Gospel Suffering
My wife is the real writer in this family. She recently wrote about the topic of suffering and was very candid sharing the wave after wave of suffering we have navigated as a family. She nailed it and I wanted to share her words with readers of theMangoTimes.
You can read everything she says over at KendraFletcher.com, but this specific post can be found by clicking directly here:
When Suffering Comes Blow by Blow by Blow (and How to Help)
My favorite line in her post is this: “It is this suffering life to which we are called, but we cannot embrace its grace until we recognize that the Bible, Christ’s life, and ours in discipleship is a life called to pain and brokenness. God triumphs, though. This earth isn’t heaven.”
After the last few years of let downs, false starts, loss and pain, sometimes we need to learn to sit in that pain recognizing that God is still in sovereign control. We can kick and scream and yell all we want, but there is also a place of peace knowing that God knows, He cares and He’s got this. Anyhow, enough of my thoughts, go read her words.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Dear Abby, Again
Four years ago, I wrote a blog post called Dear Abby. It was a fun reference to the old advice column that ran in the daily newspapers when I grew up. In my post I shared simple advice that I left with my daughter as I dropped her off at college. Time has flown. This week we drove to Southern California to celebrate that same daughter as she graduated from college. I thought it would be fun to revisit my original blog post and revisit the advice as she prepares to embark on her next life adventure.
***
“Dear Abby, four years ago we dropped you off at college. At the time, I recognized that the years of active parenting were done. The day-to-day conversations we shared as dad and daughter were not going to happen as easily as when you were home. Instead, they were replaced with hand-written letters and the multiple text and video messages we have come to rely upon. At the time I left you with very simple advice: It’s all about Jesus!
Four years ago, I wanted you to know that no matter what college provided in the form of blessing or challenge, from relationships to education to religion to behavior, none of them would provide you with an identity or hope like you can find in Jesus alone.
Jesus is always the better choice.
I believe those four years that you lived on campus brought you all of those opportunities. Your faith was challenged. You were forced to ask questions as to what you believe. Your relationships were refined. Friendships were deepened. You grew up and away from your upbringing and were allowed to become who you are today.
Now, with your diploma in hand as you leave your undergraduate education to become a grad student and begin focusing closer on your career, allow me to remind you again. It’s all about Jesus! Sorry, the advice doesn’t change. As you face opportunities and make life choices, Jesus will always bring the better choice. I realize that this can sound either trite or confusing, so let me explain.
Choosing a career is very important. Where you choose to work and what you choose to do are important decisions. You will be enticed by salaries, benefits, locations, and jobs that seem amazing. Those are all very good things, but they are lousy places to put your hope. Unlike college kids from anytime in recent history, your education was disrupted on a global scale and you were given a front row to see how this statement rings true and just how quickly all of the promises of a career can disappear. Education can fail us. Financial systems can fail us. The government can fail us. Even your communities of friends can fracture over simple things.
However, when you put your hope in Jesus and remember that because God loves you, then you can live as loved and know that He will meet all of your needs. Putting your hope in Him frees you to follow Him and trust Him. Throughout 2020, I hope you were able to witness how when it comes down to the basics: It is all about Jesus.
It’s not a formula, but when your life is centered on the gospel (the belief that Jesus saves you and you don’t save yourself) and that God loves you and wants the best for you, then you can live in the center of that love and make decisions out of freedom. Your relationships change. Your desires change. How you live out your life changes.
Abby, if there is anything I want for you as you graduate this week, it is this: Live in the freedom that allows you to love and serve God wherever He leads you.
Mom and I love you. We are so proud of you.
It’s all about Jesus,
Dad
A Thin Veneer of the Gospel
theMangoTimes blog has been dead silent for more than a year. There were many things I wanted to write about during 2020, but it seemed like everyone was blogging and podcasting on the same subjects. I did not want to add another voice into the conversation about pandemics, sheltering in place, politics, racism, or why we should or should not be wearing masks. Lately though, I have not been able to shake a few thoughts and theMangoTimes always seems like a good place to write some things down and see how they land.
So, what would bring Fletch out of his blogging hiatus? The same as always: the gospel. It’s been over 10 years since I woke up from what I refer to as “gospel amnesia.” I know it sounds crazy from a guy who loves the gospel, but for a large chunk of my life I had done the unthinkable and forgotten the gospel. I got wrapped up with a group of people who thought and taught more about behaving than believing. Those years of pursuing religion through better behavior were some of the most fruitless years in my faith and I have no desire to return.
That's why theMangoTimes will continue to be a trumpet for gospel-centered promotion (and I hope discussion). It is also why I choose to surround myself with people who will regularly speak the gospel into my life. I appreciate the reminder to believe better because on my own I quickly return to focusing again on how to behave better.
This leads me to a trend I have seen this year. As 2020 blends into 2021, the virus and the politics surrounding the virus have continued to surge at a feverish rate. The desire for normalcy has led many in our community to a point of frustration and feistiness. The epitome of frustration can be seen in what the internet refers to as “Karens” or “Kevins” exploding in the local Trader Joes. What I find interesting is that this angst remains almost indistinguishable within the virtual walls of the church. Sure, it doesn’t represent itself in shared viral videos, but it remains suppressed within the minds and hearts of many in the church.
