The more observant and the more regular readers among you may have noticed that I have not been posting according to my usual , mid-week schedule. After four-and-a-half years, I have entered a season where the demands of career and family have required more of my attention, leaving me less time to devote to creating readable blog posts on topics I hope you’ll find interesting. I hold myself to a high standard on things like this, so publishing a post whenever I get around to it just seems wrong to me.

I don’t think it is time to quit the blog altogether, but I am going to take the next few months and not add new posts or re-post old ones. Given the circumstances, I don’t know how long of a hiatus this will turn out to be, but I do intend to resume.

During this time, I plan to focus on the needs of my family and to be more present where I am needed right now. While I’m doing this, I hope to be inspired to write on new topics and to continue the discussion to encourage you — and me — toward Thriving Authentic Masculinity.

If you’re in the habit of checking in here from time to time, please note that I have published 307 posts including this one — and some of them are really good. If you haven’t read them in a while, please enjoy them again.

I will keep the lights on here, and I will respond to comments and direct messages, so play nice ’til I get back.

If you’re a praying man, please include my family and me in your prayers. We’re in God’s hands and we are seeking His face, so ultimately we will be fine. We just need wisdom as we navigate.

So here we are with Thanksgiving about three weeks away, and Christmas about a month after that.  Whether you’re trying to make your sales quota, or trying to maintain your GPA, this point in the year seems to jam a stick in many men’s spokes.  Whatever the reason, the temptation appears this way: Why not just throw it in neutral and coast ’til the new year?

We’ve talked before about living a life of consequence so let me give you some grade A elephant chow — you cannot make your mark in life if you don’t finish strong.

Here’s my personal checklist to get and stay motivated:

Sleep — How many hours a night do I need, and how many am I getting?  It’s remarkable how much easier it is to stay motivated when you’re getting enough quality sleep.  This is one of those things where you must be present to win.  You can’t outsource it and you can’t be your best without it.  Without adequate rest, your judgment is impaired and your attention is spent trying to stay awake rather than on doing quality work.

Note that sleep researchers have determined that your brain needs that downtime to process all that great thinking you’ve been doing all day.  In a similar way, all the benefits of your exercise regimen accrue while you’re asleep. That’s right — you don’t build muscle in the gym, you build it while you’re asleep.

Depending on your age, you need between seven-and-a-half and nine hours of sleep per night for optimal health. (More than nine hours a night will shorten your life.  Seriously.)  Biologically, the sleep cycle is 90 minutes, so to be able to wake up when you mean to without feeling drugged, count back from your wake time in 90 minute blocks.  For example, since I want to get 7.5 hours of sleep and to wake up at 5:30 AM, I need to be asleep by 10:00 PM.

Naps are good — just keep them under 20 minutes.  Oh, and if you need more sleep than you’ve been getting, try turning in earlier.  Wayne Cordeiro calls that “sleeping in on the right side of the clock.”

Hydration — Am I drinking enough water?  I know coffee contains water, but your body and your brain need good old dihydrogen monoxide for you to feel like yourself.  You wouldn’t operate your car without oil in the crankcase would you?

Attitude — Am I able to see the tasks in front of me as important parts of the life and legacy I’m building?  Are they providing me with knowledge or experience I’ll be able to use later?  I have learned that I don’t always have the best vantage point to make that judgment while I’m in the middle of them.

Without a doubt there are assignments that do not seem to fit the context of your mission — and the younger you are, the less likely it is you can refuse them and live.  Strive to connect those mandatory tasks to your calling, wrap them up successfully and move on.

Anxiety —  Am I allowing fears to distract me?  When I am facing the likelihood of undesirable results or the fear of failure, I sometimes find it easier to procrastinate than to move forward.

This is the heart of it:  You and I must take authority over these fears and silence them.  Even if they seem to be the most real things in our lives, even if there is empirical evidence accompanied by 95% confidence interval statistics that predict that the thing you dread is coming true, you must run toward it to overcome it.  As Michael Hyatt says there is no failure — only learning.

