Straight and Crooked – Part One

Weekly Thought – December 15, 2015

Fred once commented he liked to do “crooked thinking on the straight and narrow.” He highly respected the body of Christ and refused to take pot-shots at the church, even when offered opportunities by high ranking intellectuals. Leadership Journal published an article entitled Straight Answers in a Crooked Age which gave Fred a platform to express his quest for intellectual integrity in Christian leadership. We will do a series which covers all his points in coming weeks.

Straight and Crooked – Part One

Several years ago, I was talking with a former fundamentalist who had left the ministry to enter politics. I realized how far he had strayed from fundamentalism when he said, “You know, Smith, I respect your intelligence. How in the world can you still believe in authority of Scripture?”

I knew he would argue against a rational defense, so I took a different tack. “At one time in my life, I thought about taking your position because there was so much in the Bible I found distasteful. But then I realized it was my distaste rather than my disbelief that was causing the problem. I didn’t want to believe the parts of Scripture that commanded my actions. I didn’t want to lose control of my life making obedience more important than knowledge.”

He didn’t change his mind, but I think he went away respecting the fact that intellectual integrity could make you submit to Scripture.

Since then I’ve done more thinking on the subject. If I remove the portions of Scripture I dislike, and five of my friends do likewise, the six of us could pretty well scrap the whole book through our distaste for obedience, our rebellion against authority, and our worship of knowledge.

I know myself well enough to know I’m not God-like enough to be that authoritative. Honesty compels me to accept the authority of Scripture.

Intellectual integrity, however, is not abundant in the Christian community. In fact I find more of it in business than I do in religion. There’s a simple reason: business uses the language of figures. Politics, religion, and education don’t lend themselves to bottom line evaluation.

I will throw out several areas which are troublesome and later we will cover them in depth: 1) Spiritualizing the non-spiritual; 2) Operating from spiritual platitudes; 3) Confusing creatures of God and children of God; 4) Transposing knowledge and faith; 5) Policing the church, positively and negatively; 6) Turning reality into ritual and forced disciplines; 7) Setting the bar too low; 8) Pushing theology into boxes.

Humility is still the surest way to genuine intellectual integrity.

This week think about: 1) Where are my struggles with integrity? 2) Who best knows my soft spots? 3) What am I doing to grow into a whole person?

Words of Wisdom: “Honesty compels me to accept the authority of Scripture.”

Wisdom from the Word: “The one who conducts himself in integrity will live securely, but the one who behaves perversely will be found out.” (Proverbs 10:9 NET Bible)

Sin Talk

Weekly Thought – December 8, 2015

Fred, during one of his hospital stays, called a number of friends to say goodbye. As expected these were emotional conversations. Fred ended each one with an expression of affection, adding “remember I am just a sinner, saved by grace.”

The teams are forming for the 2016 BWFLI schedule. The campus venues are coming together. And, throughout the process, we are trusting God for providential work. If you want to help us financially, we will be most grateful.

Sin Talk

We are so afraid of minimizing sin we find it difficult to accept forgiveness for fear we will begin to enjoy sinning. We set up the test of a Christian as one who sins, but does not enjoy it. “He cannot continue in sin” is how we perceive mature Christians. But for how long? Does the remorse hit immediately or is it delayed? Is the penalty of sin sudden death like lightning strikes?

We fail to see the change of attitude toward past sin and future sin. Our gratitude for grace is evidenced in our attitude toward future sin. If we adhere to the “sin that grace might increase” school of thought, we accept grace as a bromide for the morning after sickness of sin. If we accept grace as the only answer for our sin, then we realize how limited we are in our ability to truly handle sin. Only grace gives us hope for a different outcome as we mature in Christ. But it is a gift, not an achievement. If we couldn’t save ourselves initially, then we certainly can’t resave ourselves. And sin doesn’t mean loss of salvation – that is what grace is about.

We try to minimize the power of sinning by creating guilt over the past so it will cloud our future. We deny that those who have sinned have accomplished any happiness following their repentance from sin. We are so afraid someone will get by with sinning we take away the full affect of repentance. There are some who foolishly feel they are denied some sins, but feel they can make up for it with other varieties. That just doesn’t sense.

