Thanking God for...

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you...in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now." Phil 1:3,5

One of the paradoxes of your life as a leader is that the people you lead are the people you most depend on. They're the ones who give you support, encouragement, and sometimes more. Jim Belasco, a college professor and management consultant, tells a story that shows just how far that dependence can go.

On a mission during the war in Vietnam, a US Navy pilot's jet was hit by enemy fire. He ejected himself from the fatally stricken plane, pulled the rip cord on his chute, and waited those interminable seconds until it opened. It did. He landed safely, only to be captured and spend five years in a POW camp until the end of the war. He never gave that parachute another thought.

Years later, a man approached him in a hotel lobby, introducing himself as a former sailor who had been on the same carrier as the pilot. The sailor, it turned out, had packed pilots' parachutes. After reminiscing, the men went their separate ways.

Only later, did the pilot realize that the man he had just met had probably packed the chute that saved his life. Then he realized how many other "chute-packers" there had been in his life, both military and civilian - people who had done their jobs, however dull, extremely well, and enabled him to do his...and survive.

From that moment, the pilot vowed to know who was "packing his chute" in his work and his life, and to acknowledge and thank them. It's a great lesson for all of us who know, yet sometimes forget, that we depend on others every day of our lives.

And to each one of you, thank you for the part you play in Kingdom work. Have a great week!