Nutrition — Am I taking in enough of the right kind of foods?  You need protein and fats (yes!) to maintain muscle and brain health.  We’ll talk more about this later, but make sure you aren’t starving yourself and make sure you aren’t getting most of your calories from carbohydrates.

Exercise — Am I skipping my workouts?  Physical activity will increase your confidence, boost your mood, and bust your stress.  If you have access to a gym, make time for regular exercise.  If you don’t, do what I do — train at home.  If you outgrow a pull-up bar and a 55-lb. kettlebell, mister, I’d like to shake your hand.

Discipline — Am I considering how my actions or inaction will affect my family, my colleagues, my friends — the ones who depend on me?  Am I allocating my time,  attention, effort and money to get the outcomes I desire? I am a big believer in to-do lists as well as in Evernote for keeping track of the things I must get done.

Pro tip — For us men, testosterone is where a lot of our get up and go comes from.  Nearly everything on my checklist will affect your testosterone level for good or ill.  Look into it and stay motivated.

So how about you?  What’s weighing you down?  What are you doing to overcome it?  What did I miss on my checklist?  Add your comments below.

Each of us needs to work. Most of us have to work for economic reasons, but there are also social, emotional, and spiritual reasons that compel us to work. This need to work is on my mind because of the extraordinarily large Mega Millions jackpot (over $1.5 billion awarded on Tuesday, October 23).

If you didn’t win, are you surprised? If you didn’t play, you have a great grasp of probability. Congratulations to you all — I consider you winners because you did not have the opportunity to be ruined by acquiring wealth suddenly.

The problem with Powerball

Powerball and its cousins are all forms of gambling. While I agree that one should be free to do with his money as he pleases, at its root, gambling is a form of laziness. Instead of committing to acquiring wealth through discipline, focus, and hard work, people believe that it’s possible to jump to the front of the line by buying a lucky ticket. Of course, when the odds of winning it all are slimmer than 1:300,000,000, you can begin to understand the wisdom of the saying “Lotteries are a tax on those who are bad at math.”

The lure of easy wealth and the leisure that would follow its acquisition expose the roots of sloth — one of the seven deadly sins. This is not a good look for a nation that’s already substantially overweight.

Preying on the poor

Even worse than the undermining of initiative, state-sponsored games of chance rig the game against those least able to afford it. I believe in treating my fellow citizens like adults, but I also think it’s evil to place obstacles in the path of the blind. Let me give a quick example: I read recently that among households making less than $20,000/year, the average spent on lottery tickets is $550 per year. Although that’s less than 3% of annual household income, that’s $550 that doesn’t feed or clothe that family. Worse, since most lotteries in our part of the world were justified to pay for higher (i.e., college) education, that $550 goes to subsidize the educations of others’ children — likely the children of better-off families. Does the word injustice come to mind?

Lest I be accused of being a killjoy, let me say that I’d have a less strenuous objection if the government  — the ostensible administrators of justice — weren’t the operator of such an enterprise.

Advice from a billionaire if you do get rich quick

Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks whom you may also know from TV’s Shark Tank gave some advice to the Dallas Morning News for the holder(s) of the winning lottery numbers. You can read the entire article from Business Insider here, but here’s his advice:

• [The first thing you should do is] hire a tax attorney.
• Don’t take the lump sum. You don’t want to blow it all in one spot.
• If you weren’t happy yesterday, you won’t be happy tomorrow. It’s money. It’s not happiness.
• If you were happy yesterday, you are going to be a lot happier tomorrow. It’s money. Life gets easier when you don’t have to worry about the bills.
• Tell all your friends and relatives no. They will ask. Tell them no. If you are close to them, you already know who needs help and what they need. Feel free to help SOME, but talk to your accountant before you do anything and remember this, no one needs $1 million for anything. No one needs $100,000 for anything. Anyone who asks is not your friend.
• You don’t become a smart investor when you win the lottery. Don’t make investments. You can put it in the bank and live comfortably. Forever. You will sleep a lot better knowing you won’t lose money. “

Why I’ll never win the lottery

Listen, I voted against the lottery when my state put it on the ballot (see my reasons above), so I don’t play now because I don’t want to be a hypocrite. But Mark Cuban’s advice was so good, I had to share it with you.