Our American culture has created a spirit of entitlement. In public we see this erupt in angry displays by people who will not “let their rights” be violated. In the church, I find it much more subtle. “Gospel amnesia” lives quietly under the surface and spreads quickly because many of us live with a very thin veneer of the gospel over our faith.
“The gospel becomes a banner we live under that says: You have been saved by faith. You are being saved by faith. You will ultimately be saved by faith. Period. ”
If we are being honest, the church has been hit by the perfect storm. For the past year, we have been forced to face a lingering pandemic, unavoidable issues of justice, and a front-row seat to one of our most contentious political seasons in history (Note: I am quick to be corrected by my father who loves to describe the similarities to the election of 1864).
For gospel loving Christians, we should be thriving in this environment. Who better than us to articulate the good news that God loves us and that His love is most clearly demonstrated in the redemptive work of Jesus on our behalf? Pushing this theology a little deeper, my favorite 16th-century monk, Martin Luther, would remind us that this happens only by God's grace. Jesus and only Jesus can do the work that saves us. We bring nothing to the table for negotiation of our salvation or our sanctification.
The gospel becomes a banner we live under that says: You have been saved by faith. You are being saved by faith. You will ultimately be saved by faith. Period. This knowledge should then translate into a demonstration of a deep love for one another or, to follow my metaphor, we should have a thick layer of the gospel that remains difficult to penetrate.
Has that been the case? I'm discovering something quite different. 2020 has revealed that because many of us have been living with a very thin veneer of the gospel, we are quick to forget these truths.
As I said above,, I’ve been working this out in my thoughts and with several in my community. I mentioned this recently as I walked with a friend who asked me to clarify what I meant. Think back over the last year with me. In conversations about politics, or our cultural/corporate behavior/response to Covid-19, or our response to justice, or any of the other challenging topics this year, have you witnessed a gospel response? I would argue that as soon as we begin scratching the surface in most conversations we will quickly find discussions and ultimately lives driven by "good or right" Christian behavior.
If the gospel reminds us how deeply loved we are by God, that should motivate us to "do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously—take God seriously." (Micah 6) Instead, 2020 revealed a church split over so many issues: From wearing masks to responding to issues of justice, citizenship, political candidates, to gathering in person for worship, to whatever. Instead of the gospel motivating and informing our response to instinctively care for others over ourselves, I found over and over this year that folks seemed to be driven by religious responses driven by self-focus and personal rights.
The solution for this seems so simple: Preach the gospel even more, right? It seems easy enough, but here's where things got real. In my little corner of the world, I began to hear statements like this: "Hey Fletch, you can't keep talking about the gospel. That's all you ever seem to want to talk about. Can we move beyond that topic? You clearly do not recognize the importance of holiness. I get the gospel. What we need to talk about is what it means to live out our faith in the fear of God."
“In other words, the gospel doesn’t just earn your salvation, but it maintains your salvation and secures your salvation. ”
This is exactly what I mean by a thin veneer of the gospel. This is represented in responses like this: The gospel is great, but only for getting our foot in the door. Once I am there, I am responsible for all of my behaviors, so thanks for the gospel mumbo-jumbo, but I need to hear and learn how to behave better. Oh yeah, by the way, I need to hear way more about the consequences of all my bad choices too. I can’t live on a diet of the unconditional love of God alone.
It reminds me of a life-changing conversation I had with a pastor who told me that the gospel is not just the “A, B, C's” of the Christian faith, but the “A to Z”. In other words, the gospel doesn't just earn your salvation, but it maintains your salvation and secures your salvation. At no time do we move on from the gospel. At no time do we hit a place where our work is required to maintain our position before God or secure our salvation.
When we have a year like 2020, where our faith has been given multiple opportunities to be on display, where do we look for motivation? In this season where we can choose to humbly serve our weaker brother or boldly stand for brothers and sisters who have been seen "lesser than" because of the color of their skin, their gender, their political beliefs, etc, shouldn’t it be the gospel that motivates us? The gospel is the constant reminder that we have been reconciled to God by His grace alone that motivates us. It's never our behavior. It's never our good works. It's never our righteousness.
As I mentioned, these conversations based on a very shallow penetration of the gospel have become almost unavoidable. In fact, they have seemed to ramp up and I love when others say that they've heard enough of the gospel and want to move on and start focusing on their obedience or working out their salvation. For me, it's like pouring gasoline on the gospel bonfire. It motivates me to remind others that the gospel-centered life is a life where Christians experience a growing personal reliance on the gospel that protects them from depending on their own religious performance and being seduced and overwhelmed by idols.
“True faith takes its character and quality from its object and not from itself. Faith gets a man out of himself and into Christ. Its strength therefore depends on the character of Christ. Even those of us who have weak faith have the same strong Christ as others!”
When you bump into others who have reached the point of frustration and feistiness, turning inward to the “quality of their faith” does not provide hope, rescue or relief. As a teacher once explained to me, when you meet a drowning man you don’t tell them to: “Paddle harder and kick faster.” We do not possess the internal power to get things right and unfortunately every effort within ourselves will only lead to further collapse.
In his book, The Christian Life, Sinclair Ferguson had an amazing quote: “True faith takes its character and quality from its object and not from itself. Faith gets a man out of himself and into Christ. Its strength therefore depends on the character of Christ. Even those of us who have weak faith have the same strong Christ as others!”
