Tornado

We had a tornado come through near where I live a couple of days ago.  Although we were under a "warning" and had moved away from the windows you could tell by the weather maps and looking outside that it was going to miss where we lived.  Not so just a few miles south of us where someone lost their life.

I thought as we waited out the "warning" and then the "watch," what would I have done differently if it looked like it would actually hit where we lived?  I have some water put back for emergencies, some extra batteries, flashlights, weather radio, etc., but can you really be prepared for what could easily be total devastation?  How does the mind cope with the unthinkable?

How do you prepare yourself for disaster?  Of course you can compile your "storm-kit" with things like I mentioned above, but I think there is a deeper preparation which needs to take place inside your brain and heart.  Of course, I've been writing about natural disasters, but what about those that come at you through your work, e.g. lay offs, or personal relationships, e.g. divorce?  What kind of "storm-kit" can prepare you for the unexpected?

It is interesting that Christ told his disciples of impending cataclysm but instead of urging them to hide and store up for the day of disaster, he urged them to be about His father's business of spreading the good news.  Stuff is nice, but Jesus is better.  In John 14:27 we read these words that Jesus spoke: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Sometimes, most times, I feel woefully inadequate to face the challenges of even normal days . . . and yet somehow each day comes and goes and I find I have survived.  I suspect God's grace is the cause; it is certainly NOT my own wisdom or strength or goodness.  I am as dependent upon His grace as I am upon oxygen, even more so since a lack of oxygen only kills the body.  

The Solid Rock

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

AMEN!

Creative Followership - Book Review

 Creative Followership: In the Shadow of Greatness by Jimmy Collins with Michael Cooley

I've written before about followership using Robert Kelly's breakdown in the Power of Followership (currently out of print but well worth finding and reading).  In Kelly's book, he breaks followers into categories or profiles and defines the the profiles and the characteristics of each.  One of those profiles is that of the Exemplary Follower.  The Exemplary Follower is that individual who is full engaged in their work with all that that implies.

Jimmy Collins' book is about the principles he believes will bring the Exemplary Follower into existence, although he never uses that term, nor references Kelly's book.  He lists 35 principles in two parts which define the behavior and practices of what he defines as the Creative Follower in the work setting.  This is a highly pragmatic book.  His principles attempt to define behaviors and attitudes which can position anyone to move into greater and greater roles of responsibility and ultimately leadership.

At first I was a little put off by what he had to say, but I persevered and the further I got into the book I realized that I myself had followed many of these "principles" and recognized that they did contribute to being a better follower as well as moving me into leadership responsibilities.  As I contemplated the role of this particular book in the framework of leadership development I think I would place it very early in the process.  This is the kind of book I would have liked to use in teaching my teenage children (or at least when they were teenagers) about the realities of the working world.  It is definitely the kind of book that a 20 something could benefit from, and benefit greatly . . . if.

I add the if because many, if not most, of Collins' principles are counter intuitive will automatically be rejected by most American youth of today's culture.  Principles like:

• Do What Your Boss Does Not Like to Do
• Make Your Boss Look Good
• Do It the Way the Boss Likes it Done
• The Only Real Feedback is Negative

and many others will be outright rejected before even attempting to give them a try.  That's sad because the individual who can truly become the exemplary follower, I mean Creative Follower, has tremendous potential to Lead.

So, I recommend that all parents of teenagers or youth leaders buy the book and begin the laborious process of driving this information deep into the brains of the upcoming generation.  It will be hard, and definitely not appreciated until they reach their 30s . . . but it might just save America.