I once spoke for a friend at her one year mark in Alcoholics Anonymous. I used a phrase she shared with me… “the joy of sobriety.” She said she couldn’t stay sober by trying to avoid drinking. When she came to understand the joy of sobriety, she turned a corner. Sin is like that. When we try to grit our teeth and live the Christian life, we are prone for failure. Only when we realize the joy of grace do we start understanding why sin has lost some of its magnetic pull.

When our children were little we took them to evangelistic meetings where men and women like Johnny Spence and my friend Gert Behanna shared their testimonies. Frequently I doubted the value of displaying the gory details before our young children. Too many got caught up in the “I had everything the world had to offer” talk and failed to properly demonstrate the changed life.

I thankfully acknowledge I am a sinner saved by grace. And I focus on the grace, not the sin.

This week think about: 1) How do I think about sin? 2) What does grace really mean to me? 3) Who demonstrates the quality of graciousness living?

Words of Wisdom: “Only when we realize the joy of grace do we start understanding why sin has lost some of its magnetic pull.”

Wisdom from the Word: “What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (Romans 6: 1,2 NET Bible)

Mentoring Moments

Weekly Thought – December 1, 2015

Fred collected ideas the way some assemble sports memorabilia, or pictures of themselves with famous people. He thought constantly and captured these bursts on a tape recorder then transcribed by Margie Keith. This week the email features these explosions on the subject of mentoring. They are not in paragraph form, but certainly a format which leads to cohesive application.

December signals the end of the year for BWF and BWFLI. It also welcomes the beginning of our academic planning season. Thank you for your consistent support through prayer, words of encouragement, and financial giving. Please remember us in your year-end donations if led. Bless.

Mentoring Moments

1) A mentor helps a person have an accountability, a measure for accomplishment, and a clarity of purpose by having them review to you what they are trying to accomplish – not what you want for them to achieve.

2) The most difficult area to mentor is character. Yet this is where most of the failures are. I have rarely seen anyone fail for lack of training, but many times for lack of character.

3) A mentor helps another identify constructive strengths and destructive weaknesses, then focus on the strengths while bolstering the weaknesses.

4) A mentor is a counter-balance. I like to think of myself as the tail on the kite of high flyers.

5) A mentor differentiates between where the person is and where they want to go by always trying for a higher standard.

6) The mentor helps develops the reflexes by instituting habits and reviews.

7) The mentor is not a monitor. Someone can stand in the gym and look in the mirror to monitor progress. The mentor assists in the process, and doesn’t just reflect it.

8) The mentor helps in the clarification of spirit, mood, and intent.

9) It is not the mentor’s job to create desire.

10) A mentor should expose fantasy to avoid kidding oneself or rationalizing.

11) You turn to a mentor after you learn the fundamentals. He may return you to the basics, but it’s the teacher’s responsibility for the rudiments and the mentor’s to coach you to acquire the expert skill in the use of them.

12) If someone were to come to me and ask me what I could do for them, I would probably say, “Nothing” because I refuse to take the responsibility for doing for them what they can do for themselves.

This week think about: 1) Which thought applies to me right now? 2) How can I further develop this thought to be helpful? 3) Who is mentoring me and who am I mentoring?

Words of Wisdom: “A mentor is a counter-balance… a tail on the kite.”

Wisdom from the Word: “And entrust what you heard me say in the presence of many others as witnesses to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well.” (2 Timothy 2: 2 NET Bible)

Power

Weekly Thought – November 24, 2015

Fred believed gratitude was one of the most important emotions. He believed strongly in his admonition to “never lose the good of a bad experience.” To the very end of his life he expressed thanks to all, especially to his heavenly father.

We at BWF are profoundly grateful for you. May this Thanksgiving allow you a moment to stop and reflect on the blessings on our great God and Father.

Power

Any schoolboy with a B average can chant Lord Acton’s cliche: “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Power gets a bad name and a bad rap. For all its addictive effects on many, power itself is a neutral instrument. Its morals have to be measured by the use to which it is put. It simply energizes.
Power rises from the spirit of the bearer.

