James Earl Ray assassinated him in Memphis, Tennessee. He was finished, before he was 40.

If King had waited for halftime to get busy about his life’s work, the history of race relations in America would have been profoundly different. You’d be at the office today…

“Halftime” is a great life strategy; the only better approach is the one that Dr. King employed: get in early, and get in big. Figure out what you’re here for, and get busy doing it.

He was only 33.

Jesus was 12 when his parents got distracted during a Passover pilgrimage to the temple in Jerusalem. They were in a group, traveling together, and were a day into their return journey to Nazareth when they noticed that their son was missing. Back to Jerusalem; three days of searching, and they find Jesus in the temple, dialoging with the religious teachers and wowing the crowds. Jewish mothers know how to play the guilt card: “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you,” (Luke 2:48). His amazing answer: he had to be about his Father’s business (v. 49).

For the next 18 years, his stepfather’s business – as a carpenter in Nazareth – was his focus. At 30, he transitioned from his stepfather’s business to his Father’s business. In just three years, he nailed it: “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do,” (John 17:4).

The question for us all – for Bob Buford, for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for the Lord Jesus Christ – is the same: why – exactly – are we here? And, when will the distractions of life give way to the meaning of life? What will it take for me to recognize, serve and accomplish the purpose that the Father had in placing me in this brief period of history that I call my lifetime?

Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated the King of Kings’ birthday. Today is the holiday connected with Dr. King’s birthday. What – exactly – did those two men do during their brief lifetimes? Together: between them, just 72 years of human life; less years than you and I will have, en toto.

Here’s an observation about both of those lifetimes: as leaders, they used their time and talent (neither had much to measure in terms of treasure) very strategically. Human leaders build monuments; historic leaders build movements. Brick and stone last awhile before they erode into dust; flesh and blood doesn’t erode, it explodes into exponential impact, over time.

Take a break today, but think about it: you’re no different than Dr. King. He had a dream, and he pursued it. He accelerated a movement that continued after his time passed. Are you accelerating a movement – the Great Commission – or are you building your own monument that will soon pass?

Bob Shank

Heaven and Earth

January 12, 2015

Nobody saw it.

At least that’s what I’m telling myself. It was the “cover wrap” on the Sunday morning paper this week – you know, those funny fold-around pages that are the prime real estate for print advertising – for the Orange County Register. Local papers now serve a niche readership: more old than young; more educated than not; more moneyed than struggling; more Anglo than diverse; that trims the audience…

And, Orange County, California has changed – just like your locale. According to the same daily paper’s report three weeks ago, our 3 million residents are not homogenous: 1 million were not born in America; 30% do not speak English at home. People who were all-over-the-map are now next-door-neighbors, and “public opinion” is more likely to expose a difference of opinion.

I always ditch the cover wrap first, like the peel off a banana. But the ad headline caught my eye and froze my hand: “The Arts Connect Heaven & Earth.”  Beneath the headline: “It actually has a bigger purpose! Many cultures have been hurt, drastically. We’re in trouble – all over the world – and we need to bring back ethics and values and allow people to flourish and prosper in a way that really should be. It’s what the world needs to save itself and the people, and I’m very happy that Shen Yun is keeping that alive. It’s more than just dance and music.”

The photos, captions, endorsements and texts are compelling. Phrases like “Experience Heavenly Realms,” “A gift from heaven,” and “If people watch this production, their inner souls will be purified” let you know that this is not just an ad for a Rolling Stones Reunion Tour gig. Just what is Shen Yun?

According to their website, “Shen Yun Performing Arts, formerly known as Divine Performing Arts, is a performing-arts and entertainment company based in New York. It performs classical Chinese dance, ethnic and folk dance, and story-based dance, with orchestral accompaniment and solo performers. The Shen Yun website translates the phrase shen yun as "the beauty of divine beings dancing." Shen Yun was founded in 2006 by practitioners of Falun Gong, the Chinese religion with roots in Taoism and Buddhism.

Thirty years ago, advertising for a Billy Graham Crusade could have carried some of the same promises… while saying, “All Seats are Free!” Shen Yun’s ad sends you to the website to buy your tickets: seats run from $60 to $180 (depending on how close you’d like to be to heaven, I guess).

The Arts Connect Heaven & Earth. That’s an intriguing declaration: can song and dance close the gap between heaven and earth? (slang definition of song and dance: an excessively elaborate effort intended to deceive or mislead).

The Lord Jesus had a lot to say about heaven. His classic declaration about himself: “No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man.” (John 3:13)

Jesus’ advance spokesman – John the Baptist – followed that up with even more description: “The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit. The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:13, 31-36)

Nothing sells like Heaven… but you have to be careful about counterfeits. If only One Man ever came from there to here – and, back again – His perspective may be the only valid information available.

Heaven: Jesus bought all the tickets, and now offers them for free… to anyone who will accept His terms of surrender.

Bob Shank

Before Amazon

January 5, 2015

They were Amazon, before Amazon.

Richard Sears was a railroad station agent in the 1880’s in North Redwood, Minnesota. A shipment of watches arrived in his remote frontier rail office, destined for a local jeweler who turned down the delivery. Sears bought the watches, resold them… and the rest is history.

Along with a partner in Chicago – Alvah Roebuck – he saw an opportunity in making big-city merchandise available to rural farmers who were captive to general stores with limited inventories and floating high prices. They published their first catalog – using the railroads to deliver the goods – and the rest is retail history.

The first Sears Roebuck store didn’t open until 1925, after the company had gone public and made its mark as America’s source of everything from dolls to kit houses, sold and delivered without a brick-and-mortar retail presence. Originally, their stores emerged alongside fulfillment warehouses; later, they would become anchor tenants in suburban shopping malls across America. Originally established as an alternative to the limited-inventory general stores, they ultimately became the general store institution, and their decline began…

Today, many analysts are suggesting that Sears’ real estate holdings are of greater value than the operations they were built to house. Their catalogs are long-gone, and the panache of their retail outlets disappeared with the advent of upscale department stores on the other end of the mall. Sears is now worth more as a real-estate play than as the once-giant retailer who once defined the category.

Last Saturday’s Wall Street Journal had a strange photo on the front page, above-the-fold: an adolescent skateboarder doing tricks on an indoor skate park ramp… set up in the Church of St. Joseph, in Anhem, Netherlands. The headline below the photo: Europe’s Empty Churches Go on Sale.

