Reclaiming Honor

One of the most inspiring experiences of my life was when I joined a few hundred thousand of my closest personal friends on the Mall in Washington DC to pray for our country.  It was sponsored by the Promise Keepers and the motivation was 2 Chronicles 7:14; "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

This event was held on Saturday, October 4, 1997.  Coincidentally, this was also Rosh Hoshanah; beginning the ten days of atonement in the Jewish new year. A shofar or ram's horn was blown in the traditional call to meeting. This was a Christian prayer meeting and there were Jewish Christians in attendance as well as Native American Christians, African-American Christians, and plain old ordinary Christians. 

There were a small number of women from the National Organization for Women who tried to disrupt the meeting.  There were also a few politicians and they were invited to join anonymously.  This was a non political prayer meeting in Washington DC, where some people believe everything must be political.

It was my privilege to lay my hands upon and pray for an ATF agent who nearly bled to death at Mt. Carmel in Waco TX.  We were privileged to hear messages from Max Lucado, Tony Evans, and several other Godly men.

In 1780 George Washington developed a badge of merit to be awarded to non officers who displayed exceptional honor. Only three of these badges have been awarded. At the time the world only gave medals and badges to officers; but Washington was looking to create, in his words, "an honorable and Christian army". He was looking to build people of integrity, people who understood merit and honor. He said "the road to glory in a free country is open to all". It was the first time that anybody had ever done that, looking at the farmer and saying you don't have to be an officer to do something honorable. The Purple Heart was modeled after the badge of merit. 

On August 28, the Saturday before Labor Day, the Special Operations Warrior Foundation will hold a fund raising event on the steps to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC named Reclaiming Honor.  This non-profit provides support and assistance to the families of wounded and fallen special operations personnel. This includes 60,000 of America's elite troops such as Navy SEALs, Army Green Berets and Rangers, Air force combat controllers and Marine Corps special operators. 

There will be a concert by Jo Dee Messina, winner of the CMA Horizon award.  Gary Sinese, Marcus Lutrell, and Ted Nugent will be there to introduce the largest gathering of Medal of Honor winners ever.

This non-political, non-partisan event.  I am sure there are some who will try to make this political because it is in Washington DC.  Hopefully, the organizers will succeed in maintaining the anonymity of all politicians in attendance.

The approval rating of Congress is at an all time low.  There are a record number of candidates running for seats in the November election.  I have often said the people of the United States elect the representatives they deserve.

Apparently we deserve these venal, lying, self-serving jerks.  It is time we reclaim our honor; individually and as a nation.

President Garfield (elected in 1880) said it best ; “Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. 

If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature… If the next centennial does not find us a great nation, it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.”

Ideas on Management

Today we were told by the Assistant Director of Human Resources that we will prepare a business plan.  We are one department of a large city.  Our new director will begin the first of June and he has been active in telling senior management what he expects to achieve.  This prompted me to reflect upon what we have been doing and what I believe we should be doing.

It seems to me that we are not measuring the right thing. The current business plan for HR is narrowly defined as counting bodies in seats for required training.

This begs the questions: What is required training? Why is it required? Does it make a difference? I would argue the answer to the last question is "NO!".

I believe the mission of HR should include proactive recruiting, just-in-time training, engaging work, imaginative supervision, and satisfying balance in life.  It should be the responsibility of each section within HR to determine the best way they can contribute to and measure the success of their role in accomplishing the mission of HR.

Our department will embrace the Who method of hiring that is pioneered by the ghSMART organization. The stated goal is to hire only A players. We define an A Player this way: a candidate who has at least a 90 percent chance of achieving a set of outcomes that only the top 10 percent of possible candidates could achieve.

OK. What about the 1533 non A players that are on the payroll now? Are we prepared to coach/mentor them to the A player standard or are we going to simply replace them asap?

This organization has lacked focused leadership for several years. How will we convince front line managers that this isn't just another flavor-of-the-month management fad?

This is the City.  Are we prepared to PAY for A players?

Are we prepared to pay for and utilize sophisticated measuring tools to verify that our efforts are achieving the desired results?

Most importantly, is our department prepared to change from a culture of blame to a culture of accountability? Will we stop looking for scapegoats and start seaching for root causes?