I’m credited with original authorship on the story of the artificial fish which is a metaphor now widely quoted among Christians. It is an expression of the power of the spirit. If you put a live fish in a pool of artificial fish, everybody notices the difference immediately. The authentic spirit of the living fish stands out in contrast to the lump of plastic which forms the others. One after another, people marvel at the movement of the living fish which is doing what it was meant to do.

There are fewer situations which demonstrate the effect of power than retirement. The measure of the executive’s motivation becomes clear. Was the power for personal acclaim and acceleration or for the benefit of the organization? The self-serving conniver has to wear title as armor and power as sidearms.

Associates never want to see this person again after the obligatory retirement party. Some of the worst are the most vulnerable to vindictiveness once disarmed by loss of title and position. Rare is the executive who lives in such a way that colleagues miss the person more than the function.

A senior executive facing retirement asked me what to expect. I quickly answered, “No one will return your phone calls.” The “yes, sir” attitude is attached to the position, not to the person. Retirement awakens the realization of power’s privileges.

But, walking away from the position also provides the opportunity to create authentic relationships. And also, to understand the true power – that of the Spirit. We also can focus on our unique gifts and nurture genuine, appropriate personal power not based on title, but on contribution.

This week think about: 1) What is my power base? 2) How can I develop my gifts beyond title or position? 3) What creates gratitude today?

Words of Wisdom: “Rare is the executive who lives in such a way that colleagues miss the person more than the function.”

Wisdom from the Word: “And he displayed great power and awesome might in view of all Israel.” (Deuteronomy 34:12 NET Bible… speaking of Moses)

Turbulent Times

Weekly Thought – November 17, 2015

Fred spoke to the San Angelo, Texas initial Prayer Breakfast in the 1990s. The local newspaper covered it and the article by Ron Durham captures his thinking so well, it is repeated as this week’s thought. Fred spoke to prayer gatherings from coast to coast, offering his distinctive style of Christian thinking from a businessman’s perspective.

Fred’s thoughts are most pertinent to today’s troubled environment.

Mark Modesti, member of the BWFLI team, as well as the BWF Project, Inc. board recently presented at the TED/UPS talks. Click here to hear his wise and challenging words on “Trouble.”

Turbulent Times

Despite indications that the nation is in the Dark Ages morally, there are enough true believers acting out their commission as “the light of the world” to prompt optimism, Dallas businessman Fred Smith told a local audience Thursday.

The remarks from Fred Smith, an author and inspirational speaker, were received enthusiastically by the approximately 600 people attending San Angelo’s version of the National Prayer Breakfast.

Prayer is “a relationship that unites us instead of a doctrine that divides us,” Smith said. At another point he noted that “moral problems spiritual solutions.”

Acknowledging that “these are turbulent times because we are between Christian and non-Christian time,” he compared the situation to a trapeze artist leaving the swing and tumbling through the air reaching for the other swing.

Citing others who agree that the nation is in moral decline, Smith referred to Russian dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s comment that “the Ten Commandments have become the Ten Suggestions.” He then observed that the culture’s materialistic bent only points to “a hole in the soul,” and that “many people have means but very little meaning.”

On the brighter side, Fred Smith cited ministries from inner city Seattle to the nation’s prison to professional sports to indicate a basis for optimism. And he told of people who have said, “I want to move my life from success to significance.”

Smith posed a blunt challenge to members of churches and synagogues to live up to the claims of their faith, noting a recent survey that indicated only 10 % of church and synagogue members show any significant difference in lifestyle.

Smith has served on more than 20 boards, including Cummings, Inc, Word, Inc, Youth for Christ International, and the Zig Ziglar Corporation. He currently serves on the Christianity Today, Inc. board. He holds two honorary doctorate of law degrees.

This week think about: 1) What is my response to our turbulent times? 2) How am I maximizing faith and minimizing fear? 3) What would be my message to a prayer breakfast?

Words of Wisdom: “Many people have means, but very little meaning.”