Many, if not most, of you are just getting started in your careers. If so, you can expect over time to earn significantly more money than you’re making now. So think now about how you intend to manage your financial house. We’ve talked about budgeting before here, and you have also heard me quote Dave Ramsey saying “Give every dollar a job.” But think further.

When you get a raise, a promotion, or a bonus, refer to this list. I don’t think you’ll need a tax attorney any time soon, but getting some professional advice regarding handling your money wisely is like hiring an academic tutor or a personal trainer. You want somebody who knows this stuff to help you avoid injury.

Be faithful and intentional in your generosity. Our church teaches tithing and is on track to give 20% per year back to the community and the world in the form of outreach.

Back to work

In another post, we talked about how to prepare yourself for the work of the future. For now, make plans to do your best at the job(s) you have. As King Solomon said, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” – Proverbs 22:29 (ESV). There’s no reason that can’t be you, so be your own lucky ticket.

So how about you? What poor money habits do you need to unlearn? Add your comments below.

Note: This is an updated version of a post I published nearly three years ago. If you haven;t read it, it’s new to you. And if you read it back then, it’s still going to speak.

“No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.”
-1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG)

C. S. Lewis said that if we love anyone, we make our hearts vulnerable and we will get hurt. When you’re disappointed or despondent, it can feel irreversible. You can slide into depression, and if you stay there long enough, you can get stuck in despair. This is dangerous territory, because despair is the breeding ground for suicide.

You don’t know what’s over the next hill. (photo by Jon Ottosson

Why not?

Let’s start with this guidance from me: DON’T DO IT. Do I need to tell you that you should fight this temptation with everything you’ve got? Just in case you were sleeping, let me recap the basis for rejecting suicide in four points:

1. You are made in the image and likeness of God and you belong to Him.
2. God, as the giver and taker of life, instructs us to do no murder.
3. Suicide is a rejection of God and His authority through self-murder.
4. It is permanent. As in forever.

Facts and figures

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that each year more people die from suicide than from car accidents. Of those taking their own lives each year, 79 percent are men.  Since this blog is aimed at helping men become the best possible version of themselves, let’s agree that the best possible version of you starts with you alive.

Death with dignity?

Everyone faces feelings of futility at one time or another. How you deal with those feelings is everything. The main error is in assuming that you have the proper vantage point to determine whether or not your life is pointless, or whether your pain is permanent. That’s God’s turf and it’s above your pay grade.

We compound the error by isolating ourselves and fixing on the idea that, ultimately, we’re on our own. I don’t know about you, but leaving this world lonely, bitter and afraid doesn’t sound like dignity or a relief to me.

Recognize that it is a temptation

Most sins are corruptions of good gifts. And most temptations are attempts to take the easy way. Suicide is just the logical conclusion of seeking shortcuts.

What if God is using this challenging and painful season to cultivate resilience in you? What if you’re going to need it in the future to overcome the defining challenge of your family, career or ministry? And what if someone other than God is trying to neutralize your strength — by killing you —  before you ever take the field?

You realize that you have an enemy, don’t you? The devil is on a mission to steal, kill and destroy what God loves — and God loves you. If you belong to God, the evil one can’t lay a finger on you, but he will try to seduce you into opening the door and inviting him in. The way he does this is to plant an idea and get you to agree with it. If you are looking for a job and it isn’t going well, your enemy will whisper to you: “It’s no use. Nobody will ever hire you.” Internalizing this lie is like inviting the devil into your room. It’s worth investing some time in prayer to see what agreements you may have made with the devil and renounce them before God.

Suicide can’t have you if you don’t give your mind over to it. Discipline your thoughts! Count your blessings!

What to do if you’re thinking of ending it

You know this isn’t really the answer, so please do the following:
1. Wait.

2. Tell somebody. Be 100% honest. If you’ve been considering how you’d end your life, that is a big red flag. Go somewhere where you can’t be alone. Call a hotline. Call your church. Go to a hospital ER. Don’t try to gut this out by yourself.

