Leadership Thought: A Revolutionary Cure for Discouragement Is Just a Few Words Away

Dear Friends

A group of frogs we're walking through a forest. and two of the frogs fell into a pit. All the other frogs looked down and said, "You're as good as dead. You'll never get out of that hole."

The two little frogs didn't want to stay there, and they kept jumping and jumping and jumping, but they couldn't make their way out. One of the frogs who was watching said. "You're going to die. You're going to die. There is no way out."

His words were so discouraging that one of the frogs just gave up and died, but the other frog would not give up. He kept jumping and jumping and finally, much to everyone's surprise, he jumped completely out of the pit. 

The other frog said, "Didn't you hear us? We told you that you couldn't get out of the pit." And the little frog said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm hard of hearing I thought you were cheering me on." 

We live in a culture where there is an epidemic of discouragement. Turn on the news, and no matter what station you listen to the broadcaster will probably be sharing bad news-war in Ukraine, lack of baby formula, gas prices, inflation recession-no wonder our nation's suicide rate has doubled in a decade, and depression is at an all-time high.

According to one survey I read, depression among 14-17 years old rose 60 percent in a decade, and more than half of Americans in general feel left out and unappreciated. 

Because there is so much bad news circulating, there exists a desperate longing for good news. I think most all of us are eager to hear some hopeful, positive, and encouraging news that will lift our spirits and give us something to cheer about. 

As believers you and I are those "Good News People in a Bad News World." We can use our tongues to encourage and lift up those who are discouraged and ready to give up. We can be those cheerleaders that everyone loves to have around.

We can be encouragers. Encouragement starts with doing the small things-just saying "thank you," "I appreciate you," "You did a great job."

The other day after church I had breakfast with some friends. As we were eating, I was noticing this one server who was going out of his way to perform his responsibilities. I never saw anyone clear tables so quickly, or sweep the floor with such determination, or move with such haste.

After our bill was paid, I went back and found him, and I told him how impressed I was with how hard he worked. I told him that I had spoken to his employer and told him that if I was hiring someone, I would want a person like that on my team. You should have seen the beaming smile that marked my new friend's face. He acted like he had never heard such words before, and unfortunately, maybe he hadn't.

Mother Theresa was fond of saying, "Kind words are short and easy to speak, but their echoes are endless."

Proverb 25:11 reminds us that "A right word at the right time is like precious gold set in silver."

Paul writes, "We are to encourage one another and build others up." 1 Thess. 5:11

"How curious that we spend more time congratulating people who have succeeded than encouraging people who have not." Neil deGrasse Tyson

Let's all be careful to take time to speak the kind of words that lift others up.  If we do, we might just discover a revolutionary cure for discouragement.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

Leadership Thought: I Hate to Be Critical but...

Dear Friends,

I hate to be critical but...Don't you ever wonder how odd it is for a person to do something he or she hates so much. 

As leaders, whether in the home, church, school, or the world, there are going to be plenty of times when we have to deal with criticism. Just ask any politician who probably deals with more criticism than any of us could ever imagine. 

There is a fabled story about the famous 19th century preacher Philip Brooks. One day Brooks received a letter in the mail. Opening it, he found a clean sheet of paper with only one word written on it: "Fool." 

The next Sunday, Brooks carried the letter into his pulpit in Boston. Holding it up, he announced, "I have received many letters from people who wrote the letter but forgot to sign their name. However, this is the first time I received a letter from someone who signed his name and forgot to write his letter." Now, that is one way of dealing with criticism, but I don't recommend it, unless you are very secure in your position, or you are already looking for a new job. 

When I think of dealing with criticism, I'm reminded of the words of Jesus who said, "Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on  account of me. Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)

One of the signs that a person is living a high quality of life is the criticism he receives. The more dedicated one is, the more intense the criticism will be. Remember, monuments are never erected for critics. Like the poor, critics will always be with us, so we had best learn how to deal with them.

Television journalist David Brinkley once remarked that "a successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that have been thrown at him." I like that. Build on the criticism. Use the bricks of criticism to make you a better person, not a bitter person. If there is some truth in the criticism, take that bit of truth, but throw the rest away, and don't dwell on it, for it will eat at you and will eventually destroy your soul.