Who: The A Method for Hiring by ghSmart sets forth the following four step plan.

❖ Scorecard. The scorecard is a document that describes exactly what you want a person to accomplish in a role. It is not a job description, but rather a set of outcomes and competencies that define a job done well. By defining A performance for a role, the scorecard gives you a clear picture of what the person you seek needs to be able to accomplish.

❖ Source. Finding great people is getting harder, but it is not impossible. Systematic sourcing before you have slots to fill ensures you have high-quality candidates waiting when you need them.

❖ Select. Selecting talent in the A Method involves a series of structured interviews that allow you to gather the relevant facts about a person so you can rate your scorecard and make an informed hiring decision. These structured interviews break the voodoo hiring spell.

❖ Sell. Once you identify people you want on your team through selection, you need to persuade them to join. Selling the right way ensures you avoid the biggest pitfalls that cause the very people you want the most to take their talents elsewhere. It also protects you from the biggest heartbreak of all—losing the perfect candidate at the eleventh hour.

We are going through an exciting period of change where I work.  It is my thesis that the most important thing we can do to take our department to the next level of performance is to stop looking for scapegoats and search out root causes.

This is good advice for any organization.  It is one reason Google is so successful.  It is the primary reason the Obama administration will be a total failure. 

Oil is still flooding into the Gulf of Mexico as the government keeps their boot on the neck of BP, encourages people to sue, blames the Bush administration, suspends all offshore drilling in US water, holds hearings looking for someone to blame, and then holds a press conference expressing disgust with the blame game and promising not to rest until the spill is stopped.  After all this productive activity, the President goes out to shoot a few hoops.

To my knowledge, nobody is looking for the root cause.  Everyone is trying to minimize liability.

A pox on all their houses.

Today's Prophet

I have spent a lifetime wondering about prophets and prophecy. Everyone wants to know what is going to happen and we all search for answers. An online dictionary provides the following definition of the word prophet:

1. A person who speaks by divine inspiration or as the interpreter through whom the will of a god is expressed.

2. A person gifted with profound moral insight and exceptional powers of expression.

3. A predictor; a soothsayer.

4. The chief spokesperson of a movement or cause.

The Jewish and Christian traditions specifically warn against soothsayers simply because they assume the role of God. Palm readers, horoscopes, Nostradamus, and Ouija boards are examples of how people are entertained and sometimes defrauded by such foolish conceits.

Muhammad and Brigham Young are two examples of spokespersons of a movement. Some of these end tragically like the Heaven's Gate and Jim Jones cults.

The Old Testament and the Hebrew Bible upon which it is based contain numerous writings by prophets. These prophets speak from divine inspiration to provide a message to God's people. In Christianity a prophet is one inspired by God through the Holy Spirit to deliver a message for a specific purpose. God's calling as a prophet is not considered to elevate an individual for their glory, but for the glory of God and to turn people to God. The apostle Paul often speaks of gifts from the Spirit to believers for the purpose of building up the universal church. Among these gifts is the gift of prophecy.

Jesus specifically warns against false prophets, so one asks; how can you identify a false prophet? Here are some reliable tests:

1. A true prophet will not contradict the nature of God. What is the nature of God? This is not an easy answer and requires a lifetime of prayerful study. You may start with 'God is love'.
2. A true prophet will not predict the end of the world on a date certain. Jesus said, "Only the Father knows". The Father has not even shared that information with the Son; therefore why would God reveal that date to some joker who just shows up out of the blue?  
3. A true prophet will provide hope for the future. Even the mournful prophet, Jeremiah, said; "'For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'Plans for a future and a hope.'"

Perhaps the most helpful insight on the role of prophecy and prophets was shared by our Executive Pastor. He explains that prophets have two roles: forth telling and fore telling. Forth telling as in "this is how it is and why the present situation is wrong". Fore telling as in "this is the inevitable result of our folly".

Whom would I nominate as a prophet? I can think of two prominent persons who seem gifted with a profound moral insight. Both are good communicators, however it is my belief that Glenn Beck has exceptional powers of expression.

His tag line is 'The Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment'. He is constantly calling us to a higher standard of morality. He rejects the current culture of corruption and continually reminds us that we are better people than those who represent us.

