HELPFUL - THE SCOUT AS SERVANT

THOUGHTS OF AN EAGLE SCOUT

A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, HELPFUL, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

(Yes, these are out of order.  Sorry)

A Scout is HELPFUL

Through the years the classic image of a Boy Scout is that of a kind young man gently assisting an "old lady" to cross a busy street so as not to meet the grill of a Range Rover moving at high speed.  That image, though still capturing the helpful nature of a Boy Scout is somewhat outdated, now that "old ladies" have scooters, Cadillacs and of course, Segways.

The idea behind being HELPFUL is that a young person, or even an older former Boy Scout has the heart of a servant, willing to take time out of one's ever increasing, and possibly self-centered schedule to aid those in need. "Need can be defined many ways.  As a follower of Jesus it's easy to see him as the essence of what HELPFUL entails. He said "the Son of Man did not come to BE served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for man." (Mark 10:45).  In context this is a theological verse regarding the sacrifice of Jesus.  But he also gave us the image of a servant by washing the feet of his disciples, something few of us today understand in the context of the time.  A possible modern version of this would be Jesus coming to the house of each of his 12 guys and cleaning their toilets.  (Ewwww)  He came to serve, to be helpful rather than require, expect or demand help.  He served his followers as they needed serving, not simply using them to serve his needs. Can't you see Jesus saying "what do you need?" or "How can I help you?" or "Can I cast the demons out of your Segway!"

Reggie McNeal in his book Practicing Greatness (one of my all time favorite books) describes in terms of leadership what it means to be a servant.  He says that "a leader must "BELONG" to his coworkers, or those that he leads.  One reason leaders are supported by great teams centers on the special dynamic between leader and coworker.  The leader belongs to them.  The team knows that the leader sees them as his first line of ministry constituency.  The leader shares his life with them.  Great spiritual leaders still do this." I know I've failed at this, despite my trying.

In the HBO WWII mini-series Band of Brothers,about a company of paratroopers, one member of a squad accidentally shoots himself and dies, something that is devastating to the rest of his squad, a group of at most about 15 soldiers.  The Battalion Commander, a man who is ultimately over approximately 1000 men, makes his way to the handful of men, and sits down among them.  He doesn't say anything. He doesn't attempt to comfort them. He knows them, knows their names.  He knows how much they've been through.  He knows who is affected the most by the loss and who needs the most support.  He just sits with them.  He is one of them, suffering with them and simply being with them.  He serves them by just belonging to them.  And they would gladly fight and die for this servant leader.

Boy Scouts are HELPFUL in far too many ways to list, and as they grow older the dynamic of their servant's heart grows as their lives expand and become more complicated.  But at the core of a Christian, as demonstrated by Jesus, is the heart to serve those around us, no matter how "great" we become.

PREVIOUS BLOG: BRAVE

BRAVE - THE EAGLE SCOUT

THOUGHTS OF AN EAGLE SCOUT: Part II
A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, BRAVE, Clean and Reverent.

(Yes, these are out of order.  Sorry)

In one scene in the Harry Potter series the wizard student Neville Longbottom bravely takes a stand against his friends who, at the time, were trying to sneak out, again. If caught, again, it would cost their "house" enormously in the competition for the House Cup. Fists raised he was, if necessary, prepared to rumble. Of course his friends hit him with a spell that knocked him out and they left anyway.  Ultimately Professor Dumbledore said of Neville "It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but a great deal more to stand up to your friends."  With that he gave Neville and his "house" (Gryffindor) ten points for his show of bravery.

One of my experiences as a Boy Scout was to spend the night in the woods, alone. No tent, No sleeping bag. No tools other than a hatchet.  My singular task was to do whatever necessary to keep my own personal fire from going out.  In those swampy woods I freely admit at times I was afraid.  After all, Michael Jackson had said "It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark!"  Out of sheer will I fought my fear, kept my fire going and survived with only 1237 mosquito bites.