A full page of the front section of WSJ, exploring the phenomenon of a community category – local churches – that once commanded the best corners near the city centers of western Europe, but today are empty warehouses of religious art seeking to be repurposed.

Alongside the article are statistics from the Pew Research Center – based on surveys done in 2010 – reflecting the population of various countries self-defining as “unaffiliated with any religion.” China: 52%. Netherlands: 42%. France: 28%. Germany: 25%. United Kingdom: 21%. USA: 16%. National church bodies find themselves managing a real estate portfolio of single-purpose buildings without a continuing need for serving the spiritual communities they once housed…

From the WSJ article: “In the U.S., church statistics say roughly 5,000 new churches were added between 2000 and 2010. But some scholars think America’s future will approach Europe’s, since the number of actual churchgoers fell 3% at the same time, according to Scott Thumma, professor of sociology of religion at Connecticut’s Hartford Seminary. He says America’s churchgoing population is graying. Unless these trends change, ‘within another 30 years, the situation in the U.S. will be at least as bad as what is currently evident in Europe’…”

Jesus’s professional career was in real estate: he was a building contractor in the village of Nazareth until He launched His ministry. The earliest – and, some would say, most dynamic – years of the Christian movement established virtual communities of faith who had no plans to build real estate portfolios. They needed no building to house their personal God: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The church? People, together; wherever…

Has the Christian faith become a distressed portfolio of real estate, no longer needed by a world not looking for another obligation to attend a meeting?

Bob Shank

End of a Chapter

December 29, 2014

It’s about time to move along…

The last year – 2014 – is in its final lap. Three hundred sixty two days have come and gone; you’ve got three days left, and one of those – New Year’s Eve – is a non-starter. Even if you wanted to get something done on Wednesday, you won’t be able to get anyone else’s attention. Work on your journal, maybe; you won’t get anyone fired-up to work on a project. What can you do in two days?

It’s always a great time for some personal reflection (hence, the journal). You started ’14 with vim and vigor (“ebullient vitality and energy”); the year – for you, for us all – had fits-and-starts as it made its way across your life’s calendar. High points, low points; best of times, worst of times; a few wins, a few losses; now, you’re about to measure Year-End ‘14 against Year-End ‘13, and determine whether the year raised or lowered your stock price.

Climb above the fog of your career outcomes; don’t dismiss it as unimportant, but include it as simply one of the factors in your life’s equation, not the sum-total of your personal worth. If your life is a story being co-authored by you and God (which, it is): what did the chapter called, simply, “2014,” add to the drama?

Daniel is a big name from God’s Bigger Story. His life was spotlighted against a tough backdrop: Nebuchadnezzar had conquered Judah and enslaved thousands who were taken to Babylon to become a vanquished labor pool. The cream rose to the top: Daniel was part of a contingent of young men of nobility who were brought into the king’s compound and groomed for service to the palace.

For the next six decades, Daniel never knew freedom. His earliest actions caused him to stand-out from his top-tier peers: along with three buddies, they made a case for adhering to their rigid Jewish lifestyle constraints, and proved themselves more fit than those who compromised and adopted the Babylonian excesses. They became part of an elite team of advisors to King Neb.

Neb had a dream – one that stood out, demanding consideration – and surveyed his advisors for help interpreting his nighttime metaphor. Only Daniel was able to deliver the insight about Neb’s prescient dream… and his reward was a governing position just below the king (COO of Babylon).

If leadership involves vision (where are we going?) and strategy (how will we go about getting there, with the obstacles before us and with the resources at hand?), it was valuable for Neb to have a visionary who could read the tealeaves and see the future that no one else could discern. For the rest of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Daniel was in the next office, and overseeing the province of Babylon – even during Neb’s seven-year sabbatical (see Daniel 4: it was a timeout for Neb – imposed by God – to get his attitude adjusted to the reality of Who was really in charge of everything…).

The day came when the Babylonians were defeated by the Persians, led by King Cyrus. In the takeover, Darius had the good sense to retain some of the management team: he retained Daniel in the senior management position. Palace conspiracies orchestrated an ethical conundrum for Daniel: his devotion to God over Darius earned him a death sentence in a Lion’s Den. Interpreting dreams had won privilege with Neb; surviving the night with the lions earned favor with Darius (and a death sentence for his enemies, in the same Lion’s Den they had envisioned for Daniel). Through two hostile takeovers, Daniel maintained top-tier placement, though he remained primarily faithful to Heaven’s Throne.

His life, in retrospect: only a couple memorable wins… and years of faithful service milestones. For that, God cites him as one of history’s great heroes: “…if I send a plague into that land and pour out my wrath on it through bloodshed, killing its people and their animals, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, even if Noah, Daniel and Job were in it, they could save neither son nor daughter. They would save only themselves by their righteousness…” (Ezekiel 14:19-20) Pretty heady company…

The year soon past may have lacked any trophies for victory… while adding another year to the “faithful service” role you have in your family, in your profession, and in the Kingdom. You may not get a plaque for those milestones, but they are accumulating in Eternity as markers worthy of applause!

Good job, partner,

Bob Shank

The Set Time

December 22, 2014

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long…”

Have you heard that before? Usually uttered by the person arriving last – for a long-scheduled appointment – and proposed as a this-settles-everything repayment for the time spent awaiting them.

Greg Savage is an entrepreneur in Australia – a noted pro in the executive search business – and he writes a blog: The Savage Truth. He exposes what appears to be an international malady:

“I don’t care if I sound old-fashioned, because actually it’s nothing to do with ‘fashion’ or ‘generation.’ It’s got everything to do with basic good manners and respect for other people. So here goes… How did it get to be okay for people to be late for everything? Because, as far as I am concerned, it’s not okay.

“In recent years it seems that a meeting set to start at 9:00a, for some people means in the general vicinity of any time which starts with the numeral ‘9’. Like, 9:30 for example. People drift in at 9:10 or 9:20, or even later. And they smile warmly at the waiting group, as they unwrap their bacon sandwich, apparently totally unconcerned that others have been there since 8:55a, prepared and ready to start.

“Ten people kept waiting in a meeting for 20 minutes, while some selfish pratt who idles his way via the coffee shop, is actually 20 minutes times 10, which is 200 minutes wasted – while you keep us waiting because you did not catch the earlier bus. That is over three hours wasted. By you! How much has that cost the business? Shall I send you an invoice?