Wisdom from the Word: “God is our strong refuge; he is truly our helper in times of trouble.” (Psalm 46:1 NET Bible)

Notes on Aging – Part Two

Weekly Thought – November 10, 2015

Fred’s desire to finish well caused him to think about the process. He refused to cruise into his senior years without serious thinking. His thoughts help all of us prepare for the later years. His wife, Mary Alice, maintained a youthful outlook. In her late 80s she finally allowed others to consider her elderly.

Visits to Asbury University, Lindsey Wilson College, Alice Lloyd College, and Greenville College signal the beginning of the activities for 2016 and 2017. Thank you for praying as work is underway.

Notes on Aging – Part Two

The psychologist Erik Eriksen wrote of moving deterioration to the periphery. This has been extremely helpful for me. It keeps me from bemoaning what I used to be able to do and focus on what is left. The core of my being is founded on the indestructible so that never changes. Things like physical disabilities, lack of mobility, and restricted social engagements all get pushed out to the sides. My gifts, my focus on the significant, the strengthening of relations – all these remain alive and well. My uniquenesses never change – just the way I operate does.

In aging I have found several activities I would recommend:

1) Express love. My Mother taught me the importance of touch in older age. Other friends showed me how critical it is to stay in touch. I always tell those who call, “Keep me in the loop.” One aspect of love you wouldn’t ordinarily expect is the freedom to express fear. Love is an outward motion, desiring the best for the other person.

2) Establish disciplines – It is easy to slide into schedules with no routine. I find it key to stay in regular contact with friends; to get dressed every day; to do all I can to maintain my health; and to keep my mind active through reading, thinking, and conversations.

3) Clarify the reputation – “Finishing Well” has always been a high priority. I want my last days to be ones of contribution and productivity. I don’t want to be a selfish old man.

4) Develop new interests – One of the areas I have appreciated in my older age is intercessory prayer. More and more people ask me to pray for them. I guess they think I am getting closer and closer to heaven so I must have more clout. But I find my physical immobility allows me spiritual mobility.

5) Maintain family traditions – As one who is challenged by holiday traditions I still see the value of bringing the family together and observing activities which become “Smith stories.” Mary Alice shared recipes with the women in the family and in doing so passed down her legacy.

6) Be realistic in regard to self – Older age is no time to try to run the sprint you missed in the mid-forties. Focus on the strengths and do not spend time trying to turn weaknesses into strengths. Understand limits without regret. See the value of each season.

7) Discuss final plans with counselors and especially with family – Let your family members know what your wishes are. Do good planning to avoid hardships and hard feelings.

This week think about: 1) Which of the seven particularly jumps out at me? 2) How can I plan to finish well? 3) What wisdom should I be passing on right now?

Words of Wisdom: “Put the deterioration to the periphery.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Even when you are old, I will take care of you, even when you have gray hair, I will carry you. I made you and I will support you; I will carry you and rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4 NET Bible)

Notes on Aging – Part One

Weekly Thought – November 3, 2015

Fred thought a lot about aging and humor, wanting to write books on each topic. Nothing was published but his notes provide us with great insight. This week we will dip into his collection of ideas accumulated eleven years before he died.

Planning has begun for Lindsey Wilson College, Alice Lloyd College, Asbury University, and Palm Beach Atlantic University. The year of 2016 is fully booked. Please pray for those who will be on the teams, the school steering committees, and the BWF board which leads these efforts. If you can, we would greatly appreciate your financial support. We do not charge the schools for these outstanding events. Each team member receives no honorarium, and provides transportation. However, there are many costs associated with this effort. We are totally dependent upon donations for our on-going ministry.

Notes on Aging – Part One

I’m for aging – slowly, if you please. I asked an older friend which period of life he would have liked to live, he said, “As far into the future as possible.”

I started aging Sept 1, 1915; on the back of my birth certificate is my death certificate.

Life divides into two groups: those who are aging, and those who are not: those who are aging are breathing. I am convinced you can get older without getting old.

Make a list of helpful activities for older age: 1) act as glue for the family; 2) mentor by shifting from a power position to wisdom; 3) teach; 4) encourage; 5) stay in touch through exchange of clippings, letters, calls; 6) develop intercessory prayer; 7) maintain a right attitude – stay timely, appropriate, and participatory.

Make sure to understand a good philosophy will get you to the grave, but it takes a good theology to get you through the grave.

Strive for more of God and less of me.

Prepare for old age – start early: 1) create unique and meaningful relationships; 2) make sure to have good memories; 3) develop a network broader than occupation; 4) strengthen networking skills – know people who know people.

Weed out cynicism. A cynic would ride through a sewer in a glass-bottomed boat! Not a good way to spend old age. Work to eradicate resentment, jealousy, fear, and paranoia.

Finish well – finish with a flourish. Script your last chapter but leave your hands open to the Author.

This week think carefully about: 1) How well am I aging? 2) Where do I need to do more prep? 3) What aspects of my foundation are the strongest? weakest?

Words of Wisdom: “A good philosophy will get us to the grave but a good theology will see us through the grave.”

Wisdom from the Word: “You must stand up in the presence of the aged, honor the presence of an elder, and fear your God. I am the Lord.” (Leviticus 19:32 NET Bible)

Paralysis of Perfection

Weekly Thought – October 27, 2015

Fred was the master of duct tape . The house and garage bore witness to his creativity and “temporary fixes.” He knew, however, when to focus on a problem to a permanent solution. His ability to prioritize enabled him to accomplish much.

As you consider your year-end giving, would you think about BWF Project and the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute? We received a financial gift with the following note: “We always look forward to Tuesdays because that means Breakfast With Fred.” We so appreciate your prayers, notes, and support.

Paralysis of Perfection

Perfectionism does not work well in the imperfect realm of human organization. Any leader who insists on a goal his people cannot attain is foolish. The true perfectionist has a hard time seeing any job all the nothing at all. Psychologists find perfectionism is often a defense mechanism for those who fear failure.

Or to do nothing worth doing. There was an old torch song with the words, “All or nothing at all.” That is unhealthy in relationships and especially in the leadership of people and organizations.

Scholars can narrow their range of study to the point of obscurity. In becoming an authority on the finest points reduces the opportunity for broad recognition of mistakes. The sadness in this is that some of our superb academic minds become experts in areas that limit their application and general usefulness.

An executive’s aim is progress, not perfection. Zero-defect is an idea that years ago became a wasteful management fad. Not many organizations can afford the enormous cost in effort, money, and talent. To move from 99.44% to 100.00% wasn’t even worth it for Ivory Soap!

Since the proper measure of an executive is productivity through the economical use of resources (human and material), the ideal of perfection is counter-productive.

A friend owned a company which demanded excellence from all its employees. One project became excessive in its search for faultless performance. Finally, the CEO stepped in to say, “You are striving for a level of excellence that makes no sense… you are wasting my time, man hours, and affecting my profitability.” Excellence and perfection are not synonymous.

In the parable of the talents, Christ pointed out the management problem of perfectionistic paralysis. The one talent servant who did nothing because he was afraid to do the wrong thing was the forebearer of today’s cautious perfectionists in executive ranks.

This week think about: 1) When do I use perfectionism as an avoidance technique? 2) Where would a little duct tape suffice? 3) What helps me distinguish between excellence and perfectionism?

Words of Wisdom: “Excellence and perfection are not synonymous.”

Wisdom from the Word: “But he said to me, ‘My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9 NET Bible)

Color of Inner Credit

Weekly Thought – October 20, 2015

Fred’s bride of 67 years would have been 100 on Sunday of this week. They met in seventh grade English class, but didn’t date until they both graduated from Hume-Fogg High School in Nashville, TN. In those days many scamps called it Human Frog! Her devotion to Fred lasted until her last breath. On this day in 2004 just weeks before her death, she turned to him in their side by side hospital beds, looked at him and said, “You are a good looking boy!”

Please continue to pray for the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute as the 2016 and 2017 planning begins. The ability to begin conversations and create connections is a very real mission. Thank you for your encouragement.