Repeatedly, the Bible speaks of courage:

• Deuteronomy 31:6 -"Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you."
• Joshua 1 - A repeated admonition to be "strong and courageous
• Psalm 27:1 "The Lord is my light and my salvation—
      so why should I be afraid?
  The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
      so why should I tremble?"

Similarly, the people in the Bible were told by various prophets and angels - "do not fear" - an encouragement that God is to worthy of our trust, even at the times which seem most dark.

Bravery is not the absence of fear, obviously.  Bravery is finding the brute force to face what might hurt us.  But bravery has a cost and that cost is the willingness to sacrifice; potentially sacrifice one's friends, one's family, one's livelihood, one's reputation, one's status or even one's life. It's the internal compelling to stare down and run toward that which would steal the heart of us.  

Can you imagine the fear of simple men willing to leave everything to follow this poor, itinerant Rabbi, not knowing where there next meal would come from or where they would sleep or if their families would disown them?  That type of bravery is something I long to have and exemplify, but internally I can't get past the fear of spiders and humidity.
Fear is a plague.  It causes us to put on a mask and be someone we were never created to be, and act in ways that God never intended.  Fear causes us not to trust people, to hide and sometimes it convinces us that we have been brave when all we've done is covered our own backside.  How we face fear illuminates the real depth of our character, and even brings to the surface the potentially dangerous unveiling of our false selves.

How do you define bravery in your own context?

• Bravery is doing what is right, even if it might hurt your reputation. (Nicodemus)
• Bravery is loving someone and being an advocate for them when they have nothing to offer in return. 
• Bravery is looking a friend in the eye and telling them they are wrong. (2 Samuel 12: 1-12)
• Bravery is humbly accepting that your friend is right.(2 Samuel 12: 13)
• Bravery is, as my friend says, creating a bucket list and stepping out and following your dreams, knowing God will move you if you are wrong.
• Bravery is seeking out opposing views, and "offensive" cultures, so we might learn something and then love those with whom we disagree.
• Bravery is the willingness to stare in the mirror and study the lines and wrinkles of our false selves.
• Bravery is facing five o'clock traffic in a car that has a manual transmission.

Bravery is the willingness to admit one is afraid.


I want to be brave!  I would love for Dumbledore to owl me and say "well done, good and faithful servant!  Ten points for Hufflepuff!"

PREVIOUS BLOG: THE CHARACTER OF AN EAGLE SCOUT

PREVIOUS BLOG: FEAR

CHARACTER - THOUGHTS OF AN EAGLE SCOUT

In my life there is one accomplishment or one award that I hold more dear than anything else.  But let's be honest, I've never been competitive nor am I infused with the over-achiever chromosome.  My competitive friends have at times lost there minds at my casual uncaring when playing games.  As such I have no great awards, only a few trophies and those are ones given out as an entire team award.  On a cruise ship once I did win a "Classic Rock Trivia" competition.  I think everyone else was drunk.  Someone shouted "Freebird!!!"

I do find pride in my education and in my work experience, well at least most of my work experience.  But the achievement which gives me the most pride and satisfaction was my earning the Eagle Scout Award.  Typically people will say "I WAS a Boy Scout" but those of us who have earned it say "I AM an Eagle Scout" because it's an achievement that doesn't age. And although I am proud of being an Eagle Scout it still surprises me how revered that award seems to be to some other people.

In every job interview I've ever had, the person questioning me will look over my work and educational history glossy eyed, as if it's exactly what they expected and they've seen the same answers over and over to the point of wanting to poke their eye out.  Yet, at some point they always pause, look up at me with an intrigued expression and say "you're an Eagle Scout?"  Usually the topic of employment changes and the interviewer becomes fascinated with what it takes to become an Eagle Scout, as if I had to slay a dragon, cure a disease or balance the national debt.

