Any Sheepwalkers Out There?

Imagine this.

You've been hired to do a job. Your boss gives you ideas on how to do your job better. You follow through with 2 out of 3 of those ideas, but after a few months, your boss reminds you of the 1 idea you didn't follow through with. You follow through with that idea too.

In the meantime, you start trying out a few ideas of your own. It seems like some of your ideas haven't quite worked out like you had hoped, but the fact that you tried them at all gives you a bit of a thrill, and you are more resolved than ever to be great at the job you were hired to do. Beyond that, you have a vision beyond just doing your job. You see opportunity to expand and create new processes and find it exhilarating to think about creating change and stepping outside what is now considered normal.

The next time your boss gives you an idea, you wonder if it's really just an idea or more of an expectation. You've tried many of your own original ideas but haven't seen a whole lot of success, so you start to think of more creative ideas. You're getting excited about some of your new and more creative ideas and several people have come along side of you that share in your optimism. You put the latest idea from your boss on the back burner. You want to see if he notices.

He does.

He calls you in for a meeting. Your boss explains to you that he's been around the block a few times. He's happy to know your idea-mill is spinning, but he quickly reminds you that there's a greater system of order to consider. After all, one big idea could wreak havoc on the whole system. And besides, the system has been around for quite a few years. He tells you that he's seen people come and go in your field. He's also experienced the ups and downs and has learned what works and what doesn't work from his experience in managing people in your field. He then reiterates the importance of recognizing that there's a greater system to consider, and anything too much outside of that system could be detrimental to the system that he's managed for so many years. And, of course, it's understood that there are consequences to disrupting the system.

After the meeting, you're sure of one thing: You don't want to rock the boat, or disrupt the system. You've thought about the people your boss referred to, the one's who have come and gone. You haven't been here long, so you decide you'd much rather keep your job than risk it.

You no longer view your boss's ideas as suggestions. It only took a few times being called to his office that you realize his ideas and suggestions are more like expectations. You give him what he asks for, even when you're sure there's a better way. Sometimes, right before you suggest a more creative approach, you pull back and decide not to make your suggestion after all. "It's easier this way", you tell yourself. No rocking the boat! Stay in line. Keep your job.

Have you been there?

I have. More than once.

Are you there now?

Seth Godin, in his book Tribes, says that "Many organizations go out of their way to hire people who color inside the lines, who demonstrate consistency and compliance. And then these organizations give these people jobs where they are managed via fear. Which leads to Sheepwalking."

What is Sheepwalking? Godin defines Sheepwalking as the outcome of hiring people who have been raised to be obedient and giving them just enough responsibility mixed with enough fear to keep them in line.

He continues by asking the question, "What happens when you build an organization that's flat and open and treats employees with respect? What happens when you expect a lot and trust the people you work with? At first, it seems crazy. There's too much overhead, too little predictability, and way too much noise. This isn't the top-down model of the factory, or the king and his court. It's chaos. It's easy to reject."

Can we blame them? It's much more difficult to embrace non-sheep behavior. So, rather than reward it and cherish it when it's seen, leaders will punish it, particularly when non-sheepish behavior happens outside of a leaders' control. When this happens, the Sheepwalkers (leaders) will insist that whatever is happening outside of normal is an exception to the rule and feverishly pull the reins on freedom and trust for the sake of predictability and safety, as well as for the protection and preservation of their own position and power.

But what happens, over and over, when fear is replaced by trust, when the king-on-top and factory-style leadership models are replaced with empowerment and freedom, people do amazing things.

When people are set free and given creative reign and control over their work, great things can happen. Terrible things can happen as well. Trust is a risky business. Holding on to control and maintaining the status quo is a lot safer.

So what gives? Usually, not much.

But what about the people who are sheepwalking? What about the people who feel stuck? What about the people who feel like the more they challenge the status quo and lead for change the greater resistance and overwhelming fear they face?

It's a choice.

What separates leaders from Sheepwalkers is how they respond to fear. Sheepwalkers allow fear to intimidate and seize their momentum. Leaders on the other hand use fear as a catalyst for momentum. It ignites an unquenchable passion of unbridled resolve that pushes them out of what is normal and propels them toward innovation and greatness.

If you're stuck, know this: It's your choice to remain stuck.

There is a whole world waiting for you to lead, to break outside of the status quo. Don't let fear and intimidation hold you back. Don't stay stuck.