3. If you’re on the receiving end of this kind of communication, take it seriously. Regret is expensive. Even if it seems like a joke, ask questions — and don’t let your friend be alone.

4. You may hate yourself right now, so fight for the ones who know and love you. Taking your life may solve your problem and end your pain, but what about the problems you’ll create and the pain you’ll cause for everyone you’re leaving behind?

5. Right now may suck, but right now is not forever. Things change, but you’ll never find out if you check out before you find out how good they can be.

6. We’ve talked about it before, but you must understand your purpose. Without that, you can’t understand the value of your current hardships — or what they’re preparing you for. If you know your purpose, it’s possible you can see how this emotional or spiritual valley could be useful when your purpose is closer to its fulfillment.

So how about you? What hardship are you overcoming with God’s help? And how are you cultivating resilience? Add your comments below.

Note: With the recent suicides of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, I wanted to offer this post in hopes that you who read it will avoid the temptation to give in to despair. Your circumstances do not define you — God does, and He loves you.

“Find something, found something, or fund something.” – Bob Shank

Recent news stories point to improved job prospects and increased pay to go with them. This is encouraging if you have the credentials (read: degree and/or certification) your prospective employer is looking for, but what if you don’t?

At a recent convention I attended, I heard a keynote speech that inspired this post. I’ll share more of what I learned from that talk in Part 2, but first I want to encourage you to become an entrepreneur. Instead of waiting for someone to hire you, why not start your own company and be the boss?

Let’s be clear: I’m not suggesting that you pull a Costanza and make up a Vandelay Industries. Nor am I talking about falling into the trap of turk work and setting yourself up for obsolescence. Instead, I mean that you should develop a product or service and the plan for delivering it — and then you should deliver it as profitably as you can.

When you drive one, you see them everywhere!

Make your own luck

Let’s talk about the upsides, starting with creating your own momentum and your own luck. Now before you think there’s this mystical force our there called Luck that runs parallel to God, let me clarify. What people call luck is actually the meeting of preparation and attention. When you’ve done the homework and acquired and/or mastered the knowledge of your marketplace, you’ll harness the positive power of confirmation bias. As I’ve written before, when you drive an old Volvo, you start to see them everywhere.

When you’ve developed expertise in your chosen market, you’ll see opportunities everywhere. Then, if you’re confident and diligent, you’ll pursue the more promising opportunities. And if your preparation includes the cultivation of some selling skills, you’ll close some business. Then people will consider you lucky.

One man from my hometown used to like to say that the harder he worked the luckier he got. I got it back then, and I still remember it. I also appreciate the saying attributed to Thomas Edison that goes like this: Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Be your own boss

Becoming an entrepreneur has another huge upside: you are your own boss. Unless you’re also highly self-motivated, that’s also the downside. Every day, you’re going to have to summon your motivation, your desire to get things done or they won’t get done.

By the way, this is the same skill you need to manage your career, as I discussed in this post.

But… It takes money

Yes, it’s true that you have to have some money to get started, but not as much as you may think. For most entrepreneurial enterprises, you aren’t going to need your own skyscraper and helipad — at least, not at first. Some people with landscaping businesses started with not much more than a lawnmower and a willingness to sweat. Other people have figured out how to open online stores on a shoestring budget. Web domains are very inexpensive — and there are lots of free tutorials that can help you design your website and launch your business.

Chris Guillebeau wrote a book called The 100-Dollar Startup. You may find just the idea you need there.

Be prepared to learn

There are lessons everywhere, many are free. There are online publications, podcasts, and webinars devoted to entrepreneurship. There are books on management and leadership in your public library (you do have a library card, right?). And there are local entrepreneurs who want to share what they know. But reading and discussing aren’t the only sources of lessons.

In the kicker above, I said you should expect to fail. This is because you will likely fail in your first attempts at entrepreneurship. Many times. Failure can bruise your ego, but it is also a rich mine of hard-won knowledge.

This is one reason why silicon valley types talk about failing faster. This means you should embrace the probability and learn to shrug off the sting of failure in order to acquire the lessons that will come through the failure and keep going. Author, speaker, and success coach Michael Hyatt says it this way: “In my world there is no failure — only learning.”

