.
Have you seen it? SPOILER ALERT! Redford plays a new Warden at a corrupt prison. Instead of walking in the front door wearing a suit on his first day of work, he comes in as an inmate. He quickly discovers the severity of the problem, and the uphill battle in which he would have to engage in order to stop the abuse of power that permeated that place. It’s worth a rental (or you can watch it instantly on NETFLIX right now. Go ahead, I’ll wait). Powerful stuff, right? Anyway, just so you don’t get the impression that all I do is watch reality TV and old 80’s movies, I do have a point. All of this sneaking around reminds me of the exhortation from the writer of the book of Hebrews;
I don't think the point of these verses was to have the early Jesus-followers going around hugging each other, in hopes of finding a hidden angel like some kind of lucky seat contest. The verses are matter of factly stating some facts on important matters.
1. We should love one another as family.
2. We should be hospitable to each other.
3. Some angels have been shown hospitality by some humans.
These verses contain echoes of Jesus' words from Matthew 25:13 "I was a stranger and you did not invite me in". (Editor's Note: In that same chapter, Jesus also talks about going "undercover" as a sick prisoner - Robert Redford has nothing on Jesus).
As a leader of a Church, a movement, a ministry, an organization, you never know who it is you're leading. Chances are it isn't a millionaire who will write you a check to reward your awesome leadership skills. Most likely it won't be the person who will be your leader - disguised in order to spy on your leadership qualities. But that's not to say that you aren't leading leaders. In fact, if you aren't intentionally leading people who will lead people, it could be said/blogged that you're doing it wrong, (I guess it just was). Apparently, in the early days of the Church, there were some angels who didn't act like angels, and went unrecognized. As leaders, let's be on the look out for the leaders we are leading. Just to be on the safe side, we might as well treat everyone like a leader. We don't want to be Leaders Unaware.
I can't get those beautiful old ladies from The Love Kitchen out of my head, (not that I've tried too hard). Did you see them? They were on ABC's new hit show Secret Millionaire the other night. The premise of the show is that a millionaire spends a week with some people who help OTHERS. At the end of the week, the millionaire gives these people a pretty good chunk o' change. On the first episode, three small non-profits received $40k, $30k, and $20k, and a family with a terminally ill child received $10k. The sisters who run The Love Kitchen are amazing! They should have received the whole $100k, but the Secret Millionaire didn't consult me before making her decision. The show, and the popularity of the CBS show, Undercover Boss, got me thinking about an old Robert Redford movie; Brubaker.
Have you seen it? SPOILER ALERT! Redford plays a new Warden at a corrupt prison. Instead of walking in the front door wearing a suit on his first day of work, he comes in as an inmate. He quickly discovers the severity of the problem, and the uphill battle in which he would have to engage in order to stop the abuse of power that permeated that place. It’s worth a rental (or you can watch it instantly on NETFLIX right now. Go ahead, I’ll wait). Powerful stuff, right? Anyway, just so you don’t get the impression that all I do is watch reality TV and old 80’s movies, I do have a point. All of this sneaking around reminds me of the exhortation from the writer of the book of Hebrews;
"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.
Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers,
for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Hebrews 13:1-2
I don't think the point of these verses was to have the early Jesus-followers going around hugging each other, in hopes of finding a hidden angel like some kind of lucky seat contest. The verses are matter of factly stating some facts on important matters.
1. We should love one another as family.
2. We should be hospitable to each other.
3. Some angels have been shown hospitality by some humans.
These verses contain echoes of Jesus' words from Matthew 25:13 "I was a stranger and you did not invite me in". (Editor's Note: In that same chapter, Jesus also talks about going "undercover" as a sick prisoner - Robert Redford has nothing on Jesus).
As a leader of a Church, a movement, a ministry, an organization, you never know who it is you're leading. Chances are it isn't a millionaire who will write you a check to reward your awesome leadership skills. Most likely it won't be the person who will be your leader - disguised in order to spy on your leadership qualities. But that's not to say that you aren't leading leaders. In fact, if you aren't intentionally leading people who will lead people, it could be said/blogged that you're doing it wrong, (I guess it just was). Apparently, in the early days of the Church, there were some angels who didn't act like angels, and went unrecognized. As leaders, let's be on the look out for the leaders we are leading. Just to be on the safe side, we might as well treat everyone like a leader. We don't want to be Leaders Unaware.
In related news: I have new leaders, (see A.I.M.'s 5th shot).
Lt. Colonels Stephen & Marcia Smith are the new Divisional Leaders of The Salvation Army Golden State Division. They aren't Undercover Bosses. I don't think they're Secret Millionaires. They definitely aren't prison wardens. They love Jesus, each other, and OTHERS. I look forward to serving with them. We are welcoming them officially at Camp Redwood Glen on Sunday, March 20, 2011. 5:00pm-BBQ, 6:30pm-Welcome/Installation. Feel free to come. You'll be shown hospitality whether or not we can tell how angelic you are/aren't.
Visiting Leaders: Commissioners James & Carolyn Knaggs, Territorial Leaders, The Salvation Army Western Territory.
In non-related news (except that I am related):
Happy Birthday, Stacy! "More than dreams & poetry...".
Happy Birthday, Mom! I rise up and call you "Blessed"!
In non-related news (except that I am related):
Happy Birthday, Stacy! "More than dreams & poetry...".
Happy Birthday, Mom! I rise up and call you "Blessed"!
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