“And it is not that we lead ‘busy lives.’ That’s a given: we all do, and it’s a cop out to use that as an excuse. It’s simply that some people no longer even pretend that they think your time is as important as theirs. And technology makes it worse. It seems texting or emailing that you are late somehow means you are no longer late.

“Rubbish. You are rude. And inconsiderate.

“Me? Am I ever late? Sure, sometimes. That’s inevitable even with the best intentions. But I never plan to be late. I never ‘let time slide’ because my stuff is more important than yours. I am not talking about the odd occasion of lateness. I am talking about people who are routinely late. In fact, never on time. You know who I am talking about!”  (direct quote from The Savage Truth).

Apparently, “tardy” is a character flaw that Mr. Savage would use to downgrade the potential of a candidate for a position for which he is conducting the search!

Two thousand years ago, there was a country full of Jews who were ready to charge God with delinquency: they had been waiting for the Promised One – the Messiah – for hundreds of years.

Their abysmal conditions under foreign domination – Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Romans – had only deepened their despair. His promises had done little to instill hope in the reality of their oppression.

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship…” (Galatians 4:4-5).

“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.” (Romans 5:6).

Talk about punctuality: Jesus was born, right on God’s schedule… and, He died at the precise time, as well. His birth and His death were divinely timely; appeals for God to meet the deadlines of others were never the basis for the chronology of the Christ.

I don’t know who or what you’re waiting on this Christmas, but it sure isn’t Jesus: He came just in time, for us… and He delivered the gift we needed most – forgiveness and eternal life – through His death on the cross. Because He was right on time, we have time – forever, in Heaven – before us!

Merry Christmas!

Bob Shank

All In

December 15, 2014

I need to get in the mood…

The mood music has been playing since Thanksgiving in all of the retail environments. Jesus can’t get a hearing in any public environment, but the tunes that connect with His birthday are in a continuous loop at Target and Nordstrom, between now and the 25th. Silent Night – and Jingle Bell Rock – are more likely to have listener recognition than America’s national anthem (game show question, for hipsters: is that Star Spangled Banner? or, Born in the USA?). I wonder if Amazon would see an uptick in online sales during December if they could put White Christmas on auto-play while on their site?

Even Santa is now on the banned list for public school programs (no kidding: Cambridge, MA). Reason: he’s too religious. Like a patient being treated for cancer, American society is being x-rayed to find trace amounts of Christmas holiday imagery that might be connected to the birth of that 1st Century Jewish radical who was executed for crimes against the Jewish religion – and, the Roman state – in an effort to remove His influence from the culture. That was, apparently, a failed strategy…

There aren’t many eyewitnesses to anything: the mundane and the historic all seem to happen in front of a limited audience. We all have to get our news – and, process its meaning – through the lenses of others. When it comes to Christmas, MSNBC and CNN aren’t going to do it justice: better to get closer to the scene when you want the facts… or, to deduce the significance.

The story will be recounted next week in churches that still have Bibles in play: Matthew and Luke will be quoted in two-part harmony as they reintroduce the Nativity. Paul’s contribution to Christmas was not more detail about shepherds and wise men, but – rather – the reminder of the big picture that could be missed in spite of the carols and crèches. He presents a fascinating perspective about the way Christmas impacted One who was so in-the-mood that He went overboard in His gifting strategy: from top-of-the-Forbes-list wealthy to bottom-of-the-society poverty in just one Christmas.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (II Corinthians 8:9).

Where are you going this year, for Christmas? The answer changes annually, for some folks. For the Son of God – about 2000 years ago – His plans threw the angels into action: He was heading for Bethlehem, and was going to be gone for a while. He had a present to deliver to humanity, and He’d have to be gone awhile…

The original Christmas gift was grace; it wasn’t delivered by FedEx or Santa, but by God, Himself. It wasn’t on your list, but it was just what you needed! It remains God’s trademark deliverable; it’s the primary thing in His catalog every Christmas. Grace – “unmerited favor” – is the only present God has on His list, and it’s one-size-fits-all. God the Son – Jesus, the baby in the manger, the Lamb on the cross – personally delivered His grace to us when He came to the planet at Christmas.

There are some rich folks today who have begun to give some of their money away – 128 are currently on Gates and Buffett’s Giving Pledge list, willing to part with half of their $1 billion + for charity – but none are on record with plans to give it all away, 33 years before their death. Anyone who starts out rich and becomes poor laments their dumb luck. Not Jesus: He planned to move from Glory to gory; to wade in the filth of human misery on His mission to deliver grace. He wasn’t above it all; he was immersed in it all. Why?

Because He loves us! He sent His grace, wrapped it in love, and left it at the Tree – up on Calvary – for us to find and unwrap. Just what we needed; we can’t live – forever – without it. If that doesn’t get us in the mood… nothing will!

Bob Shank

Accountability

December 8, 2014

“Are you in an Accountability Group?”

That’s a pretty typical question posed in Christian circles; the incidence of the inquiry seems to go up every time the news reports another Christian leader whose bad choices have taken him/her out of their role and delivered them to the has-been/no-longer-qualified leper colony. It raises intriguing issues: is accountability an elective, or a required status? And… is it a discipline limited to leaders only?

Time out! It’s Christmas for heaven’s sake! Let’s listen to some seasonal music: “You better watch out; you better not cry! Better not pout, I’m telling you why: Santa Claus is coming to town. He’s making a list, checking it twice; gonna find out who’s naughty and nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been bad or good, so be good, for goodness sake! …You better watch out: Santa Claus is coming to town!”

Wow! There it is, in a holiday hum-along that doesn’t mention the “J word” (no longer okay to mention whose birthday we’re celebrating, in public forums). In the midst of the Christmas crush – absent the crèche – the idea of accountability presents itself!

Here’s the underlying threat to the kids hoping for their annual treasure discovery under the tree: keep your nose clean all year long, or you’ll come up short at Christmas time. You can’t expect to have a holiday haul if you didn’t mind your P’s and Q’s all year long, leading up to the grand pay-off. Santa doesn’t just work part-time at this Christmas gig; he’s on it all year long, constantly monitoring actions and adjusting the distribution list based on what he sees in real-time.

That may be Bing Crosby or Perry Como delivering the lyrics, but the principle is powerful: accountability isn’t just a subject for Christians to bring up when famous leaders fall. The recognition of reportability is even operative around our holiday festivities! “He sees you when you’re sleeping; he knows when you’re awake…” The fact is, we’re never “alone” when it comes to making personal choices about playing by the rules or violating what we know to be right!