Mr. Beck reminds us of our forgotten heritage. It seems that political correctness has obliterated the fact that those who founded our nation on individual rights and liberties felt inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We and our children have only been shown their greed and venality. We have lost sight of their vision of personal liberty, personal responsibility, personal generosity, and personal accountability. We have been activated into communities, told that we are victims, taught to envy, and convinced that only the government can make us whole.

Mr. Beck asserts that only God can make us whole. Only God can save us from exploitation by our own government. We, individually and freely, have the answer; and we, acting on the principles of faith, hope, and charity are the answer.

Like all prophets, Mr. Beck is slandered and vilified by those who are profiting from the status quo. Those who criticize him the loudest are those who have the most to lose when we assert our inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When we put our confidence in the One who created the universe, we will take back the power Jesus gives us thereby eliminating the need for the ones who exploit us.

These critics will actually have to produce something of value. What a concept!

Time magazine has designated Glenn Beck as one of the World's 100 most Influential Persons in 2010.

Congratulations.

Reaping What's Been Sown

The Summer of Love was anything but. The latter half of the sixties was marked by a counter cultural revolution. Love meant that we are all equal (good) and that we shouldn’t own one another (good) and that we are free to do our own thing (not so good) without rules (caution!) or hang-ups (?). Nobody should own anything (I don’t share) and the ideal lifestyle is communal (not interested). Everyone is encouraged to tune in with recreational drugs and hard rock, turn on to uninhibited sexuality, and drop out of participation in society. God is dead, bring down the Man, and don’t trust anybody over thirty.

The resulting anarchy gave us the Watts Riots with African Americans killing African Americans and burning their own neighborhoods. We got the Weather Underground bombing the Pentagon and other government targets. We got the Students for a Democratic Society murdering each other as they tried to establish a socialist uprising. National Guard troops fired upon and killed American citizens at an anti-war protest at Kent State University in Ohio.

President Johnson rammed through the Great Society and paid for it by raiding the Social Security Trust Fund. His Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara invented ‘body counts’ to measure our progress in Vietnam. Celebrity spokespersons like Jane Fonda and left wing socialist politicians like her ex husband, CA assemblyman Tom Hayden, spoke openly against the war to the point of providing comfort to the enemy. They traveled to North Vietnam for propagandistic photo opportunities for the enemy.

The president was shamed into not running for reelection. The mayor of Chicago, Richard Daly, declared there would be no disruptions of the Democrat convention; so the violent Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Students for a Democratic Society rioted.

The white kids from rich, elite families, like Bill Ayers, were able to avoid prison. Poor black kids like Huey Newton went to prison, were killed, or both. Ordinary whites and blacks dived into the American dream. We got married, had children, and lived life as it came.

My favorite bumper sticker from this period: “The World is Dead – God”. The question that has haunted me for the last 40 years has been; what will happen when these people are in charge? Will they mature or will they continue to promote a utopian dream to the detriment of our liberty?

After the election of 2008 it is clear they are still determined to preside over a utopia where they get to be in charge and we get to serve them. The tactics have changed from direct confrontation to a soft confrontation. More specifically, using one's opponent's strength against him and adapting well to changing circumstances.

What is the strength of our society? I would argue it is our sense of morality; our sense of fair play. What is the source of our societal morality? The Judeo-Christian faith and worldview. Other faiths and worldviews are about exploitation (Hindu), self actualization (Buddhism), or submission (Islam). The Judeo-Christian faith is about relationships; relationship with the creator and relationship with each other.

What would happen if you convinced people that there is no creator, only a creation? All creation displays God’s glory; but if you can convince people that there is no God and creation is extremely fragile then you can get them to worship the creation with you as a priest. Thus, the environmental movement is born, Al Gore becomes its high priest, and the government gets to tax you for breathing. After all, we are good moral people who want to do the right thing.

What would happen if you convinced people there is no God? You convince them that the government is the source of all good things. Life is not fair? Demand the government make it fair. Do you envy the wealthy? Demand the government give you your fair share of the economic pie. The government is the source of life and the leaders are God. After all, we are good moral people and redistributing wealth is doing God’s work.

