This past month, I’ve been lucky enough to have my first experience with what I like to call, “The Adult Workplace”. Managers, schedules, fellow employees, and forty-plus-hour workweeks have dominated a large part of my time lately.

Perhaps it’s my spoiled, entitled, millennial upbringing, but throughout this first month I’ve found myself getting extremely frustrated at many points throughout the day at work. Don’t get my wrong, I’m very thankful to have a job, especially during such tough economic times, but just like anybody, there are moments where things get downright frustrating. During these times where frustration sets in due to what I deem “unfairness” or “lack of communication” or, to put it more candidly, “stupid freaking management”, I can just hear the more experienced adults shaking their heads at me with a satisfied grin and saying, “Hey kid, that’s just the way things are.”

I hear this phrase a lot during conversations about “The Adult Workplace”. “Everybody hates their boss”. “Everybody hates their job”. “This place will steal your soul”. “Overtime sucks, but at least you get paid a little extra”. This is a small smattering of supplemental phrases that usually precede, “that’s just the way things are”.

While I will not be SO naïve as to deny the present reality that we are not always going to love, or even like, our jobs, I will be naïve enough to challenge this notion that “that’s just the way it is”. Perhaps I am far too young and the harsh real world hasn’t whipped me into shape yet; but then again, perhaps that places me in the perfect position to speak on such a subject.

So how can we avoid these frustrations? In short, we can’t. Employees will always get frustrated, managers and leaders will always fall short. The question is not how can we avoid frustration, or tension, the question is, how do we best deal with it. That’s why your boss is usually called a “manager”, they manage tension. They’re not called “resolvers”.

So how do we manage these frustrations?

In my experience, there are few things more exhilarating than the feeling one gets from effecting change in an environment, no matter what the scale. What would happen to our outlook of the workplace if when faced with reoccurring frustrations, instead of resigning ourselves to “just the way it is”, we were allowed to ask the question, why is it this way, and how can we make it better? I’m not talking about challenging every convention in the workplace, but if I was going to spend over forty hours of my week in a single environment, I would want to make sure it was an environment where everyone was as alive and inspired and happy as possible. This comes from being heard and the feeling that we’re affecting change. The current convention may be “just the way it is” right now, but that convention probably was set in motion because someone got frustrated, challenged the old one, and made it better. This is what we might call progress, and it extends way beyond the workplace.

Affecting change brings a spark to our souls, and can do wonders for increasing team moral. When we look at the world as is, frustrations, hurts, darkness and all, and we just accept it the way is, we are dooming ourselves to an angry, selfish, discontented working experience.

Rather than accepting, let us begin affecting.

I broke out the old fall coat for the first time today. It’s been unseasonably warm here on the east coast this October, but this morning I went outside for my run and it was clear that fall had truly and finally arrived.

As I walked down the streets of Manhattan with my hands in my jeans pockets to keep them warm, I remembered what jacket I was wearing. My fall jacket, which, like most jackets, has a soft lining located on the inside of it’s pockets that would provide my hands with much needed warmth. I slid my hands into the openings on the side of my coat and for the first time this year and rediscovered the inviting warmth of coat pockets. It’s a very specific feeling, and one that I usually forget about over the long summer months.

Along with the warm feeling, I also discovered some hidden knick-knacks left over from last fall and winter. This is one of my favorite parts about the changing of seasons, when I put on my coat, and I happen upon things from last fall/winter that had been left in the pockets all summer long. It’s like an accidental time capsule. This might sound gross, but I’m not talking about gum or Kit-Kat wrappers.

I’m talking about that old movie ticket reminding you of the great date where you spent the extra money for the lazy boy seats and ordered dessert right into the theatre.

I’m talking about the pen that you stole from the bank when you cashed your holiday bonus check.

I’m talking about the still wrapped up complimentary mint that you will never eat now, but that reminds you of that special meal you shared with your whole family at that special restaurant and you ate way too much.

I’m talking about a five-dollar bill, which has no real nostalgic value, but is lucky because now you can make a stop at Starbucks without feeling guilty about spending five dollars for a coffee.

I’m talking about those things that give us pause, just for a minute, and help us remember why this time of year is so special. For some reason, and I don’t know why, when the weather gets colder, our hearts just seem to get warmer. Perhaps its because when the cold sets in, we know that huddling together is what provides warmth, so we draw into community with one another and in that community, we create memories that last a lifetime.

I really enjoy when a continuous theme pops out at me as I study the scriptures. I do a lot of bouncing around both testaments in my quiet time, and just when I think things are getting too random, I notice a common thread has been attaching everything I read that day. Perhaps I’m not the only one who's experienced this. Earlier this week, I had one of those serendipitous experiences. It served as such a great reminder to me that I thought maybe I should share it with anyone who might actually read this silly blog.

