Eagle Court of Honor Benediction
Recently I was invited to provide the benedeiction at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for a young man I’ve known a very long time. I was honored to do so. I love the tradition of the benediction, a blessing given to those in attendance, and in the case of an Eagle Court of Honor, a blessing upon the new Eagle himself.
I wrote this specifically for this young man, but many have asked for copies of it. So I thought I’d share it here.
May honesty and integrity be your guide so that you can always stand by your word, a Scout is Trustworthy.
May you stand by your family, your friends and your country, even when it’s difficult and at times you may feel like you are standing alone, a Scout is Loyal.
May you always offer a helping hand or a cup of cold water to those in need, whether or not they ask for it, a Scout is Helpful.
May you always be the type of person that people want to be with, work with and live with, a Scout is Friendly.
May you always show respect to everyone, even those who may not seem to deserve it, a Scout is Courteous.
May harm never fall to anyone or anything due to your actions, a Scout is Kind.
May you always follow the laws of man and of God, a Scout is Obedient.
May you greet each and every person with a smile each and every day, a Scout is Cheerful.
May you cherish the gifts God has bestowed on you and never take them for granted, a Scout is Thrifty.
May the courage you have shown thus far in life only grow as you face steeper challenges on the road ahead, a Scout is Brave.
May your words, your mind and your body remain pure as God intended, a Scout is Clean.
May you always love and honor the God which created you in His image, a Scout is Reverent.
May you keep yourself Physically Strong, Mentally Awake and Morally Straight.
And, May the Great Scoutmaster of all Scouts, be with us until we meet again.
Amen.
Adapt or Die
I had the opportunity this weekend to spend time with three missionary families. Each of these families serve God in unique ways in different areas of the world. Each faces their own specific challenges and have adapted their ministry model to best fit the situation they are in.
One serves an impoverished inner-city where drugs and poverty have led to a corrupt crime-riddled culture. Divorce rates are very high and fathers have held very little accountability to their wives and children. Their mission approach is to focus on supporting men and women in small groups. By increasing accountability, they have seen a dramatic improvement in the families they minister to.
Another mission team servers an impoverished rural nation. They face many of the same cultural challenges (drugs, teenage pregnancies and split families). However, in their situation the families are often struggling to meet their minimum daily needs. These missionaries focus on meeting their most basic needs first, then teaching them the gospel.
The third team works in a domestic mission area where the people they minister to have become very disenfranchised by the church. They have a synical view of Christianity and the baggage that comes along with it. They are having to show them what authentic Christianity is all about.
What do these missionaries all have in common? They have come to the realization that mission work is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each have adapted their approach to meet the needs of the people they minister to. By meeting their specific needs, they are opening many more doors than if they followed a textbook method of mission work.
The lesson for us is that whatever your mission – whether work, church or any other organization – you need to adapt to the needs of those you are trying to reach. Whether that is customers or consituents, the old adage “adapt or die” rings true.
Wordle!
Wordle! is a cool tool that will analyze your blog or other webpage and build a colorful, fun tag cloud. You can edit colors, layout, font and remove words that you don’t want to include. Check it out at http://www.wordle.net.
Below is the Wordle of my Linked In profile (www.linkedin.com/in/johnkjennings).
What a difference a year makes
Last year at this time I was at the beginning of a new stage of my career. After an unexpected layoff and the first time not being employeed in nearly a quarter-century, I found myself in an unfamiliar place.
I had spent my entire career working in IT shops of large corporations. Three Fortune 500 companies had been my place of employment over 24 years. Now I found myself in a company that was smaller than the departments I had been in. Everything about this job was different. The type of work, the type of company, the type of boss, the type of people, the type of office…. you name it, it was new to me.
I decided that I was going to go into it full bore, roll the dice, and just see what happened. What I found was a job that has given me more fulfilment, more fun, and more excitement than anything I experienced in the corporate world.
What has made this so much fun? Here are a few thoughts:
- The ability to trace my actions straight to the bottom line of the company.
- The ability to make decisions without multiple levels of review, oversight and second-guessing.
- The ability to get out of the box and be creative, harnassing the entrepreneur in each of us.
- The ability to step out of your comfort zone and lead in various capacities (my role has expanded beyond IT into almost every aspect of the business).
Bottom line, I believe the fundamental thing that has made this job enjoyable is the ability to make a difference! I’ve heard before that the number one thing employees want from their employers is appreciation. No greater apprecation can be found than to believe you make a difference in an organization.
My encouragement for anyone going through an unexpected job change is to keep your eyes open. You never know where your next opportunity will come from. And no matter how different it may feel to you, it may end up leading to the most fun you’ve had (on the job) in a long time! Good luck and God Bless!
Real leaders don’t take the easy way out
If you know me at all, you probably know that I am an avid supporter of Boy Scouts. I’ve been part of the scouting movement almost my whole life. I’m an Eagle Scout and the father of an Eagle Scout. A couple of years ago, after serving as Scoutmaster of a troop I launched, I decided to step down from the day-to-day interaction of serving at the troop level and try to find another way to help scouts. I ended up serving as our district’s advancement chairman. In this role, I interact with scouts on a regular basis who are working on becoming Eagle Scouts themselves. It’s a very rewarding role, but not one without it’s frustrations.
One thing that frustrates me to no end, is when a scout comes to me with an idea for an Eagle Scout Leadership Service Project, that is clearly not up to the standards we have set. Let me explain. The project (or ESLSP) is like the “capstone” course of your college program. It’s that opportunity for a young man to take all the leadership skills he has developed over the years and apply them in a very real, meaningful way, by providing service to his community. There is no set number of hours that he must fulfill, only that he must demonstrate leadership. There are a number of parameters that further define what is allowed and not.
So, here’s where the frustration comes in. On a rare occasion I’ll have a young man come in with an idea that’s just “good enough”. On the surface it meets the criteria, but it doesn’t really do anything to challenge him. It’s quite obvious when you talk to him that he’s just trying to get by. In fact, I’ve had a few boys actually tell me that this is what they were doing. (I guess you can say “at least their honest”.)
Unfortunately, what I see in these boys (albeit a small subset of the onesI work with), is something that’s all to common in society and the workplace today. People look for just “good enough”. Good enough to meet the customer requirements. Good enough to pass the minimum standard. Good enough to make the minimum return on investment. Good enough to finish on time, but not ahead of time.
Do you see that as much as I do? I’m sure you do. It’s very frustrating whether it’s on the job or in other environment.
Real leaders don’t do this. Real leadership involves taking on a challenge and delivering “above and beyond”. I’m not looking for leaders that can meet expectations. I’m looking for leaders that will blow away expectations.
The world is full of people willing to get by. If you want to make a different – on the job, in your family, in your church or other organization, take the mantle of leadership and don’t look for the easy way out. Challenge yourself and those around you to blow away expectations and deliver far more than what’s expected. That’s what real leaders do.
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