Success comes from good judgment…

I know I’ve quoted him before, but Arthur Jones, the eccentric creator of Nautilus Fitness equipment used to say, “Success in life comes from good judgment. Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.” I hope you see that to make your way in the world and provide for yourself and your household, you will have to endure some seasons of suck. Don’t let it throw you — you’re learning.

Congratulations, You’re a Technician

One lesson that arrived for me fairly recently was in Michael Gerber’s book Beyond the e-Myth. Gerber says that if your enterprise can’t function without your hand on it, you’re not an entrepreneur — you’re a technician. He prescribes the creation of methods and systems that will enable you to delegate the functions of and to increase the scale of your business.

A business has products and is a product

The last bit is important because in addition to having products, a business is a product in itself. If you’re truly an entrepreneur, you’ll enjoy the thrill of the launch, but become bored with the operations side of things. In that case, you’re going to have operators who can implement your systems, or you’re going to need to find a buyer who’ll operate what you’ve built. You can make money either way, but the key is to work on your business instead of just working in it..

Coming up

We’ll talk about insights I gained from that keynote address.

So how about you? What’s preventing you from becoming an entrepreneur? What do you have to lose? Add your comments below.

Note: I have linked to a couple of books on Amazon. I do not receive any compensation for doing so — these are two books I have bought and read and I am comfortable recommending them.

“Don’t be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don’t reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you’re only being cute and inviting sacrilege.” – Jesus in Matthew 7:6 (MSG)

In Part 1, I presented an unintentional review of NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar (I liked it), but faulted the original play for its failure to portray the resurrection of Jesus — his physical death and his rising form the grave on the third day. Look, I appreciate Andrew Lloyd Weber’s emphasizing the humanness of Jesus. Orthodox Christians have often glossed over His humanity and unwittingly fallen into error. At the same time, Weber over-emphasizes Jesus’ humanity, as it seems the story concludes that Jesus was a charismatic leader whom the zeitgeist promoted beyond any promise a man could keep — hence the designation, Superstar.

Horses for courses, toys for tots

If you want to learn about the nature of God and the nature of man, I submit that there are better sources of information than NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar or ABC’s airing of The Ten Commandments. I commend both works  and both networks for at least portraying these events. The shows are well-told with high production values and top-tier actors. They are by far better than the anything-for-a-buck Passover Bag of Plagues pictured here. But like these stupid so-called toys,  once you know the story in its fullness, these programs seem trivial.

In this post, I’d like to lay out just a few reasons why I believe in the resurrection of Jesus and why i believe you should too.

The evidence for the resurrection

Excuse me, but who thought this was a good idea?

Let’s start with the relevant passage from the Bible. Here’s Matthew’s gospel following his account of Jesus’ death on the cross:

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. ⁵⁹ And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud ⁶⁰ and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb.

⁶² The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate ⁶³ and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ ⁶⁴ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.” ⁶⁵ Pilate said to them, “You have a guard^[j] of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” ⁶⁶ So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he^[lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

¹¹ While they were going, behold, some of the guard went into the city and told the chief priests all that had taken place. ¹² And when they had assembled with the elders and taken counsel, they gave a sufficient sum of money to the soldiers ¹³ and said, “Tell people, ‘His disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were directed. And this story has been spread among the Jews to this day.” – Matthew 27:57-66; 28:1-15 (NIV)

Let’s start where I left off in Part 1: Despite the Jewish authorities and Roman government’s shared interest in snuffing this upstart sect, Jesus’ enemies couldn’t produce his remains. Note that the officials stationed guards — Roman soldiers — to seal and guard the tomb to prevent the disciples from stealing Jesus’ body.

Note also the rich detail we have surrounding the story. We have the name of the man who prepared Jesus’ body for burial and who placed the body in his unused tomb. And there’s more. We have the cover-up for the failure of the guards and the harsh description in the mouths of the Pharisees, calling Jesus “that impostor.” Most people seeking to burnish the reputation of a revered figure don’t include disparaging information.