The community organizers, utopians, and activists of the sixties have stopped trying to lead a violent revolution. They are using our strength against us in order to enslave us to them. It is time to revisit the true source of our strength. We need to understand what has made us the greatest nation conceived by humanity and understand what we need to do to become even greater.

We don’t need God bless America. God blesses us every day whether we deserve it or not. No, no, no. AMERICA, BLESS GOD!!

It is the height of arrogance to believe that humans can destroy creation. Only the creator can destroy His creation. Pride goes before the fall and we are setting ourselves up for a big fall if we think we can choose to save or destroy the planet. We are stewards to God’s creation and we bless God when we utilize His creation to strengthen relationships with each other for His glory.

Envy is the fundamental tool to destroy relationships. Job said, “It’s not fair” and God said, “You are not qualified to judge ‘fair’”. Peter said, “What about John?” and Jesus said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?” Community organizers divide people into groups and use the government to create envy between them so they can be controlled.

God created all things seen and unseen. God owns it all. God was here before you were born and God is going to be here after you are gone; therefore it all belongs to God. When God decides to redistribute wealth, God will do it. Neither you nor the President is God, therefore using the government to forcibly redistribute wealth is taking the name of God in vain.

Violent revolution always ends with the death and enslavement of millions. Consider the record of Mao Tse Tung, Joseph Stalin, the Khmer Rouge, North Korea, and Fidel Castro. Remember that Robert Mugabe, Benito Mussolini, and of course the poster boy for tyranny; Adolph Hitler were elected by a majority of the citizens in a democratic election. These are just a few examples of tyrants from the twentieth century.

Consider the lives of Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King. They liberated millions from tyranny with few casualties. They did it using the model of the One who frees us all.

The lesson is clear. The revolutionaries of the sixties have morphed into progressives and are using our good moral instincts to trick us into giving them the power to deprive us of our liberty. The sycophants of the legacy media are willingly being used to portray any opposition as racist, violent, or just plain crazy. This is reminiscent of the government and media trying to portray Dr. King and Dr. Mandela as immoral and communist.

The key is to stay focused on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the United States Constitution it inspired. We need to remember who we are and whose we are as they attempt to enslave us to their utopian vision. This vision is doomed to fail and our children will have to rebuild from our mistakes.

First we must share with our children the faith of our fathers that has brought out the best in us.

Second, we must inspire the hope and confidence in the future that comes only from the true creator of all good things.

Finally, we must be charitable in all things; for that is the true antidote to the pride and envy that is destroying us all.

1st Robin of Spring

This is my first video blog.  We shall see how it goes.  The video was taken in central Nebraska on February 27, 2010.  It was an attempt to capture the stark beauty of winter.  Everything looks cold and gray and gloomy; yet there is a surprising amount of activity and color if one just stops and looks for it.

That is true of life as well.  No matter how gloomy things appear, there is always an undercurrent of life and renewal. 

As you sit quietly and watch, it is difficult not to let your mind wander to one's worldview and current events.  The result is a new determination to fight for freedom and against tyranny.

Enjoy

Joe Stack brought dejavu all over again

President Reagan and various congressmen pledged to crack down on tax cheaters who were stealing $10 billion (or was it 20?  Maybe 120 billion) from the government. The greatest offenders, of course, were small businesses like farmers and contract engineers who use cash accounting methods. 

On a windy overcast day in February 1985 we filed our tax return.  Our accountant had determined that we owed $1100, but there was less than $100 in the checking account so he recommended we file the return without payment and wait for them to contact us.

A few days later we received a demand letter from the IRS threatening to take our 13 year old car (estimated value, $300), seize our checking account, seize our savings account (what's savings?), seize our house (negative equity), garnishe our wages (wages require a job, right?), and if that is not enough we would be put in prison. (Then you'll be sorry.)

I was standing on the lawn facing a frigid northwest wind and as I looked over the barren, frozen landscape the vision of three hots and a cot in a Federal prison was quite appealing.

I am living proof of the unlimited Grace of a loving God.  We survived this and subsequent challenges without suffering imprisonment.  Looking back; I really don't know how we did it other than guidance from He who rules the universe.

Reading the manifesto from Mr. Stack, it seems his nightmare began with the tax reform act of 1986.  He placed his faith in government and people.  He believed that justice would always be done.  Things didn't work out as he thought they should.  He reportedly was a self reliant person, a characteristic celebrated in our culture.  Unfortunately, he learned that he was weak and there was no one he would trust to lead him from his spiritual desert.  So he did what he thought he could.