Abraham Lincoln might have broken under the strain of the Civil War if he hadn't learned the folly of trying to answer all the condemnations hurled at him. His description of how he handled his critics has become a literary gem. General Douglas Macarthur had a copy of it hanging above his headquarters desk, and Winston Churchill had a framed copy of it on the wall of his study. It reads, "If I were to try to read, much less to answer all the attacks made on me, this shop might as well be closed for any other business. I do the very best I know how- the very best I can, and I mean to keep on doing so until the end. If the end brings me out alright, then what is said against me won't matter. If the end brings me out wrong, then ten angels swearing I was right would make no difference." 
Sometimes it is just best to remain silent when criticized. Jesus remained silent in the face of the accusations made against him by the chief priest and other Jewish leaders who were demanding answers to their charges (Matthew 27:12 -14). There are times when the wisest thing we can do is to remain silent in the face of criticism and false accusations. Just keep your mouth closed and listen. Don't speak or try to be defensive. Don't point the finger of blame in some other direction, just remain quiet in the face of the one who criticizes you, and in so doing you become that bright and shining star that this dark world so desperately needs to see.

Yes, I know all of what I have said is much easier said than done, but keep in mind that you have a force and power within you that enables you to say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13). Give it to Him in prayer and let him deal with it. He is much better equipped to fight those kinds of battles than you are."

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom

P.S. It was Henry Ironside, a well-known preacher of the last century, who said when facing criticism, "if what they are saying about you is true, mend your ways. If it isn't true, forget it and go on and serve the Lord."

 

Leadership Thought: The School That Was Named After Its Janitor

Dear Friends,

What’s in the name?  Well, let’s ask Steve Hartman, American broadcast journalist who tells the following story. When folks in Swedeborg, Mo. decided to name their elementary school building, everyone knew it had to be named after someone truly special.

When you have your name on a building that’s huge. The name would have to be named after someone who was significant, right?

Throughout history there’ve been many national figures who fit that bill. Also, there are lots of famous Missourians who would have been great choices to have their names inscribed over the front door of the school. But in the end, they went with Claudine Wilson.

Who is that, you might ask?  Meet school custodian, Claudine Wilson.

One of the school students said of her, “You can get her a vacuum cleaner, and she’ll appreciate it because she really likes cleaning.”

Another student commented, “Yeah, she’s like in the zone. She focuses, and she just really dedicates herself to the school.”

Her principal said, “She has given so much to the school, and over the past 30 years, she has taken on a busload of additional responsibilities from transportation coordination, often driving a bus when needed, to filling in for absent secretarial staff.”

From lunch duty to landscaping, from facility operations to fill in operator, she is always doing something to make the school better.

Claudine, Swedeborg’s school janitor does it all. Her “How  can I help you,” is a constant reminder that she is always seeking to help make things better for others.

She says, "I just keeps finding ways to serve others and the next thing I know, I was leaving at 6 in the morning and getting home about 7:30 at night.”

And what’s your motivation for doing all that?” she was asked.

“The kids, the kids; they are always in your heart.”

That’s what makes Claudine who she is, a servant of others.

School board president Chuck Boren says, “When these kids get sick, you think they go to the nurse to start with? No, they go to her. If they’ve had a bad night they go to her. I mean, she’s there for each and every one of them."

And after all, that’s why the school board voted unanimously for the new name of the school to be the Claudine Wilson School.

There’s really only one person in this whole community who remains unconvinced that Claudine deserves this honor: it’s Claudine!

She says, “It touches your heart, but I don’t think my name needs to be up on a building somewhere.”

 So, we’ll add humility to one of the reasons why her name needs to be up there.

In America, names on buildings often inspire greatness. The Swedeborg educational leaders define greatness a little differently than most people do.

“Would you want to be like her,” a student was asked?

“Yeah, that’s what everybody should want to be, you know, that’s what I would want to be, also.”

Claudine is an example of a servant leader, who like Jesus, came to serve and help others,

Claudine is more than just a successful person with a building named after her; she is significant, notable, and unforgettable.

It has been said “a leader serves by leading and leads by serving,” and a leader she is. She is the kind of servant leader who places others’ agendas above her own. Servant leaders always give more than they take, and they are always looking to serve and add value to others. They make others better.

An English, nobleman Sir Bartell Fere, served as governor of Bombay, India, in the 1860’s. He was known by both family and acquaintances as the ‘helpful man.’ On one occasion when he was returning from a long trip, his wife sent a newly hired servant to meet him and help him with his baggage. "How shall I know Sir Bartell?” asked the servant. The governor’s wife responded, “Look for a tall gentleman helping somebody.”

Let us never forget that, like Claudine, serving and helping others is always the best preparation for leading others.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom