Weekly Thought – August 23, 2016

Fred’s reputation for principle-based thinking continues on as part of his living legacy. His gift for understanding the way things operate and people think gave him great opportunities for his unique contribution.

Please pray for our fall BWFLI schedule. Our teams are diligently preparing for Asbury University and Palm Beach Atlantic University. Peter McNally will be the chapel speaker at Asbury and Steve Brown will challenge the students at Palm Beach Atlantic University.

Principal-Based Thinking

While the book of Proverbs says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” it does not give us a clear and succinct definition of wisdom. Personally, I think of it as the “knowledge and use of divine principles.” As Einstein said, “I want to think God’s thoughts after Him. To me, that is wisdom. Too many make the transition from data to information to knowledge, but fall short of the final step: wisdom.”

The understanding of divine principles is often conceptual and not always captured in chapter and verse. A fine example is the comment from my friend Ray Stedman: “My entire life changed when I realized God is for me.” This encapsulates the principle of God’s love for us.

The first step is acquiring knowledge. My good friend Jack Modesett, Jr. said, “My time at Princeton became enjoyable and profitable when I discovered learning was fun.” He has carried this attitude over into his Bible teaching where he thoroughly enjoys exploring the mysteries of God. Knowledge of God is exciting to Jack.

Another helpful principle: “God will not do for me what I can do for myself and He will not let you do what only He can do.” That is probably my paraphrase, but it has served me well. The Bible is replete with examples of taking the first step. He enables us, but also expects us to use the power He provides.

Oswald Chambers gave me a principle which serves me well during this season of disability. “God will not give you strength to overcome, but strength as you overcome.” Again, I am convinced God gives us the ability to take action. A friend called to ask how I was doing with my physical limitations. He bemoaned my handicaps. I put this principle into practice by responding: “I am not handicapped – I am delightfully dependent.”

What a treasury of wisdom we have in the saints who have gone before us. They point us toward God’s Word as the authority and the true source of wisdom. When we walk in obedience we understand the depth and reality of His divine principles. Fear is the beginning; obedience is the end.

This week think about: 1) Where do I need wisdom this week? 2) How can I grow in obedience? 3) What measures am I using to indicate wise decisions?

Words of Wisdom: “God won’t do for us what we can do for ourselves and He won’t let us do what only He can do.”

Wisdom from the Word: “God gave Solomon wisdom and very great discernment; the breadth of his understanding was as infinite as the sand on the seashore.” (1 Kings 4:29 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – August 9, 2016

Fred’s belief in rhythm was well-known to his friends. He eschewed the philosophy of “every day and every day I am getting better and better.” He held to the belief of seasons and periods which allowed for growth and assimilation. He called them plateaus.

Please continue praying for the Breakfast With Fred Leadership Institute as the two fall events are coming in September and October. Gratitude is certainly felt for those who stand with us.

Pit Stops

Sound development requires a program that provides plateaus in which our information is turned into knowledge through experience and then another climb. Personal growth is not a series of nonstop climbs. Plateaus allow for assimilation before starting the next ascent. Each person has his or her own pattern and must become adept at reading their graph of climbs and plateaus. Those who try to go up too fast either run out of steam or poorly assimilate their experiences. They develop hollow spots.

All of life doesn’t evenly and systematically move through the pattern. From a distance, a graphed line may look like a consistent incline. However, when studied up close, the viewer sees it is a pattern, up, down, and flat places. The macro view often looks different from the micro experience.

We have natural divisions in our life, such as family, career, spirit, finances, emotions, friends, acquaintances, and physical health. A friend of mine who consults with executives on personal development likens these segments of life to subsidiaries of a corporation. Each one “reports” quarterly to the individual who monitors and supervises the performance of each.

I like to think of the divisions as interrelated but distinct in their focus. Clearly, each has its own particular life cycle of climbs and plateaus. Therefore, it is important to track all areas of our life and keep time tables charted for each. As we undertake this exercise, we can measure the condition of each division. I do not attempt to have each area in the same mode. Ideally, each has its season for climbs and plateaus. For example, when one is climbing in one’s career, energy and positive stress are redirected to that subsidiary. To strive with equal energy and focus to each of the other areas hoping for marked climbs is asking for burnout and poor production.

Understanding the syncopation of life’s development rhythm keeps us in sync with progress.

This week consider: 1) What are the major areas of focus for me? 2) Which area of my life is receiving the greatest attention toward climb mode right now? 3) How am I avoiding burnout?

Words of Wisdom: “To strive with equal energy and focus to each of our life areas, hoping for marked climbs in each is asking for burnout and poor production.”

Wisdom from the Word: “For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this way: ‘And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.’”(Hebrews 4:4 NET Bible)

Fred seriously considered the use of his time and energy, especially as his physical condition deteriorated. He carefully weighed each activity, measuring the “emotional output” each required. His wise use of time and resources enabled him to be productive to the very end of his life.