There were many times when I fantasized about similar acts of violence; but thank God, the Spirit showed me a better way.

So: what are the life lessons learned from this experience?

1) Please don't ask me to canonize Ronald Reagan.

2) All governments are inherently evil.  They can't help it.  Governments are invented by people, managed by people and exaggerate all the flaws of humanity.  The God of the universe placed unique persons in a unique place in history to create a new government designed to inhibit itself through checks and balances.  We need to return to that model.

3) Nobody is qualified to adjudicate "fairness".  Nobody.  Life is unfair.  Deal with it.

4) To those whom much has been given; much will be required.  When you are blessed, reach out and share the blessing.

5) Everyone will let you down at some point.  Everyone. The truth is that you have let others down on more than one occasion.  Guaranteed.  The only One you can rely on is the Creator of all things seen and unseen.  He guides those who seek Him in a relationship of abundant life.  Guaranteed.

6) The only thing standing between you and the promised abundant life is an unforgiving heart.  Do you harbor unforgiveness?  How's that workin' out for you?  How did it work out for Joe Stack? 

The choice is yours.

The Problem with Government Spending

I was sitting in a small rural cafe one morning in 1984. The conversation turned to politics as usual. The problem is government spending and the primary culprits are women having babies and foreign aid; blah-blah-blah. I looked around the room and noted that all but three of us were collecting Social Security and we were farmers.

And so I said, "The problem with government spending is that everyone in this room is going to get a government check this year."

The youngest one jumped to his feet and invited me to continue this discussion in the parking lot.
I assumed my least threating body language and asked, "Did you sign up for the farm program?"

"Well yeah, but that's different!" he replied.

"I didn't say you don't deserve it or that it was a bad thing to do. All I said was; the problem with government spending is that everyone in this room is going to get a government check this year and that is the problem with government spending."

They changed the subject.

Twenty five years later an even larger proportion of the population is getting a government check. You need to review your sources of income before you self-righteously proclaim that you don't get government money. For example, I work for the airport and a significant part of our income is based on Federal Grants. So if that money were to disappear, a large number of jobs would disappear with it. Temporarily. At some point, the work would need to be done and the money would be found. Where does your employer get their money? Are they or the company that owns them dependent upon some government grant or business?

Have you drawn unemployment insurance, food stamps, reduced cost school lunches or breakfast?  It could be argued that earned income credit is an entitlement that contributes to massive government deficit.

I repeat, the problem with government spending is that too many people, including you and me, are getting money from the government. The President's announcement to freeze discretionary spending at the current elevated level does not solve the problem. You must reduce, cut, eliminate spending.

President Bush (41) belatedly came to the reduce spending idea at the end of his unsuccessful bid for reelection in 1992. He declared over and over; "The problem is entitlements". That is correct. Approximately 2/3 of Federal spending is on programs called entitlements. He never specified any particular entitlement spending that needed to be reduced; therefore I considered his pitch to be disingenuous. He was probably thinking about the programs that are commonly called welfare. In fact, the largest single entitlement program is Social Security. The second largest is Medicare. The third largest is Medicaid.

The current occupant (of the White House) seems to believe the best way to reduce spending on these entitlements is to control everyone's access to medical care and then use this control to ration care. Ultimately people will die prematurely thereby reducing the burden on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Full disclosure: I am 65 years old and I do NOT want the government to ration my access to health care. I do NOT subscribe to Medicare and will refuse it as long as I can. The Federal government foreclosed my retirement plan and the only pension that I have is Social Security. (Link)

There are a number of alternatives to the President's vision of our future; but you won't learn of them by reading the newspaper or watching the news on television. I learned of these alternatives by listening to talk radio and searching the internet. The following links will inform you of alternatives to spending the country into oblivion.

Wall Street Journal Rep. Paul Ryan, R-WI 'Prosperity Plan"

Taking Back our Fiscal Future (White Paper)

Doctors for Patient Care What doesn't work

Comparison of Republican vs. Democrat Health Care Plans

You are invited to share ideas you have discovered that will reduce government spending and intrusion.