Color of Inner Credit

Texas is my adopted home state. I was raised in Tennessee but gravitated toward the Lone Star state through business (“bidness” to Texans) and Focus Weeks on Baptist campuses. I discovered personalities as big as the hats.

My friend Vivian Mead regaled all of us with stories of growing up in West Texas. Her tales of driving people off the sidewalks seemed perfectly natural.

An anonymous friend was a devoted hunter and ended up with a rather balding old lion after a hunt. His wife ordered a wig and had it fitted on the thinning mane.

Colorful personalities are a tangible asset. I have known many businessmen who borrowed against them. But without an equivalent character, color fades. Too many attempt great efforts with only flashy styles without waiting for the slower methods. This creates a hollowness.

One successful Texas told me, “I had the ability to borrow money before I had to ability to make it.” He said he would have missed out if his profit performance justified the money he needed. He had the talent to bring color and productivity together, but not all do. In Texas they have an apt expression: “He is all hat and no cattle!” This is color without anything to back it up.

I found in Eastern corporations the wide open, personality-driven style created wariness. The “Howdy, podner” was a novelty, but often questioned. The genuine articles won over the skeptical, but the ones who tried to ride in on nothing but personality soon found a cold reception.
Colorful personalities are noticed more quickly than others. But there has to be substance – there has to be some cattle to back it up. I enjoy the bold brashness of my southwestern friends, but I also respect the effort they make to be real.

This week carefully consider: 1) Who are my colorful friends? 2) How much of what I do is personality driven? 3) What can I do to develop depth?

Words of Wisdom: “Colorful personalities are a tangible asset.”

Wisdom from the Word: “He commanded them: ‘Carry out your duties with respect for the Lord, with honesty, and with pure motives.’” (2 Chronicles 19:9 NET Bible)

Ego Capital

Weekly Thought – October 13, 2015

Fred valued the gifts of others. He spent time thinking about his friends and colleagues, considering ways to grow them – or as he said, “stretch others.” He understood his own gifts, but was not concerned with his own ego-centered footprint.

The BWFLI Prayer Network is beginning this month. Our single purpose is to lift up Christian institutions of higher education. We commit to be gap-standers holding them up before our Father God. If you want to join this group, receiving monthly emails please send your name and email address to brenda@bwfli.com

Ego Capital

Folk singer Joan Baez talked on television about American friends who had too much “psychological investment” in socialism to be able to criticize any left-leaning government, no matter how cruel.

Each group finds themselves invested so deeply they are committed often to a logical fault. Many a capitalist is obviously corrupted by wealth – by investment in that system. The intellectual gets corrupted by Marxism or Liberalism or Secular Humanism. The years spent acquiring the knowledge becomes personal, portable property. Each becomes protective of a position where notoriety has been gained. We become immovable at times because our egos are invested.

Sadly, we can confuse our personal interests with the objective truth.

I was once so unkind as to ask a doctors’ group what their reaction would be to a universal pill capable of curing all diseases without any bad side effects. Some laughed. Others questioned the practicality. But others suggested it should be researched until after their retirement. They had a great deal of ego invested in the current system.

I am convinced many leaders hold to thinking which is counterproductive for their organizations because it embodies their ideas, their methodologies, and their histories.

When asked to consult in business conflicts my first statement is “Follow the egos.” Undoubtedly, this will lead to the source of the trouble. I am not suggesting this results in resolution, but it does uncover the headwaters of the quarrel.

Ego, like stress, can be positive and negative. Certainly nothing is accomplished without the clear sense of self. But the pollution of the purpose by the desire for personal gain corrupts. A leader must know his/her gifts and operate from strength. But the true leader disciplines the ego, using the gifts to guide the organization.

This week think about: 1) Where am I allowing my ego to throw me off track? 2) How can I look at myself objectively? 3) What does a disciplined ego look like?

Words of Wisdom: “When asked to consult in business conflicts my first statement is ‘Follow the egos.’”

Wisdom from the Word: “For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith.” (Romans 12:3 NET Bible)

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