I hate to break into the countdown (“just 16 more shopping days ‘til…”), but here’s the truth: there is no Santa Claus, and he’s not coming to town. There is, however, a man named Jesus who was born in Bethlehem – His First Advent – and is returning to the Mount of Olives – His Second Advent – and that impending reality raises significant personal perspectives!

“You’d better watch out; you better not cry! Better not pout, I’m telling you why: Jesus Christ is coming (back) to town. He’s making a list, checking it twice; gonna find out who’s faithful and true. Jesus Christ is coming (back) to town. He sees you when you’re sleeping; He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been fruitful or not, so be fruitful for His sake! …You’d better watch out: Jesus Christ is coming (back) to town…” (a lyrical interpretation of the New Testament message)

“Are you in an Accountability Group? I know they’re asking if you meet weekly – with others – in a donuts-and-transparency environment that has a Bible in the middle of the 12 Steps, and teeth in the relationships. But, there’s a powerful overriding reality: we’re all in an Accountability Group. It’s called “humanity,” and we’ve all been summoned: “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” (Hebrews 9:27) Death is simply a transition on the way to the next appointment…

For the person who knows the Bethlehem Baby and received a gift from Him (see Ephesians 2:8-9), that appointment is all about accountability: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad…” (2 Corinthians 5:10).

You better watch out…

Bob Shank

A Note Under The Ribbon

December 1, 2014

Makin’ a list; checkin’ it twice…

Someone got to the calendar when you weren’t looking.

Normally, there’s a week – call it a “transition period” – between Thanksgiving and December. Time to burn through the turkey leftovers and catch a few traditional gridiron rivalries before you have to put on your holiday hassle and rev up the Christmas sled. Not this year: 2015 has the panic button installed on the first day back from the busiest travel weekend of the year. Yep, that’s right: it’s December 1st, and you know what you need to do…

In your Monday-Friday life at work, there’s no break in the action. You’ve got numbers to hit; quotas to reach; customers to visit with goody bags or Starbucks cards. Appreciation lunches to host; industry parties to mingle; kids’ school programs to attend; all of that, played against background music that portrays a simpler time – when a manger scene was not a punishable offense – when wise men were looking for something other than an opening-day shot at an IPO.

Black Friday. Small Business Saturday. Cyber Monday. The days denoting consumer action have opened the Mania of the Month: there are only 24 more shopping days ‘til Christmas. But… is there anything worth a list that won’t post a debit on your credit card?

While you do what you have to do for the people in your life, how about running a parallel track that will be remembered beyond the return-merchandise cycle of most holiday gift exchanges?

Here’s the idea: include a hand-written note with every package you wrap and gift. In the note, focus on extending one – only one – of the relational expressions that will enhance your connection. In four sentences or less, communicate to them your:

Compassion: have they been through the wringer this year? Are they hurting for the holidays? Tell them that you know that they’re in need of a hug… and you’ll deliver.

Availability: friendships are like plants; they need to be watered to thrive. Offer them two hours of your life; they get to pick. Packing to move? Walk through the park? A long lunch? Offer time…

Forgiveness: is there an elephant in the room? Did something come up during ’15 that strained your connection, but no one wants to mention it? If it’s not nuclear, give ‘em a pass and start over!

Encouragement: are they poised on the threshold of a new challenge, and wondering whether they have what it takes? Tell them they’ve got what it takes; give them the courage they need to win!

Honor: did they achieve something this year that proved their mettle, but was forgotten in less time than it took to accomplish? Reframe the picture of their accomplishment, and make ‘em look!

Acceptance: have some differences-of-opinion (not “sin”) come up between you since last year’s holidays that put a strain on the relationship? Dismiss the dissonance and embrace variety!

Here’s the modern reality: your friends don’t need more stuff. The American approach to Christmas: spend money you don’t have on people you don’t like to give them things they don’t need. Put a bow on it and call it a holiday. What would be more valuable: a bow on the box… or, a note under the ribbon?

Buy yourself a gift: head to the stationery store and get a box of use-them-anytime note cards, with envelopes… with no canned verbiage inside. Set aside an evening to write all of the notes – one for everyone on your “gift list” – and make ‘em personal. My guarantee: you’ll make more Christmas memories than you could imagine…

Bob Shank

Thankful To

November 24, 2014

What are you thankful for?

“We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our hearts we deserve to have.” That wisdom is from the late James R. Ball. His career life began with international postings with Andersen Consulting; ultimately to an entrepreneurial launch called The Goals Institute. He wrote a handful of books focused on improving professional performance and achieving your dreams.

The American political spectrum polarizes. On one end, you deserve only what you create or earn. Labor to raise value in something or for someone… and then collect what you deserve from those who benefited from your efforts. The other extreme claims expectations from others, apart from investing themselves for others. Receive without any plan to reciprocate – before, or after – with the giver(s). Those are incompatible incongruities.

It comes to a head this week in America, around the Thanksgiving table. Both positions will pull on the philosophical wishbone, hoping for the moral high-ground in the debate. No matter who “wins,” Thanksgiving loses…

For the deserve-what-you-earn conservatives, gratitude is hollow. If you labored for what you have, you have no one to thank but yourself. The Thanksgiving list is thinly veiled self-aggrandizement.

For the someone-owes-me-something progressives, gratitude is absent. The list of what one deserves – by their own assessment – is constantly refreshed by discovery of a new “right” or a new “entitlement.” There is no Thanksgiving list in that bubble: why say “thanks” for what was “yours?”

Gratitude is a foreign substance on both ends of the ideological spectrum. Because it is not natural, it must be cultivated. Some have the tradition-before-the-turkey of making lists: “What are you thankful for?” If the assemblage is progressive, they cite their accumulation of what they believe they deserved. If the crowd is conservative, they report their payday spoils from things earned-by-effort.

The real list requires thoughtful construction: here’s the formula. It is “to” before “for;” that’s biblical math, and it disciplines the declaration to think beyond earning or deserving.

What did I receive, that I did not earn or deserve? From whom did it come… and what form did it have? God’s grace (receiving far more than I earned) and His mercy (not receiving the moral consequences that I deserved) are the operative character qualities of the Heavenly Father that should focus the attention in the enlightened Thanksgiving discussion.

“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind,” (Psalm 107:14). “To” before “for” is the formula; you cannot drop either preposition from genuine gratitude. Giving thanks is like throwing a pass: without a receiver, it’s incomplete. And, it isn’t a generic summation: it focuses on specific provisions that were sent from a loving God to a needy recipient, who looked at the return address before tearing the box open and consuming the contents.