Now it's your turn. How important is your behavior to your faith? What do you bring to your salvation? What do you bring to your sanctification? Does the gospel get you in the door or is it the fuel behind every step in your faith? Have the challenges of 2020 and 2021 pushed you one way or the other. Let me know in the comments or feel free to connect with me privately by email. I’d like to hear from you.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Nate and Frankie
Nate and Frances
During my blogging break, I missed a few really important things. My life got extremely better on July 4th.
Allow me to introduce one of my new favorite people on the planet: Frances Alder Fletcher.
Quietly making noise,
Pops
The Gospel Revisited
I can't review this enough times...and he kills it.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
The Heart of Man, The Love of God
Don't miss this one!
You have one more chance to see this great movie!
I love movies. I love movies that are made well. I love films where the director focused his lens on beauty. But I really love movies that make me think and potentially change my view on the world.
The Heart of Man is one of those movies. As a reader of my blog, I don't want you to miss your once chance to see this film on a big screen, surrounded by a full audience in a public theater environment. It really is worth your time and money to experience this film in a theater.
You know how much I love to talk about the gospel and the love of God. It is part of my everyday conversations around here. It is so rare that a film is made and communicates the concepts of God's love and redemption so clearly.
FILMING TECHNIQUE
The Heart of Man is filmed in a unique way. It very clearly depicts individuals and couples who share their personal lives in a documentary interview format. They are quick to walk you down to the dark spaces in their journey with God. Addictions, hurt, damage, and pain are on display. (Note: this film speaks candidly about sexual sin and you should consider who you bring - more on that below). Had the director stopped there, I would simply not recommend this film. There are plenty of places on the internet where you can listen and watch folks open up honestly about dark sinful choices and how they were redeemed.
“What if our brokenness is a bridge, not a barrier?”
This director does not stop there.
Within the personal interviews, the director weaves a story of The Prodigal in a beautiful and vivid way. The story is simple and easy to follow, but is told without dialogue. This is why you must see this film. The images still burn in my mind. To see the depth of the love of God and what He does to pursue us before, during and after our descent into sin is life-changing.
THEMES
This film speaks clearly to themes of sexual addiction, infidelity and sexual abuse, but in no way should you pigeon hole this movie in that way. It's a movie about living in freedom and knowing that the Father loves you and pursues you and never gives up on you.
This is a film for those struggling in addictions. A film for those struggling with sin. It is a film for those struggling with loss. It's a film for those struggling with despair and a loss of hope.
In fact, I would say that this film is made for everyone. Sinner. Saint. Believer. Unbeliever. Christian. Non-Christian. Protestant. Catholic. Muslim. Jew. Hindu. Buddhist. Gay. Lesbian. Transgender. Man. Woman.
DISCUSSION
I believe this movie will begin discussions on your walk back to the car. You will leave a changed person with a desire to talk through certain scenes, how they were filmed and what they communicated and how you feel about it.
Kendra and I saw it on opening night during a limited release. We immediately made plans to purchase this film and turn it into a community event where we could invite our friends who are waking up from Gospel Amnesia and those who are discovering the love of God for the first time. We were stoked to hear it was out on re-release for one more night.
What about kids? We have learned to have discussions sooner rather than later. That being said, we would not hesitate to take OUR 10 year old son. We've had hard conversations already. This film would only serve to clarify the love of God in his life. We are willing to step in and talk about themes of sexuality, lust, adultery, pornography and the brokenness in the world. If you aren't prepared for that, you might want to consider who you invite along.
Are you interested in joining us? Leave a comment or contact me here and we'll keep you in the loop.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Dear Abby
On the pier at Newport Beach
Dear Abby,
Well that was painful.
That makes kid #4 and it has not gotten any easier to have someone move out. For those people reading this who have not dropped a kid off at school, I'm warning you. It goes faster than you think.
Abbydabs, as we dropped you off at the curb of your new 7 story dorm in Southern California and each hugged you goodbye through tears and promises that we'd miss you like crazy, I was reminded that active parenting is over. There will be no more daily conversations, face to face encouragements or nightly kisses as I pass through your bedroom. I have spoken into your life on a daily basis for 18 years and the "in the moment" parenting has come to an end. Sure we still have phone calls, text messages and all of your visits home, but the "teach them diligently along the way" lessons that we know about from Deuteronomy are wrapped up. I can only hope you remember all those things as you take off on this new adventure.
So, I decided to repurpose some advice I had given to your brother and I hope it's the one thing you stole from being in our home: It’s all about Jesus.
What? You expected something else?
Experience? Four years of university life will certainly be filled with both positive and negative experiences, but to chase after the college experience will leave you empty when school comes to an end. No, it is all about Jesus.
Relationships? Since you were born, you were raised in our home and surrounded by our friends and stories of our friends that we had made during our 4 years at college. Certainly, we hope you cultivate lifelong friendships and build great memories during your college years.
These relationships you make will be valuable and provide opportunities for networking during the rest of your life. However, relationships can fail. Friendships will be strained by distance after college. I want you to surround yourself with people who believe that life is all about Jesus and to not be afraid to reach out to others who don’t know Him yet. It is all about Jesus.