2 Chronicles 30 and Acts 15. These two chapters are seemingly random, and they were random for me when I chose them the other day. In 2 Chronicles 30, King Hezekiah has been leading the nation of Israel through the purification process, so they might be forgiven for forsaking the Lord during the previous king’s reign. In Acts 15 a debate is stirring about whether or not the good news applies to the Gentiles, even though they are uncircumcised. In both of these passages there is a group of people trying to make themselves right before God. One group has forsaken their relationship with the Lord, and the other has never known Him.

What is truly amazing about these two passages though, is that in both, the scriptures make it very clear that God is first and foremost interested in these people’s hearts before He is interested in their physical obedience to the law. 2 Chronicles 30:18-20 and Acts 15:8-9 make it abundantly clear that purification comes firstly through faith and not through bored, tired, drone-like physical obedience.

Please understand, I am not condemning the commands of God. I believe that there are many physical commands in scripture that still should be obeyed by us today, and I believe God gives us those commands because they are the best things for us. But I do not believe that God is interested in a mindless army of rule followers. God first and foremost has always been interested in our hearts, because God understands this…

The transformed heart is the catalyst for the transformed actions of a transformed life.

Or you could put it this way…

It is from a heart that seeks Him, that God will create a body that obeys Him.

So is obeying God important? Of course. God wants us to obey Him. But more than that, I believe that God wants us to want to obey Him.

A friend of mine texted me last night somewhat out of the blue. We talk every couple of weeks, but considering we had just seen each other last weekend, I was quite surprised to hear from him. The long text contained some specific encouragement for me concerning my life, work, and ministry. He simply felt moved to affirm in me my calling as an actor, writer, and speaker. Normally I would read these types of messages, write back a nice thank you, and move on with my night, but this encouragement was different, because in that moment, it was exactly what I needed to hear.

I asked my friend where this sudden burst of affirmation came from. “I don’t really know,” he said, “I was just thinking about you and all you’re doing.”

That’s the tricky thing about encouragement, isn’t it? It is hard to really point to where the words come from sometimes. Most times I feel like I’m just going about my day when all of a sudden a friend pops in my head and my mind is filled with encouraging words for them. This is not an uncommon occurrence for me and I’m guessing many others. What is even more common though, is how many times I ignore that voice inside that is feeding me the encouragement. So often I let the opportunity pass, or I simply allow myself to forget. Perhaps I’m not alone here.

Letting those opportunities for encouragement pass might seem like not so big a deal. After all, nobody knows that you had something to say and didn’t say it. How could they miss something they never knew existed? But what you might not know, and what my friend didn’t know last night, is that what you have to say might be exactly what that person needs to hear. They may be struggling with something, and you have the exact affirmation they need in that moment.

There is also a chance that they may not need it, and that your encouragement might come as completely random and mean very little to them. But I have never heard of someone losing a friend because they encouraged them too much. But far too often I have heard of friends losing a sense of passion and calling because those around them never took the time to affirm them.

If something is on your heart, if you have some encouragement that you feel moved to give someone, then don’t let that opportunity pass today. You never know, it could be exactly what they need.

Yesterday I finally got around to watching the movie, “42”. If you haven’t seen it or heard of it, it is based on the true story of Jackie Robinson’s historic journey as the first African American player in Major League Baseball.

I had been told for months by numerous friends and family that I needed to see this movie. I figured it was probably because I love baseball movies, and this particular baseball movie had some major elements of faith woven through it, two of my favorite things in the same movie, who wouldn’t suggest it to me.

For some reason though, I never got around to watching it until now, and as I should have already expected, I watched it at the exact right time.

Now I would never try to compare the type of persecutions that Jackie Robinson, and many other African Americans went through during and previous to the civil rights era.  That would be flat out stupid. Recently though, having a video go viral on YouTube, I have begun to taste a little bit of what it’s like to have people against you. To have people say things not just about what you’re doing, but about you personally, to have people wanting you to fail on a global stage.

Now the claims of religious blasphemy and comments about how far apart my eyes are sound like fluffy marshmallows in the face of the death threats and racial slurs that surrounded Jackie Robinson everyday. I have to imagine that the temptation we struggle with in the face of persecution is the same. When I see a negative comment, or when someone says something just flat out nasty about me as a person, I want so badly to enter into that argument, to shove it back in their face, to make them pay for it., but Jackie Robinson, Harrison Ford, and Jesus reminded me of a different way.

In the beginning of the film, Harrison Ford’s character, Branch Ricky, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers is questioning Jackie to see if he’s willing to undergo all the hatred that will indefinitely come his way. After going through several graphic examples, Jackie stands up and says, “You want a player who doesn’t have the guts to fight back?”

Harrison Ford stares for a moment and then speaks to my soul, “No,” he says, “I want a player who has the guts not to fight back.”