Eyewitnesses to history

Elsewhere in the Bible we learn that the risen Jesus appeared to many people on multiple occasions. In 1 Corinthians 15:6 Paul the Apostle writes that Jesus appeared to over 500 people at one time. He explained that many of them were still living a the time he wrote his account, so if he were misleading or mistaken, there were people who could have –and certainly would have — contradicted him. Don’t forget that Rome actively pursued and sought to exterminate Christians in the first century and beyond. Contradictory testimony would have been valuable and would have been promoted.

Historic recency

In his book History and Christianity, John W. Montgomery explains that the gospel writers’ earliest manuscripts appeared no later than 100 AD — well within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses to the resurrection. As I mentioned, the appearance of manuscripts contemporaneous to eyewitnesses would have allowed for correction or condemnation if these manuscripts had been incorrect.

This comparatively short interval is noteworthy among ancient writings. Montgomery says that the shortest interval between the death and the appearance of the earliest manuscripts attributed to an author are those of Plato. No serious historian doubts the accuracy or authenticity of the words attributed to Plato — and the earliest manuscripts appeared approximately 800 years after his death.

You bet your life

And last, we have the eyewitnesses to the resurrection who were executed for asserting the truth of the resurrection. Sincere people will die for something they erroneously believe to be true, but no one would willingly die for something he knows is false. Consider the logic: If the resurrection were a fraud and the afterlife a hollow promise, what would be the incentive to die thereby wasting one’s one and only life?

Here’s where it gets personal

This is why it matters that Jesus died and rose again: without the Grace and pardon of God, you and I are doomed to an eternity separated from God. Each one of us was born infected with the corruption of this fallen world. God is love and He loves us, but God is also just, so He must punish sin. That’s where Jesus comes in. The sinless son of God came into the world, fully God and fully human, and lived a life of perfect obedience to the law of God. Then He took the sins of the world on Himself and allowed Himself to be nailed to the cross — an innocent man dying a criminal’s death. This is the fulfillment of the ceremonial law of Moses, the once and forever fulfillment of the Passover, and the satisfaction of the law’s legitimate claim on blood for the covering and propitiation of sin. God’s love was so great, that He allowed His son Jesus to die for you and me, to take our punishment. But it’s even better than this.

If Jesus had simply died a martyr’s death as a human sacrifice, the benefit would have had an expiration date. Instead, since the wages of sin is death, Jesus proved He had mastered and broken death forever by staying in the grave until the third day and then rising — alive. This is why the resurrection of Jesus Christ is such a big deal. We need it.

So how about you — In what ways do you agree or disagree about the importance of the resurrection? Did you believe it before? Do you believe it now? Add your comments below.

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” – Ephesians 1:17 (NIV)

Like millions of my countrymen, I spent part of Easter Sunday watching NBC’s live performance of Jesus Christ Superstar — the rock opera that tells the story of the last week of the life of Jesus. Although as a child I had listened to and had sung along with the soundtrack album enough to know the songs by heart, I hadn’t really thought about the play in a good 30+ years. Yet there I was in front of the television watching it in high definition.

What surprised me was how well it had held up musically. I was impressed with the casting choices and with the size and tightness of the band. The high point for me was the voices — kudos in particular to John Legend, Brandon Dixon, and Sara Bareilles –  and Alice Cooper as King Herod was the main reason I decided to tune in.

You knew there was a “but” coming…

It’s not a Legend: Peter and John ran to the empty tomb

(Spoiler alert: I’m going to divulge plot points and specific staging decisions for this production. Don’t get mad at me: the play has been around since the 1970’s.) But at the end, I remembered why as impressive as it was and is, “Jesus Christ Superstar” feels like a letdown: there’s no resurrection. In fact it’s worse than that. At the climax of the show, Judas, the betrayer, commits suicide offstage. We then have the scourging of Jesus and the crucifixion, followed by the truly bizarre decision to have Jesus fly into the distance while still on the cross. This is followed by the reappearance of the apparently resurrected Judas who sings the title song and the show ends.