Powered Up

We are always warned by the electric company to avoid overloading the circuits. This is right, although I noticed that I have six plugs on one outlet, there is no potential danger because I only use one thing at a time. Each one alone doesn’t come close to maxing out the circuitry. We get in overload trouble by using more than one or two – that maxes it out.
The same thing happens in our lives. We get overloaded by having too many demanding involvements, emotional experiences, or commitments of time all at once. When we do so, we blow a fuse. It isn’t how many connections you have on a circuit; it is how much potential there is for an overload. Sometimes we can take on multiple activities so long as none of them requires too much or is plugged in simultaneously with too many other demands. When they compete for our energy current, we are in danger.

We draw different amounts of current depending on the emotional output require by any particular commitment. I used to speak to very large audiences, and it took practically no energy because the input was matched by the output. If there had been no positive input, such friendly reactions, laughs, agreements, interest, and so on from the audience, it would have take a great deal more output from me.

The power draw is not static. There are times when it takes much more energy to complete a task or go through an experience. I find my physical and spiritual condition greatly affect the flow. When I try to overreach in a weakened condition, I run out of energy more quickly. And when I am feeling the current strongly, I accomplish the tasks with less energy cost.

You must reach a balance where the amount that you give and the amount that you receive are equivalent – a zero sum game. We burn out when we are not sharing the energy load in the task, whether intellectual, emotional, physical, or spiritual. It is not the number of tasks, but the net energy required that determines the point of overload.

This week think about: 1) What draws power from me? 2) What gives me energy? 3) How do I measure the give and take in order to stay balanced?

Words of Wisdom: “It is not the number of tasks, but the net energy required that determines the point of overload.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Now the Lord energized Elijah with power; he tucked his robe into his belt and ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.” (1 Kings 18:46 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – July 26, 2016

Fred’s ability to distill information into memorable wisdom bites. Most people who knew him quickly remember beneficial phrases. He called them “one-liners.” We now call them “Fred Saids.” This week’s thought features one of those well-known pithy statements: ritual versus reality.

Uncovering the Meaning

I recently had an interesting discussion about ritual versus reality, recognizing ritual was originally established to perpetuate reality. However, we humans have a tendency to keep the ritual and let the reality slip away. Theologically, this may be a subtle attempt on our part to put ourselves in control of what is actually divine.

When we do this, we feel free to augment the ritual to please ourselves. This way we can make the ritual so elaborate that it becomes what we would want it to be if we were God… not bearing much resemblance to the sandals and seamless robe exemplified by Jesus.

Often I have asked husbands if they still kiss their wives as they leave for work. Almost indignantly, they will say “yes, of course.” I usually then ask them if they have ever considered the difference between the first kiss on the honeymoon, and the one they now give each morning. The first one was probably a pretty mushy one – even a double dip! The husband might have even thought about calling in sick! Now his wife gets a little peck as he hurries through the door on the way to the car. Occasionally, they may even miss, but at least they tried – and the ritual goes on, while the reality suffers.

Then we ask: “Should vacant ritual be discarded?” Not at all. We need, instead, to return the reality to the ritual.

When I was chairman of the Youth for Christ board I asked a young man why they were trying to destroy the traditions of the church with contemporary music and casual dress. He replied, “Mr. Smith, we are not trying to destroy the traditions of the faith, but we’re not willing to perpetuate them without the experience that created them.”

Excellent answer and well said. Let’s uncover the ritual to discover the reality.

This week think about: 1) What rituals have I bought into and lost the reality? 2) How can I bring more meaning to my daily activities? 3) When does status quo hinder fellowship?

Words of Wisdom: “We humans have a tendency to keep the ritual and let the reality slip away.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty, deceitful philosophy that is according to human traditions and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” (Colossians 2:8 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – June 7, 2016

Fred loved cars. He understood them and treated them with great care. It is not surprising, then, that he used them as an illustration of principles. One of his bucket list items was being “in the pit” at the Indy 500. While working as a consultant for Mobil he enjoyed fulfilling this wish and meeting Sam Hanks.

Thank you for your interest in our campus work. Keep praying for us. And sign up for the BWFLI Prayer Network as we lift up specific requests monthly.

Avoiding the Up and Down

So many people live their emotional life like a yo-yo, going from high to low and back again. A Sufi parable alleges that a powerful king challenged his wise men to create a ring for him that would bring stability to his reign. The sages put their heads together and came back with a gold ring engraved with the phrase, “This, too, shall pass.” We need to realize that this motto applies to all of us, as well. When our children were young, Mary Alice often repeated those words when some teenage trauma seemed to bring total disaster.

As we mature, we learn to lengthen our emotional wheelbase. We take the bumps with less jolting. I often tell people to think of themselves as a Rolls Royce limo, rather than a VW bug. When you go over the bumps almost simultaneously the jarring is far greater than having a period (however short) of recovery before hitting the bump again. Our grandchildren perfectly illustrate this. One minute they are smiling and the next they are crying when something doesn’t go their way. Soon that moment is forgotten and they are happy again. That is a bumpy ride for their parents.