America celebrates Thanksgiving… but, is it the genuine article, or a cheap counterfeit of the original effort? “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools…” (Romans 1:21-22). Paul’s description of humanity’s decline-through-progress bears a chilling resemblance to America’s advanced stage of cultural abandonment of all-things-God.

Break from the cultural confusion this week: use complete sentences when declaring your Thanksgiving list. Look at your life through informed eyes; read Psalm 107 as a rational reset of perspective at your table on Thursday…

Thankful to you for your friendship,

Bob Shank

Pure Evil

November 17, 2014

“An act of pure evil.”

That’s the headline this morning for USA Today, as they report the death of Peter Kassig at the hands of ISIS in Syria. The third American to be killed in their brutal fashion – for their own sordid public relations purposes – is drawing additional attention to the frontlines of the war.

Kassig was only 26. He graduated high school in Indianapolis, became an Army Ranger, went to war, came home to begin college… and then returned to Lebanon and Syria to do relief work among Muslims. He converted to their religion after his capture by ISIS in 2013. President Obama said that his murder was “an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity.”

We’re living in a time of conflicted communications. Within the American culture, any mention of religion – as a cause, as an effect – is virtually dismissed. Only the Christian faith can be defamed in a headline; its followers are fair game for repudiation and marginalization. At the same time that factions within the Muslim world are at war with the West because of faith, the West has moved from faith to godless reason as a philosophical foundation for life.

How does an “enlightened” post-Christian ethos handle the use of terms that are founded in a Judeo-Christian paradigm?

Evil: profound immorality, wickedness and depravity, especially when regarded as a supernatural force (Oxford Dictionary).

Good: that which is morally right; righteousness (Oxford Dictionary).

Supernatural? Righteousness? Those aren’t words from the Sunday news shows; they’re more likely heard – at the same hour – in Sunday services. It was not always so.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” (most often attributed to Edmund Burke, b. 1729; d. 1797).

Burke understood that political debates – whether addressing domestic policy or international posture – would go back-and-forth between “good men disagreeing” and the direct confrontation between that which is intrinsically good and that which is essentially evil.

A notable noble – his name is lost in history, but we remember him as the Rich Young Ruler – came to Jesus to seek assistance with his personal challenge: how does philosophy become strategy?

“ ‘Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? ’ And He said to him, ‘Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments’ ” (Matthew 19:16-17). Only One is truly good, according to Jesus; who is that?

In an obviously fallen world, the declarations of good and evil are inherently flawed: we operate within a spectrum of degrees, with any manifestation of either condition faced with comparisons. Find an evil… and then watch for that which is more. Identify an example of goodness… and continue the search for someone who is even better. The President calls ISIS “pure evil;” was Hitler more evil?

The headlines bow to the Holy; modernity does not inform morality. Biblical insight: “We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:18-20).

There is One who is good; there is one who is evil; humanity is under the control of one or the other. Jesus disallowed the confusion that follows the “all religions seek and follow the same god” foolishness; He demands fidelity to the One True God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit…

Bob Shank

Career Choice

November 10, 2014

When was the last time you got a Standing O?

It was great to be in church yesterday. Our pastor took the time – early in the service – to ask all of the folks in the auditorium who had served in any branch of the services – Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard – to stand. Unassuming and humble, men and women across the crowd rose slowly… and they were honored with a heartfelt applause that didn’t stop quickly.

Not many of us draw praise from an adoring audience in our real-time careers – not while we’re working, not years later – and there is no annual holiday set-aside for the professions we chose. Tomorrow is Veterans Day; the president has a pen and a phone, but don’t expect any unilateral efforts to name Brokers Day, Territorial Sales Managers Day, Chief Operating Officers Day, or Directors of Customer Service Day. Hallmark won’t be reprinting calendars anytime soon: our Veterans are special.

You’d think that the day of honor would affect the thinking of the young regarding their future career aspirations, wouldn’t you? With schools-out across America tomorrow, it must make the impressionable lean toward a future in the military… right?

Apparently not. When the quintessential assignment goes out in classrooms – with the request to complete the phrase: “When I grow up, I want to be a…” – what are they saying?

Here are the Top 10 Career Dreams for kids: 1) Athlete; 2) Doctor; 3) Veterinarian;

4) Musician; 5) Police Officer; 6) Firefighter; 7) Pilot; 8) Spy; 9) Actor; and, 10) Model.

Why those ten? The sphere of exposure for kids is pretty limited. If they don’t see them in action in their own life experience (doctors, veterinarians, police officers, firefighters), they only know the options portrayed in the stories told on a screen. Nobody is making network series featuring people who do what you do for a living, but athletes and musicians, cops and spies, actors and models all live a bigger-than-life life in weekly installments.

Ask the same question of the kids’ parents – halfway through life, though in many ways still “growing up” – and the answers may be different, but the criterion for conclusions hasn’t changed much: sift all of the stories running alongside us in real-time, and capture the Top Ten based on envy. Whose life do we most admire… wishing we could do what they do, to have what they have?

Here’s the best answer, for anyone between 10 and 100: “When I grow up, I want to be… me.”

Paul spent his life – after discovering his own answer – helping people clarify their own: “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” (Colossians 1:28-29)

“Fully mature, in Christ” means that they would become the full-grown version of what God creatively intended them to become when He made them one-of-a-kind. Whether they would ever earn applause in this life, or serve invisibly in their intended setting… the chance to earn their Creator’s applause one day was worth it all.

In our culture, career choice is often the primary identity; in the Creator’s blueprints, what we do for money is a part of our life experience, but not the principal brand that defines us. We’re more than our office title; our impact and influence on the world around us is an even-better way of describing a life. Growing up is not a season that ends with a job posting: it’s a continuing discovery of what God’s creative genius wired into us as potential that could be discovered and exploited.

What’s your answer?

Bob Shank

Flight Tickets

November 3, 2014

Is the payoff worth the price? Is the result worthy of the risk?

For the 800 folks on the waiting list – who have either prepaid or placed deposits for tickets to space – those might not be the questions on their minds. The midterm elections – and the control of the Legislative Branch – are commanding the headlines, but the fatal crash of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShip Two must have registered on their mental screens…

The vision of Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic is selling seats for $250,000. The offer: a two-hour journey (there’s no place to go, so it’s a round-trip flight with no destination but back-where-you-started) into weightlessness, and bragging-rights at next year’s holiday parties.