All that goes into one becoming an Eagle Scout ingrains within us certain ideals that make up who we are in later life. Certain standards are set, reinforced, repeated and we who agree to this path are held accountable for keeping to those standards.  Most notably we are required to live by what is called THE SCOUT LAW  A set of character traits that should define not only us, but hopefully rub off on those with whom we come into contact.

The 12 Points of the Scout Law are:

A Scout is....

• Trustworthy
• Loyal 
• Helpful
• Friendly
• Courteous
• Kind
• Obedient
• Cheerful
• Thrifty
• Brave 
• Clean
• Reverent

These define the character of an Eagle Scout.  I'm writing several blogs based on these "laws" and how in my life I've followed them or screwed them up.  Perhaps my thoughts will awaken something within the three of you who read this.  Hopefully this one award I worked to achieve will speak to you in some manner.  Which ones would you most like my take on?  (FB me)

As I said, I'm not really a competitive person.  I played baseball.  Got hit in the head by a pitcher's rogue pitch.  I quit the next day.  Perseverance doesn't seem to be addressed in the Scout Law.

PREVIOUS BLOG: HILLS UPON WHICH I WOULD DIE

HILLS UPON WHICH I WOULD DIE

Back in the day (feels like a millennium ago), as a teenager struggling to deal with some inner demons, some family demons, and probably some regular, run of the mill, smelly demons, I was active in my church's youth group.  Singing or worship music wasn't as common as it is today, and as I recall generally reserved for retreats and such.  Two or three of those songs are still cemented in my brain, one of which was based upon 

Micah 6:8: 
  
He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you;   
but to do justly, to love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?

When I gave my resignation in my last church position, I experienced an immediate, surprising, unpleasant reaction from those I thought would understand and care for me. While my plan was to leave at the end of the year (about 4 months), what I received was immediate disconnection and an "invitation" to leave "sooner rather than later" (i.e. clean your office out immediately).  I was shocked and gone in two weeks.

After this painful experience, a friend asked me some questions. "Who are you? Tell me who you are. Tell me about yourself."
As I started describing myself, all the descriptive terms and phrases I could summon were about my calling, my abilities, my accomplishments, my experience.  It was all "work" related.


"No. Tell me about Jim. Describe him to me."


And I couldn't.

I had worked in a church environment where my personal and spiritual life did not seem important to my peers or leader.  But, my "job" was overwhelming and sometimes I was working 55-60 hours a week. I felt like a piece of equipment. So my understanding of myself had morphed into what I do, not who I am.  "You are not what you do!" my friend told me, yet I had no idea who I was apart from what I did.  That's what had been modeled for me by numerous church leaders. At one point I went to visit a friend's church plant and while there, a woman I didn't know walked up to me and said "God told me you were coming today and He said that I was to pray for you, no matter what."  And she did.  A powerful prayer.  A loving prayer.  A blessing prayer.  A healing prayer.  

That prayer touched me on a level that had long been dry. On the way home I searched through my memory trying to think of the last time someone came up to me, purely out of God's leading or out of their love, and randomly said "I want to pray for you."  It had to be years since that happened.  It was then that I realized I had been ministering in an environment where I was never ministered to. I realized, from that environment I had taken on a personality that wasn't mine, and I didn't like that version of me.  

To this day I am still relearning who I am, both as a person, and as a son of the most-high God.  But one thing I absolutely know about myself is that Micah 6:8 is forever burned into my soul. 

Who am I?  James Holland, a man who hates when people are treated unjustly (especially in the church); a man who loves mercy (especially in the midst of dealing with painful issues) and a man who desires and strives greatly to walk with God, humbly and lovingly as a son. (I keep screwing that one up.)

A friend and leader of mine years ago, when we were faced with a difficult situation would ask "is this a hill you're ready to die on?"  Meaning, is this something so important (or so Micah 6:8) that you're willing to risk your job, your position, your reputation and your future?"   When it comes to people, especially within the church, being treated unjustly, and without kindness, YES, that is A hill upon which I am willing to die.

Micah 6:8