"10 minutes to your destination...."
My bride of 36 years turned to me in our car and mused, "It usually says, '20 minutes' when I'm driving to work." She picked up her phone and looked at the screen. The destination address was that of our church.
"How does it know where we're going!?"
Answer, its Sunday. And on most Sunday's when we get in the car, our destination is the church where we've worshiped for 15 years.
It's a simple artificial intelligence algorithm. The phone has paid attention with location tracking and time. It gets 'smarter' as it learns a repeated pattern, like going to church on Sunday and work on Monday.
I gave this some thought as we waited for the service to begin.
Our phones and tablets and laptops are all paying attention to patterns of behavior.
We all know that amazon.com will suggest purchase ideas related to this new item or our past purchases.
I get a lot of CD reminders for 60's and 70's music, boating equipment and kindle books.
Amazon video and Netflix both provide a "just for you" list of topics (action and mystery/thriller).
Those are simple. But think bigger. God not only sees our behavior in real time, he knows our thoughts and our hearts. He is before us and after us with no boundary of time. Wouldn't his "Siri" or "Alexa" comments be interesting to hear on your smart phone?
"You have 1 hour available with nothing else scheduled, during which you could pray or read your bible, or check on a loved one, but you will instead flip through sports scores and news while wishing you had more time to relax."
Ouch. Or,
"You have just received a bonus check, you will struggle with your decision to tithe 10% off the gross or after-tax amount."
Hey! How did he know that?!
I smiled and thought of other combinations God could share which I most certainly would not want blurted out over a phone. And I realized, as we all do, that God doesn't need a phone app to pull the "drive time to church" magic trick. We have something with much greater nuance, subtlety, depth and breadth.
You're probably way ahead of me on this one, it's...your conscience.
God knows right and wrong and so do we. We are made in his image.
Romans 2:15
"They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them."
What does your Siri say?
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Sunday, May 20, 2018
My Boss Left the Company - We Got Empowered
John 15:26-27
"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning."
I work for a large corporation and we have a lot of management "layers." Sometimes we gripe amongst ourselves about "micro-managing" done by unnecessary middle managers. On the other hand, some team members adapt. They start waiting for the manager to decide everything for them, its easier. They may even lose confidence in their own ability to get things done.
18 months ago, my team's immediate manager left the company. I really liked her even though her role sometimes represented that extra "layer" of oversight. Still, I got the resources I needed to get my projects done and I knew she had my back. So I was disappointed to see her go and we waited for her replacement. None came. Further up the chain, management announced they had eliminated her "layer."
Our new, higher level manager had many people and much broader responsibility. He simply didn't have time or capacity to consider each of our day-to-day decisions. In the short term we floundered a bit as a team. We are all highly driven, seasoned marketers, but we had adapted to the team dynamic of another person calling the most significant plays on our behalf.
Then, without saying so, we each started filling in those manager "gaps" for our team. We made more influential, higher risk decisions. We consulted each other for support. Things got done. Nobody "up the chain" second guessed our work. And now 18 months later, we are a well oiled machine - still consulting our business leader at times, but strongly independent and encouraged to function on our own. We know the boss' overall message and goals, so we often incorporate that saying, "I think this aligns with his plan," or similar. We're empowered, but we do recognize and respect a higher purpose and road map.
If our previous leader had not left and gone away, we might not have stepped up like that - why would we? But this way, and to our senior manager's credit - the company has unleashed so much more energy and creativity and entrepreneurship. We are busier than ever, but it is much more satisfying and purposeful. Much more has been accomplished.
John 16:7-11
"But truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment."
This recent business experience reminded me once again why Jesus' ministry may have been so brief.
I got a tiny glimpse of what Peter and his teammates might have felt. "What do we do now that we're on our own?"
Jesus had already taught them - they knew the fundamentals of his message. Prayer gave them access to upper management - their Father in heaven. And the Holy Spirit was present to inspire and guide and affirm them.
The apostles could have shut down after the crucifixion and waited for the next "replacement leader." But they knew. Jesus had told them. It was with them and through them that he intended to get the work done. No comfort zone ahead.
We are all of us empowered with the redemptive message of Jesus and the cross. His Father in heaven. The guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are the people with whom God intends to accomplish His purpose.
2 Corinthians 1:24
"But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm."
What do you believe?
"When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning."
I work for a large corporation and we have a lot of management "layers." Sometimes we gripe amongst ourselves about "micro-managing" done by unnecessary middle managers. On the other hand, some team members adapt. They start waiting for the manager to decide everything for them, its easier. They may even lose confidence in their own ability to get things done.
18 months ago, my team's immediate manager left the company. I really liked her even though her role sometimes represented that extra "layer" of oversight. Still, I got the resources I needed to get my projects done and I knew she had my back. So I was disappointed to see her go and we waited for her replacement. None came. Further up the chain, management announced they had eliminated her "layer."
Our new, higher level manager had many people and much broader responsibility. He simply didn't have time or capacity to consider each of our day-to-day decisions. In the short term we floundered a bit as a team. We are all highly driven, seasoned marketers, but we had adapted to the team dynamic of another person calling the most significant plays on our behalf.
Then, without saying so, we each started filling in those manager "gaps" for our team. We made more influential, higher risk decisions. We consulted each other for support. Things got done. Nobody "up the chain" second guessed our work. And now 18 months later, we are a well oiled machine - still consulting our business leader at times, but strongly independent and encouraged to function on our own. We know the boss' overall message and goals, so we often incorporate that saying, "I think this aligns with his plan," or similar. We're empowered, but we do recognize and respect a higher purpose and road map.
If our previous leader had not left and gone away, we might not have stepped up like that - why would we? But this way, and to our senior manager's credit - the company has unleashed so much more energy and creativity and entrepreneurship. We are busier than ever, but it is much more satisfying and purposeful. Much more has been accomplished.
John 16:7-11
"But truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment."
This recent business experience reminded me once again why Jesus' ministry may have been so brief.
I got a tiny glimpse of what Peter and his teammates might have felt. "What do we do now that we're on our own?"
Jesus had already taught them - they knew the fundamentals of his message. Prayer gave them access to upper management - their Father in heaven. And the Holy Spirit was present to inspire and guide and affirm them.
The apostles could have shut down after the crucifixion and waited for the next "replacement leader." But they knew. Jesus had told them. It was with them and through them that he intended to get the work done. No comfort zone ahead.
We are all of us empowered with the redemptive message of Jesus and the cross. His Father in heaven. The guidance of the Holy Spirit. We are the people with whom God intends to accomplish His purpose.
2 Corinthians 1:24
"But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm."
What do you believe?
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