This past weekend, our region learned of the death of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year old boy who was struggling with some significant issues in his life. He was also dealing with bullies. On top of all of the personal challenges he faced as a teenager, he was subjected to painful ridicule and verbal abuse. His pain led him to take his own life.

I did not know Jamey, and I cannot begin to understand all that he thought or felt, but I do know his death is tragic. There is no question, bullying is bad. It is a form of verbal violence that attacks a person’s identity and erodes their sense of self-worth and their sense of safety. It is bad and it is painful.

I have no knowledge of the specific abuses this young man experienced, but I do know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of these painful attacks. I have clear memories of hurtful words and embarrassing moments. I remember the physical intimidation that included being chased through school by someone trying to stab me with scissors because he just didn’t like me, and the Halloween night, two peers tried to set me on fire just for fun. Words and actions like that can hurt deeper than we imagine.

As I reflected on the sad events of this weekend, I was struck by the reality that bullying does not just take place at school and bullies are not just teenagers. Part of the culture that continues to produce people who take pleasure in the pain of others is the reality that many adults model exactly that type of behavior. I meet grown men and women who still deal with their own issues by attacking others, in what they do and what they say. This behavior becomes a living illustration to people who look up to them that meanness and cruelty are acceptable if we “feel” justified, or if we believe someone deserved it.

No one deserves it, and there is no justification for hatred. All of us are created in the image of God. We are his workmanship, created for good things. Even from the first creation, God saw all that was made and called it, “good.” Humanity, he called, “very good.” How can we hate what God made in the Divine image and called very good?

We are called to be living examples of God’s goodness. We need to teach one another, our children and all those God places within our sphere of influence how to act out of love. People need to understand the impact of their actions and words on the hearts and spirits of others around them. We have a calling to be role models of grace and love who treasure each life as Jesus does, and who teach others to do the same.

Bullies may always exist, but that should never make their actions acceptable, nor should we ever become insensitive to the pain they create. Since God is love, then we need to demonstrate the transforming power of love to the world, including those who suffer from the painful acts of others, and those who commit such acts. We will not make things better by hating the haters. Instead, we must break the cycles that produce hatred in the first place and become examples of how to live without it.

There is no better day to show God’s love than today and no better time to start than right now. As the old camp song said, “They will know we are Christians by our love.”

May it be so, even now.

The post Where is the Love? appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.

Whenever significant changes occur in such public ways, there are always many questions and many assumptions. This news is no different and the discussion even made its way into our van as we came home last night. My son began talking about who could replace Jobs and where Apple would look to find someone. This provoked some interesting conversation, but a key point I raised in our discussion was that any company looking to successfully navigate a change like this would be wise to look for someone within the company who understood the company’s DNA. My wife and son agreed then they said, “but it won’t be the same.”

They are right. We all know that when leadership changes, something significant shifts. Even though we talk about the power of an institution to follow its design, we know that leadership plays a significant roll in how the vision is put into practice and how people are willing to follow.

The Apostle Paul wrote the Corinthians, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1) He understood the importance of leadership to shape others, and he also understood that the good leadership involves being a good follower.

Leadership is a popular theme in the world, and it is in the Church as well. It seems everyone wants to be a leader. Those in charge are highly valued and respected and many aspire to be in someone else’s position. It is almost like an adult version of King of the Hill. The best leaders, however, are not just those with the right degrees, background or connections. Great leadership comes from following a great model and then modeling those same great behaviors for others to follow.

This is why Paul could tell his listeners to follow him, for he knew that he was following Christ. He sought to model his life after the life of Jesus and invited the Corinthians to do the same by following him to Christ. We should do likewise.

Jesus invested tremendous time in his disciples, helping them understand the kingdom of God through his words and actions. On the night of his crucifixion, he began his last meal with them, by taking on the role of a servant and washing their feet. Then he told them that they should do as he did, following his example.

 Jesus is our example. We need to follow him, and then we need to be Jesus with flesh on for the world around us. When people look at us they should see the One who we follow in us, in our words and in our actions. It should be clear that we belong to him.

Thankfully, our leader will never resign, so there is no concern over his replacement, but as followers, we can help others follow as well. If we follow the model set before us, and allow him to dwell within us, then we too, can encourage those around us to follow us as we follow Christ. We need to be good followers first, then we can begin to think about becoming leaders.

May the eyes of our hearts be on the Leader so that we can be followers worth following.

The post Great Followers appeared first on Thinking Faith Cafe.