When dealing with criticism, as elementary as it sounds, it truly is better to turn the other cheek. In fact, it takes more courage to not fight back, to allow the insult, the hate, the criticism to pass through your ears, trying your best not to let it get into your brain, which is a direct pathway to the heart.

So sticks and stones may break my bones, but words…they definitely can hurt too. Words are just like a punch in the face, but the stronger man is willing to offer the other cheek, and to spill his blood for the cause.

I have thought about a relationship with Jesus in many different ways. Lately though, I’ve been thinking about it a lot like elementary school lunch-time in the cafeteria, following Jesus is like a trade…



It’s trading the rags of our sin for the veil given to the bride of Christ.
It’s trading our worldly riches for humble service to our fellow man.
It’s trading being an orphan, abandoned from any sense of belonging to being adopted as sons and daughter of the living God.
It’s trading light for darkness
It’s trading fear for trust
It’s trading doubt for faith
Despair for hope
Death for life
Distance for intimacy
And anxiety for peace
It’s trading our arrogance and worldly desire, for humility and worship
It’s trading famine for a feast
And hunger for satisfaction
It’s trading exhaustion for rest
Wandering for home
Slavery for a kingdom
And a desert for paradise
It’s trading guilt for grace
Pain for healing
Uncertainty for clarity
Distress for comfort
Tears for joy
Old for new
Isolation for community
A moment for eternity
Loneliness for friendship
Convenience for covenant
It’s trading death for life
And it’s trading your life for a freedom that is greater than you could ever ask for or imagine.

We live in a world where everything is become more and more integrated. With the rise of wi-fi and smart phones we are able to stay plugged into business, family, friends, and any other possible circles in our lives. Studies among leaders under the age of thirty show that young people no longer view home and work and play as separate entities. We can always stay connected so therefore everything always is connected.

Many blogs, especially blogs like mine with a Christian theme, bash this millennial trend and say that we’re losing our sense of community and therefore blaspheming God. While I respect the integrity it takes to stand up for the old way of life, I see so much potential for good, and more importantly for the gospel, in the smart phone era. Where many may see a satanic device with the mark of sin pasted on the back, I see a tool with infinite abilities to not only cultivate influence on a worldwide scale, but also to achieve our wildest dreams.

Each and every human who owns a smart phone has the ability to grow their own personal brand, their own global platform. This was not the case even ten years ago. As we integrate business into hobbies into family into the rest of life, each of us slowly becomes our own CEO. We are in charge of our brand, of our image that we post on Facebook and blast on Twitter. This may sound shallow, and unfortunately, many are choosing to promote a pretty shallow brand, but living as our own CEO does not have to be shallow, in fact, it carries infinite and deep possibilities for good.

Running your life as if it were a business also sounds scary and way too serious for most people. The freedom, however, lies in that we have the ability to choose whatever business we want to be, our brand can say whatever we want. In this way, being our own CEO gives us a greater opportunity than ever before to do what we love, and to share that with the world. There are few things more generous than to share what you love with others. These are the kinds of brands that I find grow the greatest audience, people who are generous with their knowledge, service, experiences, and love. By aligning our brand with generosity, we harness the potential of the Internet for good, rather than shallow self promotion.

We can try all we want to fight against the cultural trends, but in my experience, that only adds fuel to the fire in the shallow camp. What I would rather do, is infiltrate this trend from the inside and capture a worldwide audience with love and generosity. The choice is yours, but the possibilities are endless. 

I recently had an afternoon where I found myself tired, beat down, weary, and in all honesty, wanting to quit altogether. Luckily for me this was just a short stint, but for many folks I know this is a perpetual state of existence. I mean come on; our entire government has even called it quits recently. There is something about the American way of living that tires us out, that makes us bitter and resentful, and leaves us asking the question, “why am I even doing what I do?”

I asked this question in the hopes that my answer would pull me from this worn-out stupor I seemed to be stuck in. When I asked “why”, I began to reflect on my motivations, and I noticed a distinct difference between motivations that were effective in spurring me from my current state, and those that were not.

Effective motivators are unchanging truths existing in our lives. Money is an ineffective motivator, because sometimes we don’t make very much. The love of my family, however, is an effective motivator, it is unchanging, no matter how little money I make or how run down I get. When inevitable failures and the monotony of the American way overtake me, I lean on my small list of effective motivators, God, my family, my girlfriend, and a call to make the world a better place through creativity. It is these relationships and this calling that inspire me to strive for success, but it is these same things that are always there for me when I fall in failure. To strive for excellence without effective motivators is to embark on a pointless rat-race that will never reach completion or satisfaction.

When we’re tired, beat down, weary, and in all honesty, wanting to quit altogether, it is our effective motivators that remind us that sinking is impossible, because they are always keeping us afloat, and giving us the strength to climb back in the boat and continue living, striving, and daring with great passion.