This realization brings equilibrium to our life. I find pessimists extrapolate the bad too far into life and the hyper optimist extrapolates good too far. Time and opportunity change conditions, so that Smith’s maxim says, “Extrapolate objectively.”

Whatever our condition, we need to keep in focus what we are trying to accomplish. An aim without a target is worthless. Part of keeping focus is to keep the machinery well oiled. To me, this means developing a sense of humor. I see some people running around with excessive heat who are doing damage to the engine simply because they don’t have that little shot of oil which dissipates the heat. I am convinced there is no better lubricant for life than a sense of humor.

Yo-yos are good for children and for friends like Bunny Martin who as the Duncan World Champion traveled the world. But yo-yo lives are not productive for most adults. In fact, they make even the most sure-footed sea sick.

This week think about: 1) What situations put me behind the wheel of a very small car? 2) How am I practicing the art of extrapolating objectively? 3) How do I keep my sense of humor well oiled?

Words of Wisdom: “As we mature, we learn to lengthen our emotional wheelbase.”

Wisdom from the Word: “For God did not give us a Spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – March 8, 2016

Fred was never without paper and pen. He was constantly thinking, processing, analyzing, and jotting. Thousands of these thoughts ended up on 3 x 5 cards sorted according to topic. He thoroughly enjoyed taking a topic and trying to exhaust it by following logical trains of thought.

Thank you for responding to the invitation to join our Prayer Network. Please come pray with us for Christian higher education.

Emotional Stability

* The present is more than a down payment on the future – it is part of the future and should be as you would like the future to be. If you are sincere in wanting the future to be different then you prove it by making today different.

* The best solution for many of our problems is to simply outgrow them.

* Sometimes the only antidote for fear or pessimism is to do something outrageously optimistic.

* Some people become isolated because they have a fear of random events which they might not be able to handle.

* Not everyone is willing to go through the pain of being cured.

* People have a potential for happiness as they have a potential for greatness, but often they are not attained because discipline is lacking.

* Those who are surveyed as to happiness show that the happiest are those who are less guilty and more conscious of love. All the other things seem to be less significant.

* A happy life includes commitment and involvement. The more involved a person is the greater his capacity for pleasure, but also for pain.

* Those who pride themselves on their hardness of heart are emotional cowards.

* Mental health professionals can isolate the factors that go into happiness, but they cannot always come up with the recipe with the correct elements and proportions for its development. The recipe for happiness varies from person to person.

Think about this week: 1) What makes me happy? 2) How do I define emotional stability? 3) When do I experience commitment and involvement?

Words of Wisdom: “The best solution for many of our problems is to simply outgrow them.”

Wisdom from the Word: “As your words came to me I drank them in, and they filled my heart with joy and happiness because I belong to you, O Lord, the God who rules over all.” (Jeremiah 15:16 NET Bible)

Weekly Thought – January 12, 2016

Fred’s ability to ask himself questions with toughness and objectivity set him apart from most others. He regularly assessed his progress. He didn’t trust the idea of achieving integrity then putting himself on “auto pilot.” He took his emotional, spiritual, and intellectual temperature to maintain accuracy.

Asking Questions

Here are a few questions I use in a personal search for integrity:

1) Do my motives have integrity? Rationalization does more to pollute integrity of motive than any other factor. Ends never justify illegal, unjust, or unethical means.

2) Am I ego-driven or responsibility motivated? Ego-driven people satisfy their ego from the cause while responsibility motivated people sacrifice their ego to the cause.

3) Do I want the truth? It takes a tough mind and a strong heart to love truth. Integrity demands trying to know and love truth for its own sake.

4) Does my will control my feelings? Leadership demands a strong will, not a selfish or stubborn will. It demands a will that does what needs doing. By our will we overcome our yen for pleasure and our satisfaction with mediocrity.

5) What is my source of joy? Hope expresses itself in joy. My personal definition of joy is “adequacy.” The struggle is finding true security and complete adequacy in authentic, not synthetic sources.

6) Is my passion focused? Passion brings purpose, unity, intensity, and concentration, assuring accomplishment. Passion gives depth, keeping us from the shallowness of mediocrity. Our lives become a welder’s torch rather than a grass fire.

7) How grateful am I? Integrity in leadership demands gratitude. Gratitude exposes our vulnerability and our dependence on others.

8) Am I the pump or the pipe? God is the pump and I am the pipe. The pipe never gets tired. When I try to substitute my power for God’s, I become powerless, dissatisfied, even frantic, and depressed.

9) Is grace real for me? When I refuse grace, I am playing God and trying to punish myself. Grace brings freedom. If only we accept the gift, we face the failure and move on.

This week think about: 1) Which question hits home in my own measure of integrity? 2) How can I use these questions to benefit others? 3) Which question created a surprise?

Words of Wisdom: “The struggle is finding true security and complete adequacy in authentic, not synthetic sources.”

Wisdom from the Word: “Majestic splendor emanates from him; he is the source of strength and joy.” (1 Chronicles 16:27 NET Bible)

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)