There must be a pony in there somewhere

Because I’m an optimist, I tend to look for the pony responsible for the pile of manure. In this production, we do see Jesus again — at the curtain call. It is part of the show, but it is not part of the play. I know, I know: what’s next? Will I start yelling at kids to get off my lawn? Not for many years.

Let me explain that I defend Andrew Lloyd Weber’s artistic decision to write what he wrote about Jesus. I hope it’s clear I’m praising (see what I did there?) the artistic merit of the production at every level. And, as a social media acquaintance pointed out, we should note that NBC spent a lot of money to hire top talent to present the story of Jesus — however imperfectly — in prime time on Easter. I’m concerned about the lack of a resurrection portrayal for a different reason.

Back in my day…

In the 1970’s Americans of every faith knew the outlines of Jesus’ story — the virgin birth, the visiting shepherds and wise men, the genocidal rage of Herod, the healing miracles, the Sermon on the Mount, Palm Sunday, the crucifixion, and the resurrection. These days we can no longer assume this knowledge is a given. Let me offer one example.

NPR: Not Particularly Religious

You may have read or heard that taxpayer-funded and listener-supported NPR offered this description of Easter during a report on Good Friday:

Easter — the day celebrating the idea that Jesus did not die and go to hell or purgatory or anywhere like that, but rather arose into heaven — is on Sunday.”

If this represents the national media’s level of what Dr. E.D. Hirsch called cultural literacy, you can forgive me for being concerned about a telling of Jesus’s story that doesn’t include His physical death and a bodily resurrection.

What difference does it make?

The resurrection of Jesus is the proof that Jesus was fully God and fully man, and more — that he satisfied the claims of divine justice permanently. Without a resurrected Jesus, there’s no good news, no new covenant, no pardon for sins, and no eternal hope. So for my skeptical or hard-core atheist friends, if you want to undo Christianity, present the bones of Jesus of Nazareth and your job is done. Theories and suppositions won’t cut it.

In Part 2, I’ll elaborate on why the resurrection is so important, and I’ll outline some of the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus.

So how about you — What do you think about the resurrection of Jesus? How did you come to your conclusions? Add your comments below.

“Thank you, the phrase, ‘the greatest thing since sliced bread,’ for making me seriously wonder who’s in charge of deciding what the greatest thing is.” – Jimmy Fallon

I’m sure you received a lot of nice gifts for Christmas this year.  If you want to stand out as a man — to be the best version of yourself possible — take the time to sit down and write thank you notes to the ones who gave you those gifts.  Not only is expressing gratitude the right thing to do, sending thank you notes displays genuine old-school manners — the kind a gentleman should always show.

Take note! There will be a test later

So how about you?  In what ways do you intend to become a better note writer in the coming year?  Add your comments below.

“Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could” — Richard Rogers (“Something Good”)

“Not the Baby Jesus Play Set!”

• Making memories and sharing experiences that strengthen bonds — Recalling good times brings kind and affectionate feelings to the fore, making family dynamics more peaceful.
• Establishing and reinforcing family identity — We know and embrace our own by the practices and beliefs we share.  It’s called the family circle for a reason.
• Creating a sense of home — The songs we sing, the foods we eat together, the smells of the season are powerful reminders that there is a place in the world where you’re loved, accepted and always welcome.
• Reinforcing our values — It’s very hard to separate who we are from what we do. The things we hold in high regard become obvious according to the ways we allocate our time and resources.
• Generating stories and family lore — This is the birthplace of great tales of running jokes that go on for decades.  I suspect my sons will someday say to their children regarding the manger scenes in their homes: “It’s not the Baby Jesus Play Set!”  As you can see, not all traditions are created on purpose — that’s where those great stories come from.

• As I mentioned above, we have a crèche that we set out at the start of Advent.  It was pretty much just Jesus, Mary and Joseph at first, but over the past several years, we’ve added a new figure each year.  The Three Wise Men came as a set, though.
• We always attend our church’s Christmas Eve service.  At the service there’s a special offering for a worthwhile ministry effort and we always plan beforehand how much to give.
• For the past several years, we’ve gone out to dinner following the Christmas Eve service to enjoy a feast of Peking Duck.  Perhaps the movie “A Christmas Story” (another tradition) may have influenced this choice, but it gives our kitchen the night off before a day of heavy use.  The crisp skin of Peking Duck — and even the thought of it — makes me think of Christmas.
• When we return home following the meal, we all bring the presents we’re giving and place them under the tree.  None appear there before — it’s a tradition we’ve kept since even before we implemented The Advent Conspiracy.
• This is followed by the hanging of Christmas stockings, some photographs and — in spite of all good sense — a late bedtime.