Education? Your grandparents love to inflate the idea that college is all about getting a good education. You know that education is a means to an end, but a lousy substitute for Jesus. It may open a few more doors and provide a few more opportunities, but shifting your hope from God onto education is a deceptive trap. We have encouraged all of you to pursue an education, but that always comes with the warning to not put your hope in education. Nope. It is not about an education, it is all about Jesus.
Religion? You are attending a Christian college. You are surrounded by teachers and administrators that want to mentor and guide you! That’s great and it is certainly a blessing, but I want you to remember more than labels and descriptions and much more than outward religious behavior it really is all about Jesus.
I remember being corrected once by a religious pastor for suggesting that it was all about Jesus. He warned me that it stopped short of what scripture teaches. For nearly an hour he expounded on scripture and theology to explain to me how that statement could lead people living a life void of the sanctifying works God requires. His argument and his theological slices reminded me even more: It’s all about Jesus.
We shift our hope so quickly. We have talked about that for years in our church and in our home as we’ve seen relationships implode and college educations lead to endless/hopeless job searches and layoffs. Abby, you know this. Shifting your hope onto the college experience, onto relationships, onto education or even onto religious behavior might satisfy you in the short term, but in the long run it is all about putting your hope in God. It is all about the Gospel. It’s all about Jesus.
Paul, in his letter to the church of Corinth, says this:
“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”
Abby you are loved! By God and by me. Study hard! Love others well! Call, text and come home often! :)
But more than anything, remember that it's all about Jesus!
Quietly making noise,
Dad
Employee Review, Part Three
The third and final installment in my recent attempt at a short story about a job review gone sideways. Read along as a poorly hatched plan to solve a problem turns from a series of mistakes into a fortuitous outcome.
(Continued from Part Two)
It was Danny. Jumping into his small blue convertible, he looked like he was in a bigger hurry than me to get his weekend started. I heard the engine on his sports car rev and he barreled out of the company parking lot.
I paused for a minute as a smile began to grow across my face. That’s it, I thought. That’s the solution. Danny was gone for the weekend. It was simple. All I needed to do was go back into Danny’s cubicle, find my review and figure out what I promised to do this weekend. I could be in and out before anyone even knew what I was doing. Without thinking it through, I found myself walking and then running back across the parking lot and in through doors. I was determined to solve this problem.
I took the elevator up to the second floor and as I walked across the bay of cubicles I was able to locate Danny’s cubicle instantly. It stood up four inches above all the other cubicles in his pod like it didn't belong. There were still a few employees milling around. Some were chatting about the weekend and others were grabbing their belongings and starting to head out.
Trying not to draw any attention to my actions, I inched myself closer to Danny’s cubicle. With a nervous smile and nods to my weekend bound coworkers, I quickly darted inside Danny's space. I can’t begin to tell you how thankful I was at this point for his higher walls. No on was going to peek inside and no one would notice what I was doing. I crouched down and quickly tried to open the file cabinet.
I guess I should have expected there to be a lock on the small built-in file cabinet, but pausing for a moment I real that I didn’t really put much thought into this plan. Luckily, this looked like a lock that could be picked or maybe even forced open. Thinking quickly, I grabbed the paperclip vine of Smurfs and picked one of the clips off the bottom. I wedged the paperclip into the lock and pretended to know what I was doing. I heard a click. No, I didn’t open the lock and this was proof that I had no idea what I was doing. The click I heard was the sound of the paperclip breaking off inside the keyhole.
I now had a new problem to solve. How do I get the tip of metal out of the keyhole. Thinking quickly or again maybe not at all, I reached for one of the Hobbit figurines huddled around the crystal orb. It was Frodo and it seemed like his sword would work perfectly for this task.
It didn’t work. Not even close. Maybe if I tried something that would stick to the metal piece. Aha! The PlayDoh. I plucked the crystal orb out of the PlayDoh and shoved the orange putty into the lock. Maybe if I pushed it in just far enough to the keyhole, it would grab the metal piece and pull it out. I felt like I was going to be caught at any moment, so I worked quickly to push the dough into the hole. I pulled it out and voila! Embedded in the orange blob was a small chunk of metal. It worked!
It was at that moment that my original plan hit a major bump in the road. I heard a familiar voice from outside the cubicle. That’s right. Danny’s voice. He had come back. I froze and immediately looked for a place to hide. It was hopeless, but I began wedging my large frame under his desk, but even this was futile. My mind raced for an excuse, but it was no use. I was going to be caught in his cubicle stealing company information. My career flashed before my eyes. I sat there frozen.
But, then I realized it wasn’t his voice I was hearing at all. It was just a recording of his voice. Actually, it was a voice message being played from a phone and it sounded like it was coming from under the desk, but it wasn't. It was coming from the cubicle next to Danny’s. I would never have been able to hear it, but thanks to the gap from the jacked-up cubicle walls, I could hear it loud and clear. It was a voice message being left for my co-worker, Linda, who sat next in the cubicle next to Danny.
At first, hearing Danny's voice reminded me that I was not supposed to be trying to break into his private files in his personal cubicle. But, the more I listened to his voice playing on that message, it reminded me that I was also not supposed to hear what he was saying to Linda in this very private voice message. This was the type of message that was meant only for the person you intended to send it to. The type of message you wouldn’t want anyone else to hear or even know about. The type of message with words that make most people blush.