Make a difference.
Create change.
Take risks.

Lead.

There is Nothing New Under the Sun

One thing I've learned, particularly in this last year, is that there is nothing new under the sun. What I mean is, there's a rhythm, a continuous cycle to things. In Malachi 3 we read, "I the Lord do not change". He is constant. We can see how constant and rhythmic He really is by looking into the heavens. At first glance, everything appears at random. Yet, there is nothing random about it.

Stars are not spread out randomly in space, rather they are positioned in vast groups called galaxies. The Sun belongs to a galaxy called the Milky Way. There are an estimated 100,000 million stars in the Milky Way alone. Outside that, there are estimated millions upon millions of other galaxies. Think about the perfection of that design; the intricacies and details and organization of that system and the unchanging laws that govern it.

And here we are, God's most intricate design, the handiwork of His creation. We were created to know Him, to be in relationship with Him. And when our imperfection in sin created a mass divide between us and God, His perfect plan just continued to unfold, creating a way for us to come back into relationship with him. The plan of redemption was set in place at the moment of creation, not after. God wasn't looking for a Plan B. Everything was prepared from the start.

Funny then, how life can surprise us. I've recently begun to emerge from a most dark season of life; one that I wouldn't wish on anyone. While living through one of the most difficult and trying seasons of my life, I often felt hopeless. I felt discouraged and abandoned, defeated and punished. And most of all, I felt confused.

How did I get here? Why did I get here? What could I do to emerge?

I knew the Bible. I had read the stories and studied the men and women whose lives unfold in scripture, but there was an obvious disconnect. Those people weren't me. My situation was different, unique, complicated. I was treading in new territory. My situation required outside input, from friends, counselors, anybody. As much as I loved and studied the Bible, I was disconnected, at least during this dark season of my life.

Then I read a book, A Tale of Three Kings. For me, it was a moment of divine illumination. The scales fell off, the discouragement scurried away, my defeat turned to triumph. Why? I realized that there is nothing new under the sun.

As I read the book, which was based on the lives of Saul, David and Absolam, I felt like I was reading my own biography. I could see how things happened, why things happened and what it would take to get the results I so desperately wanted without any surprises.

I realized that I was living a story that had already been told. And it repeated throughout all of history, over and over and over again. I realized that there is nothing so unique or overly complicated that we can't plug ourselves directly into scripture and find the answers. I've always known that, but living it is a completely different thing.

We are all a part of a perfect and unchanging system created by God and governed by perfect and unchanging laws, both physical and spiritual, and the outcomes of life's most greatest and difficult challenges depend solely on our willingness to submit to His perfect and unchanging plan. When we do, there is freedom.

There is no use trying to fight our way through life. God's design and plan for us is perfect. Part of His plan requires us to be tried and tested, shamed and rejected. Part of His plan takes us through a grueling detour, through the lonely desert. But it's perfect nonetheless. And the moment we realize and accept God's perfect and unchanging design, the moment we can experience the freedom of life, even in the most difficult and trying seasons.

Our stories play out the same way the stories of the great men and women of the Old and New Testament play out. There is no need for life to completely catch us off guard. Sure, there will be surprises and times when we are blind sided by unexpected challenges, but what shouldn't be unexpected is the resolution of those challenges. Our stories have been told for thousands of years and are intricately recorded in scripture. If you are looking for answers, if you are looking for a way out of the grueling pit you've found yourself in, know this -

God's ways are not our ways; His thoughts are high above our human understanding. He is perfect and unchanging. He loves us. And...

there is nothing new under the sun.

The Hills Run Red

"The Hills Run Red". No, this isn't a movie review. No, I haven't seen this movie. But if you're like me, you've roamed the isles of your local movie rental store so many times over the years, covers like this barely catch your eye. We glance past the half-naked National Lampoon College Break cover positioned right next to Madagascar 2 and then move on down the row until we find a movie fit to take home.

The other night, I decided it would be fun to take Morgan with me to the movie store. Morgan is my 2 1/2 year old daughter, and some times a little road trip is my way of getting a little quality alone time with her. Sometimes it's the book store. Sometimes it's the animal store. And sometimes it's the movie store. I thought I'd let her pick out a movie from the kids section before I picked out something for her mom and I to watch later that night. She picked out her movie in like 5 seconds flat, "The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning", or something like that.