So how about you?  What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions?  Add your comments below.

“In a multitude of people is the glory of a king,
    but without people a prince is ruined.” – Proverbs 14:28 (ESV)

Several months ago, I wrote a post on leadership titled “Lead From The Front” in which I outlined several aspects of good leadership. I hope that you’ve been putting these into practice and that you are beginning to see results. In this post, I want to touch on a couple of aspects that are more advanced, but that I regard as essential.

If you don’t start with respect, you don’t know beans about leadership.

Motivation matters

There are two main types of leadership. What separates them is the intention of the leader. The first and most common type is transactional leadership. This is primarily a sort of contract where the leader promises certain rewards or outcomes in return for specified results. Transactional leaders can be quite competent and even pleasant, but ultimately, you could replace them with a machine.

The second type of leadership is much more rare, and all the more attractive as a result. It is transformational leadership.

This type of leader goes beyond the quid pro quo of transactional leadership, seeking to accomplish his objectives while enhancing or improving the ones he leads. This can take the form of specific lessons or the cultivation of particular skills, but it can also be more spiritual or emotional. When you’re sure you’ve blown it, hearing that your leader trusts you and believes in you can help you find the resources to succeed.

I’ll say it again: a leader’s motivation has everything to do with the sort of leader he is.

Dealer’s choice

In my career, I have always had sales and selling as part of my work. Since I believe that we’re to learn as long as we live, I seek out wisdom. And some of the best sales training materials are those written by Jeffrey Gitomer. In his Little Book of Leadership he asks the reader: Are you the kind of leader people listen to because they want to or because they have to? I have always attempted to be the former.

Because this is what I want to be, I choose my attitude every day. People are not an intrusion into my work, they are the reason for my work. Also, I think of anyone under my leadership as someone who works with me, rather than someone who works for me.

The lazy man’s way to unemployment

Adam Carolla complains that a lot of modern life is spoiled by guys in windbreakers. You know the ones: These are the guys earning minimum wage who scold you at football games, look perpetually peeved, tell you you can’t go through that perfectly good door, and who always call you, “Surrr” but clearly don’t mean to show you any respect.

Why am I picking on these guys who are, at least, working? It’s because the shred of authority they’ve received has gone to their heads. They are completely transactional in their approach, they have no discretion in the application of “the rules” and they expect you to comply with depend on the authoritah of their position. Just so you know what I mean: This is not leadership. Do NOT be that guy. Even if you wear the yellow windbreaker.

Applied leadership

The secret of excellent leadership is influence, not authority. Influence enables you to lead those around you, regardless of your position on the organization chart. So how do you get this influence?

There are several facets to obtaining influence, but let’s start by agreeing that it begins with respect. You cannot influence people you do not respect. This is simply because nobody wants to follow someone who displays disrespect. Even if you don’t detect it, if you’re showing disrespect to those under your leadership, my bet is it’s mutual.

You earn influence by being your team’s greatest advocate. Coach Lou Holtz likes to say, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Show respect and back your people. Promote them. Praise them publicly. And when they need correction, administer discipline privately.

The voice of wisdom

Let’s wrap this up with some wise words from management guru Peter Drucker:

“The leaders who work most effectively, it seems to me, never say “I.” And that’s not because they have trained themselves not to say “I.” They don’t think “I.” They think “we”; they think “team.” They understand their job to be to make the team function. They accept responsibility and don’t sidestep it, but “we” gets the credit. This is what creates trust, what enables you to get the task done.”

I’m glad we had this talk.

So how about you? Where do you need to improve your leadership skills? Who is the best leader you’ve ever had? Add your comments below.