Apparently, Danny had quite a weekend planned for Linda. It involved a variety of activities with only a few of them requiring clothing. Those were his words, not mine. What began as fear of discovery, turned into an audible form of voyeurism. As I was crouched underneath Danny’s desk I could barely contain myself from giggling as I listened to the exploits being described in the voice message. I finally gave up trying to break into the cabinet. I was all ears listening Danny’s illicit message.
The company had a very strict policy about relationships between supervisors and employees. It’s the type of thing you read about in the employee manual prior to your employee review. Apparently, Danny and Linda had skipped that part of the employee manual. And that’s when the new solution for my initial problem miraculously appeared. I didn’t have to worry about anything in my employee review and it didn’t matter what I did this weekend. On Monday morning, when I showed up empty handed, Danny could ask why I did not work on my goals. That’s when the extortion would begin.
It could be as easy as asking Danny about the plans for the Jacuzzi or what he thinks about breakfast, lunch and dinner in bed. There were specific words and phrases that were now etched into my memory. I’m sure the mere mention of any of these phrases will be enough to prove my point. The path to freedom was paved for me and Danny and Linda were going to be the ones handing me the bricks.
With my problem solved, I did my best to prop the crystal orb back onto the PlayDoh. I made sure the Smurfs were climbing again. I thanked Frodo and returned his sword and then tidied any mess I had made.
I stood up to leave and glanced at the clock. Once again, I pushed it back against the wall. It held for a moment and then slipped down the nail one more time. I told myself that this would have to wait for my next covert cubicle break-in.
Trying not to draw any attention to myself, I walked quietly out of Danny's cubicle. As I did, I poked my head around the corner and found Linda texting a message into her phone. I could only imagine what she was writing, but I found pleasure startling her with my unexpected hello. She dropped the phone like she was a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar. I simply smiled and said, “Have a good weekend Linda. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She smiled back, “You too. Have a nice weekend."
I stood tall as I walked out past the rows of empty cubicles. With my extra energy and a headful of new information, I chose to use the stairs. As I sat down in my car and headed home, not even the slow afternoon traffic could discourage me. I was a man with no plans and had just survived being sideswiped by adventure.
The End
The Employee Review, Part Two
In part two of this short story, read how cubicles, trolls and clocks work together to thwart an employee review.
(Continued from Part One)
Even though this company provides a large private meeting room for employee reviews, Danny insisted on conducting reviews in his personal office space. This was partly to show to everyone else that he was in charge and partly so others in the cubicles surrounding his would be able to hear that he was in charge. One at a time, each of my coworkers filtered into Danny's little space for their 20 minute employee review. Like clockwork, we followed the schedule he had pinned to the employee bulletin board.
Initially, it did not matter to me at all where we met. It's not like we needed the extra room to stretch out. Danny's space had the exact same dimensions as my space. Except, as I entered, I noticed that the walls on his cubicle seemed a little higher than mine. I couldn’t tell for sure, but before I sat down, I noticed that the walls appeared to go up to my chin. From what I could remember, the walls in my cubicle were about even with my shoulder. That little difference stood out and struck me as odd. I struggled to focus my attention on anything else in that moment.
As I sat down, Danny began immediately talking about the philosophy of employee reviews. I did my best. With all the energy and focus I could muster, I listened to Danny as he used all the words he plucked from his manager review script: Goals. Obstacles. Metrics. Rubrics. Like I said, from what I remember I was ready to listen and ready to work together to grow and help the company grow. Even so, I found that it took every last ounce of effort to listen, because the distractions of his wall height was too overwhelming.
Why would Danny’s walls be taller? These are pieced together cubicles. I am certain the company purchased them in bulk from some online office supply company. Surely they are all the same? Why would his be any higher? That is when I noticed it. Down on the floor, behind the trash can over in the corner, There was a stack of books propping up his cubicle wall creating a 4 inch gap at the bottom of his cubicle. I bent over to adjust my chair, so I could take a quick peek at the wall I was sitting against. Sure enough, there was also a stack of books holding up the wall behind me as well.
What the hell is going on here? Had there been a problem with inadequate air flow into and out of his cubicle? I don’t think so. Why then would he take the time to lift the walls in his cubicle? What is the point?
Amused at the success of my amateur sleuthing, I couldn’t help but smile. This caused Danny to pause and ask, “Are you tracking with what I am saying?” When you are caught not paying attention during an employee review, the only answer you can really give at that moment is, “Yes.” Which is exactly what I said to Danny. But the truth of the matter: I wasn’t tracking him at all. I wasn't even paying any attention to this guy. This newly minted wannabe manager who had taken the time to jack up his walls. The only thing that mattered to me right now was the fact that he had actually taken the time to raise the walls like it was his own personal castle.
Then, as if a self-lifted cubicle walls was not enough, I noticed the one thing that would get my mind off his hovering cubicle. The entire shelf above Danny's computer screen was covered in figurines. Collectible figurines of all shapes and sizes were positioned on his shelf. I know this seems odd. That is because It is. I had not spent enough time in his cubicle to notice this world that he had created.
I would have been fine with one or two figurines. The company allows us to personalize our space, but Danny had taken this to a new level. He had created a damn village of intermingling creatures and toys. There were way too many of them for me to count at a quick glance. Which, of course, required me to focus my attention even more intently on his collection of dolls and ignore even less of what Danny was saying. Before I could devote any attention to this review, I was going to need to take a full accounting for every character included in Danny's little village.
I might have been able to let it go, if they would have all been from the same genre, but apparently Danny did not mind if the worlds of fantasy and reality collided. My eyes were immediately drawn to the main character. Front and center was Superwoman. She stood tall with her golden lasso right between Han Solo and Chewbacca. Then, off to the side it appeared there were several Hobbits arranged in deep thought around a multifaceted crystal orb mounted in a mound of orange PlayDoh.
Above it all, perched on book spines along the back wall of the shelf, Danny had several troll dolls peering down. Wait, not several trolls. He had all the trolls. There were big trolls and little trolls. There they stood in every color of the rainbow, with their crazy cotton candy hair sticking up and their giant eyes looking down.
As I looked back down to the shelf it was then I noticed a group huddled at the center of Danny's Little Nerd Town. It was the entire cast from McDonalds. Ronald, Mayor McCheese, Hamburglar, and Grimace seemed like they were posed in conversation. They seemed so out of place and I couldn't help but think that these characters were horribly embarrassed to be included amongst heroes, aliens, elves and trolls.
Then, as if this wasn't enough, there were several miniature blue figurines descending or maybe ascending along a chain of paper clips that Danny had taken the time to tape and hang from the top shelf. It was the Smurfs. Danny had actually taken the time to create the chain and then attach each Smurf along the chain.
"Do you think this is a reasonable time frame for you to accomplish these three transition goals I have just outlined?" Danny asked and then paused, waiting for me to reply.
Three transition goals? Are you kidding me? He wanted me to consider three transition goals? I can't focus on transition goals right now. My only goal at this moment was taking a full census for Danny's community of members from Middle Earth, Star Wars and the land of Big Macs. His transition goals were going to need to wait.
Danny waited for a response.
"Of course. That is more than enough time for me to accomplish those three transition goals,” I said, not knowing which goals I had agreed to or how much time Danny had given me to accomplish those goals. My only goal in this moment was wondering where Danny had also found the Jolly Green Giant and Bob’s Big Boy figurines he had guarding either side of his bookshelf.
Danny picked up where he left off and I returned to the virtual game of mental ping-pong going on in my mind between his propped up cubicle space and the plastic invasion of toys surrounding him everyday when he worked.
It was only then that I began to feel the pressure of neglecting everything in my review up to this point. I had to focus and I had to get back on track, so I glanced at the clock on the wall to see if I had any chance to redeem the remaining time in my review.
That turned out to be the biggest mistake yet. Not only was I almost out of time, but I noticed the clock above Danny’s head was barely dislodged and pulling away from his cubicle wall. It just needed a little push to make it flush with the wall.
I was screwed. I had wasted my whole review. I hadn’t listened to a word that had been said and now I just could not contain myself. Danny was startled when I stood up abruptly to adjust the clock.
“What are you doing?” he asked as I covered him with my frame reaching with both hands to secure his clock back against the wall. I could feel Danny push against my ribs and belly. I backed up and evaluated my work. Perfectly flush. I smiled knowing that I had made things right.
“There,” I said. “All better.”
Danny swung around in his chair and we both stared at the clock.
“It was leaning away from the wall, “ I said. “I thought it was going to fall, so I put it back into place for you.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” Danny replied as he swiveled back toward me. “Now, do you think you can sit back down so we can finish this review.”
What did he mean, 'I hadn’t noticed.' How could he not notice a clock that was ready to fall with the slightest bump of the wall? If one thing was clear, Danny was not a guy to notice a lot of things that mattered. As I sat back down, I realized I needed to listen to anything remaining in my review.
That’s when the clock moved.
Then it moved again.
As quickly as I had put it to place, it slipped down on the nail that was suppose to hold it in place. The clock was back in it’s original dislodged position. “Damn,” I thought. It simply needs a better nail or screw or something to fix that in position. I wrestled with the plans in my head to design an entirely new mounting device. One that would not fall from the wall, but I knew I had to focus.
To help myself, I decided it would be best to get some physical control of my body. I sat on my hands and I must have looked odd as I flexed my eyes wide and focused intently on Danny.
“So that’s it. Those are your goals.” Danny said as he stood up and fixed a paperclip to my employee review. “Let’s get started right away. Work on that first goal this weekend and report back to me and the rest of the team with your top three ideas Monday morning at our Unit meeting.” Danny signed my review, slipped it into a hanging file folder with my name on the tab and rolled the file door close.
I took the cue that I was supposed to stand up and leave. “Okay. First thing Monday morning sounds good to me. I’ll work on those three ideas this weekend,” I said, not knowing anything at all about what I was supposed to do in the next two days. As I turned to leave, I quickly reached over and adjusted the clock one more time. It immediately fell away from the wall again. I walked out of his cubicle and wandered around the office until plopping back at my own desk wondering how I would figure out a solution to my problem.
I grabbed some bland paper and for my remaining three hours I did my best to remember or piece together any parts of the review that I could. It was hopeless. I just couldn’t remember a thing. At the end, all I had done was sketch a new design for a mounted clock in Danny's cubicle.
I knew it was company protocol for your review and goals to filter up the management tree. Once senior management approved the review, they would return a copy, including all notes and goals, back to the employee. Eventually, I’d get a printout, but that didn’t help me out this weekend when I was supposed to work on strategy for the first goal.
That is why I actually looked forward to the crawl of traffic and a quiet weekend at home. I finished reflecting on my lousy day and walked out to my car. I concluded that it would be best if I just went home and returned on Monday admitting to everything and accepting the fact that I was a huge failure. I got in the car, turned the key in the ignition, adjusted my chair, looked in my rear-view mirror and started to back my car out. That’s when I noticed something in my mirror. Something that would change my weekend.
(Continued Tomorrow)
The Employee Review, Part One
As my weekend started, I had no idea I would be sideswiped by adventure...
As my weekend started, I had no idea I would be sideswiped by adventure.
Cold leftover chicken in the fridge, taking my dog for a walk and an evening of binging on Netflix awaited me at home. A typical Friday night. A dose of routine that I was actually looking forward to enjoying. Typically I would frown at the normal slow crawl of Friday afternoon traffic, but today it stretched out like a welcome mat to me after a long stressful day at work.
My job is not that bad. Most people would love to be employed by one of the largest companies on the globe. The opportunities are endless. From the cool perks to international travel to actually being part of a global phenomenon. This is a sought after employer and just the opportunity to include the company name on a resume is reason enough for most of my co-workers to want to work here. That is why a less than favorable employee review earlier in the day made a mundane evening at home appear like a long awaited vacation.
This particular employee review had the potential for being routine, easy and even favorable, but that is not what happened at all. I needed a long weekend to figure out how to undo everything I did in a short 20 minute timespan.
After ten years, I have proven myself to be a loyal company employee and my ability to work well with others had been a definite asset to my role with this employer. However, my new supervisor, Danny, has been a hard adjustment for me since the day he began. Around the office, others refer to him as “young," “ambitious,” or “hotshot.” From an outsider, those would be fairly accurate. Danny is younger than me by at least 15 years. He is very focused and operates at a level higher than the job description for an entry level manager.
But it is not Danny’s momentum and aspirations that caused me to tune-out during this review. It was a host of other unforeseen things that caused me to miss the entirety of what was said and agreed upon during my 1:00-1:20 time slot earlier in the day. It was in that short amount of time that Danny reviewed my performance and laid out a series of new goals for me. New goals which I agreed to meet. This is where the problem begins. I have no idea what those goals are that I agreed to meet.
I had every intent to take an active part in my review and I had prepared to be proactive in our discussion. As I prepared for those few minutes of one on one time with my supervisor, I was more than willing to meet the quote printed at the top of my self-evaluation form: “Quarterly Employee Reviews: To grow personally and help the company grow.” That was my attitude. I was on board. I was a willing team player.
So what went wrong as I sat down in Danny's cubicle today? Many things, but it all began with the damn cubicle itself.
(Continued Tomorrow)
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Writing Prompts
I have a few friends that I consider my partners in creative projects. My buddy James is one of them. A few weeks ago we decided to give each other a writing prompt and then left it open ended to write whatever we wanted. No rules. No obligation. Just let your mind wander and see what you can do.
We finished with the first exercise. It is nothing special, but I will share my results with you over the next few days.
The prompt was this: "As my weekend started, I had no idea I would be side swiped by adventure."
Until tomorrow.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
One Seven
When we first started having children, it seemed like all we could make was boys. I quickly honed my skills at tumbling, wrestling and the fine art of well-timed farting. Clearly, I was meant to be a "boy dad" and I figured that was my lot in life was navigating fun while at the same time avoiding a trip to the ER.
Then, in 1999, this little girl showed up (followed by her two sisters). As it turns out, I love being a "girl dad" too! These girls were taught to keep up with their rough and tumble brothers, but they were also loved, cuddled, and cherished as beautiful daughters.
Happy Birthday Abigail Sarah. You have been "your father's joy" for 17 years!
Quietly making noise,
Fletch (Dad)
Signs
This is what it looks like when we began to surround ourselves with the truth of the gospel.
I can probably stop saying this, but our older children can affirm that above and beyond the typical household rules they were raised with strong undertones of religion and the rigid behavior associated. That was before we woke up from our gospel amnesia.
This sign stares down on our kitchen table. A daily reminder to all of us as to whose we are!
I have noticed a change though. The other day I grabbed my phone and took a few pictures of the art and posters that we have hanging around our house. Kendra has always been purposeful in what we hang on our walls, so I was particularly interested in a few of the signs and what they communicate. I am pretty stoked to see the change and what words are placed around our home, especially the ones that communicate to us that God's love is abundant and His grace is scandalous.
The idea behind a lot of these signs is to saturate our family with the gospel. Notice: I did not say saturate our kids. I said saturate our family. Long gone are the days that dad and mom have this all figured out and we put up things to teach the kids. We need the gospel communicated to us on a moment by moment basis just as much as our children. We need to learn what it looks like to be the chief confessors in our home and then model that in front of our kids. I want them to see that we fail and we need Jesus just as much as them.
These little signposts are used to help remind the entire family that we are all part of the same journey. We are all seeking after God. Compared to previous days in our home, these signs can help us to remember that we are pursuing Him and the righteousness that only Jesus can provide.
We sometimes need to remember that we serve a very big God who holds all of time and space within the palm of His hand. We need to remember to dream big and ask God to help us think beyond our limited resources. It is also okay to fail. Dream big. Let God fill in the gaps and meet the needs. It's good to watch Him open the doors that we think are shut tight and shut doors that we are trying to pry open.
Hey readers! I'm not writing this out to sound prideful. I'm not showing off. I'm not saying, "Hey look at our cool family and the stuff we put on our walls. You should be just like us." That's a bunch of crap and I don't play the comparison game. Nah, I just thought it was cool to see a physical change around our home that complements a non-visual change taking place in the family that lives in that home. That being said, are you looking for positive inspirational artwork? Consider the Fletchifesto!
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Viva El Ocho!
He wasn't supposed to see, or walk, or do a lot of normal things that other kids do, but God doesn't always follow expectations. So, instead of raising a blind and lame child, we have a little boy that runs, swims, and rides bikes just as fast as every other kid. He struggles with reading and behavior and he will most likely need our help for a long time, but that's not bad compared to the prognosis we were given by the neurologist when we left the hospital. (Oh yeah! God is also not done yet with this story).
Mighty Joe turns 8 today!
I'm telling you, this kid has been blessed. Even his birthday is celebrated with Mexican food and parties.Want to celebrate with us? Raise up a margarita, eat some nachos or crank up the mariachi music today and join us in celebrating God's goodness in the life of Mighty Joe!
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Jumping, Leaping, Shaking with Betty The Surfdog
In California's central valley, we really have two seasons: Hot Summer and Cold Foggy Winter. So, last weekend was a great day of brisk Fall sunshine. It was a perfect day for @bettythesurfdog to get a little swimming done.
Dropping Nate At College
I wrote a blog post over at Homeschooling In Real Life today. I shared a little of my experience dropping Nate off at college and the advice I gave to him as we parted ways. Are you wondering what we talked about?
Let me give you a hint. It's Fletch, all my conversations boil down to the same thing: The Gospel.
Click on the picture to read: What I Said To My Son When I Dropped Him Off At College.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Freedom In Christ
I updated my MacBook Air this week with the new Mavericks operating system. I love the iBooks app that comes pre-loaded. Reading on my computer? Are you kidding me? Yes, please. As I opened my library, one of the stored books I found was The Radical Reformission, by Mark Driscoll. I remember reading and enjoying this book several years ago when I was trying to read books on my iPad.
I enjoy finding old books that I connected with at a different time in my life. This was one of those books. At the time, I was in the midst of recovering from Gospel Amnesia, this was one of the books that spoke to me from nearly every page.
This section below was one of the few I had highlighted. I even wrote a blog post about it once. It's worthy of a second mention.
“Reformission is ultimately about being like Jesus, through his empowering grace. One of the underlying keys to reformission is knowing that neither the freedom of Christ nor our freedom in Christ is intended to permit us to dance as close to sin as possible without crossing the line. But both are intended to permit us to dance as close to sinners as possible by crossing the lines that unnecessarily separate the people God has found from those he is still seeking. To be a Christian, literally, is to be a “little Christ.” It is imperative that Christians be like Jesus, by living freely within the culture as missionaries who are as faithful to the Father and his gospel as Jesus was in his own time and place.
I am advocating not sin but freedom. That freedom is denied by many traditions and theological systems because they fear that some people will use their freedom to sin against Christ. But rules, regulations, and the pursuit of outward morality are ultimately incapable of preventing sin. They can only, at best, rearrange the flesh and get people to stop drinking, smoking, and having sex, only to start being proud of their morality. Jesus’ love for us and our love for him are, frankly, the only tethers that will keep us from abusing our freedom, yet they will enable us to venture as far into the culture and into relationships with lost people as Jesus did, because we go with him.”
Excerpt From: Mark Driscoll. “The Radical Reformission.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=362055909
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
What Others Are Saying About Noah
We are very excited for the release of Noah and this new featurette gives a little more information to the film and what the director was intending to do with the story.
Check it out and let me know what you think:
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
Noah - The Building Of The Ark
Our family is very excited about the new film, Noah, that will be released at the end of March. Loaded with great talent like Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Emma Watson, and Sir Anthony Hopkins, it promises to be a fun movie of an often told story.
Much like Exodus (starring Christian Bale) which is in production, I really enjoy when Hollywood takes a stab at visually portraying stories from the Bible. There is ALWAYS a question of accuracy, but I will admit that even what I create in my minds eye when I read through scripture lacks in accuracy, therefore I can appreciate what a production team puts together and the team for Noah seems to have done just that.
In the following featurette, the designers talk specifically about the Ark and how it was created for use in the film.
Critics have already begun to voice their concerns regarding accuracy and the script. I wonder though, as Christians, if we can be prepared to have grace saturated discussions about the movie itself, the topic of sin/judgment and how God responds with a covenant of grace not only with Noah, but with us as well.
I am looking forward to sharing a few more featurettes in the next week prior to the release of the film. In the meantime, what about you? Are you looking forward to seeing this movie? Let me know in the comments.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch
C.S. Lewis - Because He Loves Us
Yes. I'll never get sick of hearing this story.
Quietly making noise,
Fletch