I walked through most of the new release section. Morgan was holding my hand. Then she said the line that gets me every time, "Daddy, hold you." I hope she never stops saying that. Kids grow up so fast. I picked her up and continued walking through the new release section. I stopped in a corner and proceeded to pick up a cover that looked like a real possibility. I stood there for a few minutes reading the back of the box and trying to ask all the good questions husbands should ask when renting a movie without their wives present. Is this something she will like? When is the last time I threw in the towel and rented a chick flick? That's usually something I do once or twice a year! She's always very appreciative.

As I stood reading the cover, holding my daughter and debating my rental I noticed Morgan was zoned out, head turned almost 180 degrees. As I turned to look at what had grabbed her attention I found myself face to face with Babyface. Not a cute baby face, but that Babyface. The one on the cover of that atrocious-looking movie.

I quickly turned around, telling her not to look, but to my surprise, the faster I turned and tried to shield her eyes the faster she turned the opposite way keeping her gaze fixed on that scary cover. She was frozen. She couldn't turn away. Maybe she thought if she turned away Babyface would jump off the shelf and bite her. I don't know. I kind of thought that myself to be honest. I walked around the corner, this time glancing in every direction possible to make sure my daughter was protected from the terrible covers plaguing the entire store (never really noticed them before).

I knelt down to have a daddy talk but before I could say anything she said, "Daddy, is that guy scary? Is that guy scary daddy?" I told her that that guy wasn't real and couldn't scare her and that daddy doesn't like to see her scared. I asked her what I always ask her when she shows a little fear, "Has daddy ever let you fall? Has daddy ever hurt you?" "No", I say. "And daddy won't ever let you fall or get hurt, okay?"

We walked out of the store and for the next few days she's asked about the scary man. When I was taking her from Red Robin to the book store she asked me if the scary man was going to be there. She's mentioned him a few times and usually every time she mentions him she says, "But he's not real daddy, he's fake." I can tell though, that she's still a little worried about the scary guy on the cover showing up somewhere while she's playing or taking a nap.

I saw the loss of innocence that day. I saw evil present itself to my precious little girl. I saw fear sting her through her eyes. And I've watched the effect of that one small, seemingly insignificant moment over and over as her mind continues to hit rewind and those images continue to surface. And I can't do anything to stop it.

Then I had to wonder, is that what Jesus feels?
It must be.

Jesus was there in the beginning when evil presented itself to his perfect and innocent creation. He watched his spotless creation become tainted and dirty, shameful and painfully aware of their nakedness.

The love He must feel for us, and yet the horror.

Jesus is there every time the thought of lust rises up within me. It must pain him so deeply. Jesus is there when we are led down the dark paths temptation often takes us. Paths of addiction, paths of selling ourselves short in order to feel accepted, paths of risky behavior, paths of binging to quench our feelings of insignificance, paths so shameful we could never utter the words, paths so lonely nobody must understand.

But like a father, Jesus doesn't stop loving us. If anything, He loves us more. Like a father thrust into protection mode to shield a little girl from the things he knows will hurt her, Jesus must be moved to do the same.

Ultimately, we sin because we choose to sin. But truly, we were born into this mess. Truly, we were made innocent and sinless. Truly, our Creator has a perfect and painless plan for us. And though we choose to sin, and though we often make it harder on ourselves than we have to, rather than feeling condemnation and judgment, rather than feeling unworthy of God's love and mercy and forgiveness, we need to find a way to trust that God's love is beyond our ability to fully understand.

If we could just picture Him like a father in a movie store trying to shield the eyes of his child; if we could just picture Him as a father who, rather than moved to anger is moved to a deeper and more passionate love for his children; if we could just picture Him as a father who hurts so deeply because of the pain He watches His children endure and inflict upon themselves...

I imagine that when Morgan is a mommy with children of her own, I'm not going to see an independent and imperfect 30-something year old. I'm going to forever see that 2 1/2 year old beautiful and perfect little girl saying with innocent eyes, "Daddy, hold you."

I imagine that's how Jesus sees us.

I'm not loved because of my perfection. I'm loved, because in my imperfection, I find freedom and wholeness, forgiveness and safety in a Savior who never stops loving me but whose love continues to grow deeper and deeper, until I am fully rescued and forever free from the evil and sin and imperfection of where I now stand.