The crash of the test flight in California’s Mojave Desert on Friday may slow the inaugural commercial flight a bit, but the early indications suggest that the A-Listers who are lining up for the carnival ride – folks like Stephen Hawking, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks – are staying in their TSA PreCheck lines, awaiting boarding.

David Logsdon, senior director of the Space Enterprise Council at a technology industry group, TechAmerica, said he expected the accidents to trigger congressional hearings and additional oversight of commercial human spaceflight and similar projects. "It’s a minor setback. It may slow things down a little – a few years. We’ve become much more risk averse, but space flight is an inherently risky business."

If money wasn’t an issue… what would you do?

Every lottery winner is confronted with that question, the morning after the results go public. The first kneejerk reaction: quit their job. Assumption: they were only in “it” for the money. Once they had the option, their career was terminal.

For Big Money winners, the calls begin, from relatives and scammers: we have a plan for your newfound excess. No one heads to their bank to snatch 1% APR Certificates of Deposit after they get “the call;” the exotic opportunities rise to the top, like froth in a cappuccino cup. Why not get on the list for a two-hour joyride to space? It’s only money…

Read the Wall Street Journal or Fortune, and more moderate choices await. Watches – priced at the US median household income ($52,250) command color ads. High-rise condos on tropical beaches are second-home trophies available for the cost of just 10 – or, more – tickets to space. Cars that were an indulgence when new, now priced at 10x the original sticker, because they’re “classics.” Less conspicuous, but still consumption; run amok?

It’s easier to villainize cultural celebrities than ourselves, but we ought to be thinking – constantly – about the place where our bucks meet our beliefs. Christians make up 33% of the world’s population, but receive 53% of the world’s annual income… and spend 98% of it on themselves (source 1).

Follow the money: American Christians spend more on the annual audits of their churches and ministries ($810 million) than on all their workers in the non-Christian world (source 2). Are we more accountable to donors for our use of their donations than we are accountable to God for our obedience to the Great Commission?

The tragedy in the Mojave Desert – the loss of the Virgin Galactic pilot – is grievous; how grievous is the death of 30 million people who will die this year, around the world, who never heard the Good News of the Gospel (source 3)?

Here’s the amazing thing: God is offering one-way flights into Eternity, with Him, and no one can afford the tickets: they’re free, on His terms… and there are still seats available!

Bob Shank
 
 
#1 Source: Barrett, David B., and Todd M. Johnson. 2001. World Christian Trends AD 30 – AD 2200: Interpreting the annual Christian Megacensus. Associate ed. Christopher R. Guidry and Peter F. Crossing. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library. http://www.gordonconwell.edu/resources/documents/gd34.pdf

#2 Source: World Evangelization Research Center. An AD 2001 Reality Check. http://aboutmissions.org/statistics.html

#3 Source: Baxter, Mark R. 2007. The Coming Revolution: Because Status Quo Missions Won’t Finish the Job. Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing.

Ready and Willing?

October 27, 2014

Are you willing to be persecuted for following Jesus? Are you willing to die?

Think about the approach we take to sharing the Christian faith in America, in the 21st Century. Presenting the claims of the Gospel to people who were born into American culture – who measure their quality of life against the celebrities highlighted on Entertainment Tonight, or the business champions on the Forbes 400 – and the question of "what's in it, for me?" is likely asked… and unanswered.

Marketing the Christian faith to a populace weened on privilege is the daily confrontation for the modern Evangelical. How can we offer a signing bonus that is significant enough to attract the attractive and convince them of sufficient benefits to seduce their sign-up?

Cheri and I are in Israel right now; we're participating in a ten-day experience that is blending the best of Bible history – Old and New Testament – with an insightful reconnaissance of the modern challenges of life inside a powder keg. We've been to the Golan Heights; we stood next to a United Nations monitor at a hilltop bunker looking down on the Syrian border – 36 miles from Damascus, across the landscape where ISIS is conducting its brutal mission of "convert or die" conquest. We've traveled from the Sea of Galilee to the Mount of Olives – and stood at the Western/Wailing Wall of the ancient Temple. Thirty-four marketplace leaders from the Barnabas Group – led by Tom and Joanne Doyle who lead the Mid-East missions for E3 Partners – had the chance to talk with E3's leaders who are ministering in a virtual suicide setting in Northern Iraq and Syria.

Refugees driven from their homes and cities by the scourge of ISIS are facing threat-of-life challenge as the militants multiply around them. Muslims who are not displaced are secretly expressing despair about the brutal acts carried out in the name of their religion, while feeling no sense of certainty that the faith they've been shackled to answers the deepest questions of their souls.

The in-country heroes who are standing in for The Lord Jesus are making the price of following Him clear and concise; the questions asked of the converts could not be more clear. Are you willing to be persecuted for following Jesus? Are you willing to die?

Anything short of that honesty would be a deficient description of the cost of discipleship. The avowed Christians within their communities have demonstrated the reality of those risks. Why would anyone in their right mind – anyone with an option – elect to embrace a faith that assures personal tragedy?

"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 6:11-12)

It's easy to read that promise and personalize it within one's unique situation; for the world I live in – within the controlled environment of contemporary America – emotional bullying may occasionally occur for the outspoken Christian who overtly shares faith with the ideologically sensitive. For the person embracing the Good News in the face of the threat of beheading or crucifixion, the strength of character – and, the power of the Holy Spirit – is far more demonstration of the Supernatural.

We heard the caution of friends who thought it risky to visit Israel on the heels of the Gaza shoot-out; during our time here, I've been embarrassed for flirting with uncertainty when brave men and women a few miles away are answering evil with a new convert's confidence… and paying the price.

Is forgiveness by grace – and, the promise of life everlasting – worth what it costs?

Bob Shank

Season of Stewardship

October 20, 2014

Follow the Money.

The quote comes from the script of the movie, All the President’s Men; it came from a conversation between Bob Woodward – the investigative reporter from the Washington Post who, with his writing partner Carl Bernstein, broke the story on Watergate – and Deep Throat, the alias used by the secret informant who fed the facts to the Post. “I’ll keep you in the right direction, if I can,” Deep Throat (later identified as Mark Felt, Associate Director of the FBI) said to Woodward. “Just… follow the money.”

The counsel was clear: if you want to get to the truth, just see where the dough goes: the Money Trail won’t lie.

There’s lots of money running around America right now. The Dow Jones has been a pogo stick of late, following the old-wives’ warning of October corrections. But there are places where the money is stacking up and running through at record paces. If you want to know where Americans have their attention, just follow the money.

Prediction: Halloween is putting Apple Pay – the new pay-with-your-phone capacity of the iPhone 6 – to the test. The National Retail Federation is forecasting $7.4 billion in spending for the ghoul fest. Nearly $3 billion of that will be for costumes that get used once… and then retired to the recycle bin.

At the same time that the Trick or Treat pretenders are interrupting dinner at the front door begging for candy, the political candidates are calling during dinner chasing contributions as the raise-for-campaign-cash comes down to the final two weeks. All of the pundits are forecasting this election to be the most cash-infused mid-term in American history; “finance reform” seems to be the endless game of re-routing financial influence without ever shutting it off, or changing its headwaters.

Outlandish costumes and outstanding promises will keep Halloween and Election Day on-track; in the process, discretionary dollars will vaporize, with little to show for the investment. The chocolate rush – and, the post-election victory parties – won’t offer much after the sugar high recedes…

In the midst of the hoopla, this is the season when another funding flow begins to gain its annual momentum. For many Christians, the last ten weeks of every calendar year are the Season of Stewardship: the greatest part of their faith philanthropy will find its way into the hands of the ministries who serve the Kingdom 24/7/365, but count on the contributions that are disproportionately harvested in November and December.

Our front porch will see its share of goblins and ghosts a few nights from now, and our phone will continue to ring as the national parties ring the bell as Dialing for Dollars goes into the two minute warning; none of that is a surprise…

But, we’re getting real serious about where the last of our 2014 eternal investments will be deposited. Earth’s markets rise and fall; terrorists and viruses can suck the wind out of Wall Street without warning. Significant corrections can wipe-out paper profits as if they had never existed.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21)

Take some time this week to plot your plans for your year-end cash flow. The moths and vermin are afoot; go for the safe bets when you’re placing the bets that will secure your heart…

Bob Shank

Interim

October 13, 2014

Q: “So, what do you do?”

A: “I’m a temp…”

There’s an answer that strikes fear at the core of the career minded modern human. Descriptions that demand more letters to spell offer little relief: contractual, seasonal, consultant, casual staff, freelance do little to ameliorate the trauma.

Government statistics from last month are faceless: the median tenure at the same company for hourly and salary workers – all categories, all industries, all areas – is 4.6 years. Job changes during those years complicate the question even more: one can see their role reinvented with each reorg that reduces headcounts and redistributes responsibilities, even if titles remain the same.

You might think that things stabilize for the folks at the top; that depends on what one calls “stable.” In researching CEO tenures, the focus seems always to be the firms that are part of the S&P 500 – the “big guys” – who don’t do anything quietly, or privately. Among that privileged class – where winning makes CEOs millions, and failure pays nearly as well – the time-with-the-jet now averages 8.2 years. Even when you’re the man/woman in charge, it’s tough to last a decade…

This morning’s Wall Street Journal devoted their soft section – Journal Report | Encore – to the intriguing topic: The Case For Quitting Your Job – Even If You Still Love It. It’s counsel for people who have the power to stay in their positions longer, but may be missing a better choice – the road less traveled – by doing so…

With no view toward the eternal, WSJ is giving voice to a rising tide of agreement among the accomplished, suggesting that there must be more to life than simply rewriting the Three Year Plan every six months, and pursuing shareholder value while under attack by internet terrorist hackers in China and same-niche competitors across town who have moved their tax headquarters to Lichtenstein and their production to Mexico. Where do you find fulfillment, if not in the “C Suite” environment?

Hebrews 11 is only two pages out of 1094 in my Bible, but it tells stories of people who would never be featured on the front cover of Fortune. Archived for Eternity in God’s record of notoriety. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel are singled-out as examples of lives well lived, who will forever be known without surnames for their extraordinary contribution to The Grand Plan made clear by its heroic lead – who authored the Plan – and brought it from need-to-know to publicly-announced with His Resurrection.

What’s their common denominator? Why would God stamp a significant caption beneath their portraits in His Hall of Fame? “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect…” (Hebrews 11:39-40)

They believed that God’s plan for their life – individually, and collectively, with us – would keep elevating them to better status. Their real-time life experiences were broad – the list includes prostitutes and kings – but, whatever their position, there was a missing word in their title: Interim.

So, my question to you: are you comfortable with reality? Your title – boss, or bottle-washer – has a missing word; whatever you’re doing in your career today, you are a temp.

What are you preparing for? How is God maturing you… for your next interim assignment? Until you get There – into His place – everything is temporary!

Bob Shank

Increase Deployment

October 6, 2014

“So, what do you do?”

If you don’t have a quick answer to the standard-issue opening line at the First Encounter, no one will know how to frame a follow-up question, and the conversation will be DOA.

No credible sociological data is available for prior generations, but you don’t need a Gallup Poll to confirm the conclusion: Americans are career-centric in the 21st Century.

In a few weeks – at the end of Q4 – you’ll be in myriad holiday parties that will involve extended family members you don’t really know. Find yourself engaged over eggnog with a second-cousin who’s a college senior, and you’ll tweak The Question: “What do you hope to do?” Their major in art history – with a minor in indigenous peoples’ studies – may explain their stammer: they don’t have a clue about turning what they now know into something productive.

Unemployment rates are political fodder; they provide provocative challenge-points in debates, but it’s just a statistic… until you’re the one with nowhere to go on Monday. Downsizing is a C-Suite strategy, at the top of the org chart; “released” is a death sentence for a 50-year-old breadwinner with 25 years left on a mortgage, and two in high school shopping for colleges. Nothing does more to remove one’s raison d’etre (“reason for being”) than “I’m currently looking for a new opportunity” (HR-speak for “unemployed”).

International competition for employment is non-military war among nations. In the developed world, the current title for Biggest Loser is Greece, with 26.4% currently unemployed; in the Top Ten, Iceland takes the Gold Medal with 82.8% working; the USA trails at #10, with just 71.2% clocked-in.

The Employer in Chief – working in the Oval Office – starts every four years with one of two orientations: create jobs under his/her control (employment in government bureaucracies), or create an environment where jobs outside his/her control (employment in the broader marketplace) are stoked. Or, just live with unemployment as an unimportant issue, and give another speech…

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10) Redeemed people are now in a position to find meaning and purpose in their remaining earth years, working in and for the Kingdom.

Why have we been created in Christ Jesus? “To do good works” that are serving His Kingdom, and His people, in a world that is not yet in sync with Him. Is that your job? Or, is it something else?

The big question – “What do you do?” – is answered during the week in terms of your career: “I’m a tentmaker.” But, when you’re with people who get it – they know they’re here for more than making their year-end number during the Q4 countdown – the answer shifts from career to calling. Ask Paul: “I’m an Apostle, dispatched as an ambassador to non-Jewish people” (the tentmaker who understood his bigger purpose).

College/University helps people gain a heightened potential in their career; Church is supposed to do the same in helping people prepare for their calling. A powerful measure of impact – for a college – would be to measure their graduates’ employment rate, against the broader population. What if the same measure of impact were used for local churches? How many of their long-time participants are unemployed (clueless about their calling)? How many are internally-employed (within the programs of the church)? And, how many have been deployed (actively engaged in serving the Kingdom, beyond the safe zone of their local church community)? What’s the best vision, based on the Book?

Working to increase deployment,

Bob Shank

Invite a Friend to Subscribe

Dear Marketplace Friend,

“I know you; who are you? What’s your name?”

I was standing at Gate C-2 at DFW Airport last week, waiting to board my flight home. The man who walked up to me posed that question, and I answered him. His reply: “That’s it! I read your newsletter every Monday; every word!” He sees my picture in the masthead…

We’d never met. How did he get on the distribution list for the Point of View? A friend from his Convene group had pointed him to our website, and he had subscribed (clarification: not a newsletter; a weekly commentary on what’s happening in our world, written from a biblical point of view).

What is now the Point of View – delivered as a blog post and an outbound email every week – is the current version of what started as the Fax of Encouragement in 1989, going out to a few hundred people. Today, PoV lands in thousands of e-mail inboxes, across North America and assorted countries beyond. Apple Computer used the advertising slogan Think Different from 1997 to 2002. That’s been my objective for the last 25 years, with nothing to sell.

The Christian experience has always been served by leaders whose letters have been broadly circulated. Peter opened his first epistle with that reminder: “ …writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten. God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours!” (1 Peter 1:1-2, The Message)

We’re living in a world – and, embedded in a culture – that is message-heavy: the barrage of propaganda from worldviews that are competitive with and contrary to the Truth we have from God is unrelenting. PoV starts the week with a conversation that challenges some hot topic in the headlines… and resetting the table with another perspective can have great value.

That’s our task: Think Different. Like Peter’s audience of exiles, we’re all living in this world on a temporary basis, waiting to be taken home to Heaven – permanently – where we’ll finally fit-in.

Over the last week – in three time zones – I’ve had numerous people cross my path – like the man at the airport in Dallas – to tell me that they appreciate PoV’s challenge to their Christian life.

If you appreciate this time we have together every Monday – and, if you sometimes forward to friends – I’d like to ask you to expand our reach and extend your influence.

The Challenge: forward this edition of PoV to your friends (from the linked page), along with a note explaining that you’ve arranged for them to receive a free subscription to my weekly commentary.

The Point of View can be a fresh perspective on a subject that’s in play in the office this week… or a conversation starter among Christian peers who Think Different, together. Pastors quote from it; friends re-send it to their groups; it’s even published monthly in an evangelical periodical in India. How might it serve your friends as they process life in a world without a biblical moral compass?

This offer has no inherent limits: forward it to 10 – or, 100 – friends you’d like to add to the weekly distribution. Be generous; be strategic: who are the men and women in your world whose influence you’d like to influence?

Next week, I’ll be back in the more normal commentary mode. In 25 years, I’ve never used the Monday platform to recruit recipients. I’ll let you know next week how many new friends we’ve added to the conversation through your efforts!

Think Different,

Bob Shank

Independent of the Dow

September 22, 2014

You’re Rich; why don’t you act like it?

This just out, from the Federal Reserve: the net worth of U.S. households hits an all-time high. The value of homes, stocks and other assets – minus debts and other liabilities – has climbed to $81.5 trillion; it’s never been higher.

Don’t schedule the party just yet: the economy is waiting for those households to spend some of it. The American Way of Life presumes consumption, and with two-thirds of the economy driven by consumers, wealth that is parked in passive reserves isn’t contributing to the monetary traffic that makes jobs and creates cash flow. What are we doing?

Consumer debt is climbing, but the report says that the most visible borrowing is for student loans. Credit cards and car loans are quietly following, but caution is in the air. We’re all rich, says the Fed; why aren’t we acting like it?

You don’t have to go much beyond the morning headlines to answer the question. College students missing; police shooters on the loose; prisoners breaking out of maximum security; chronic unemployment lingering beyond artificial “recovery;” ISIS/ISIL recruiting women to be brood mares to propagate the best run terror enterprise since North Korea; China doing joint naval exercises with Iran: why not have a party and celebrate our good fortune?

Numbers on a page – wealth that isn’t in your pocket – doesn’t inject hope into a fearful heart.

Someone will figure all of that out in time to construct a marketing campaign designed to put a new leader in the White House in 2016. Whether substantial or not, the longing for hearts that will harmonize with handbags will drive people to vote. Hope and change was a masterful motto: an Oval Office will be the prize for the next Champion who offers a feel-good solution. “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” is the historic question. The Federal Reserve says, “Yes;” can you feel it?

God wants you to be rich. That’s the offer embedded in the Prosperity Gospel movement. The Marriage of “American” and “Christian” has created consumers on spiritual steroids: just ask God for whatever you want – while sending a gift for the prayer cloth/holy water pitched on the program – and it’ll be yours. The testimonials from the faithful drive the desperate to the 800 number on the screen…

The God Who Owns it All has greater perspective than the Federal Reserve or the Prosperity Pitchmen. He says His holdings aren’t audited by the skeptics: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33). How mundane to measure money as the currency of Christ! The wisdom and knowledge surrounding Him is worth more than anything found in a vault in this world!

He knows that we’re living among the uninformed, and subject to the same emotional swings that affect the decisions and actions that aggregate to swing markets and topple governments. He wants us to have a better perspective: “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.” (Ephesians 1:18-21)

Computed wealth – down here – is like the tidal charts: up and down, based on forces beyond your control. But, inherited wealth – up there – is the ultimate stable reality: because we’re in the Royal Family (adopted through faith in Jesus Christ), we can live here with confidence that isn’t dependent on the Dow…

Bob Shank