Why You Shouldn't Hate Your Job

Millions of Americans have become spectators in life, sitting on the sidelines and simply watching as others participate in one of life’s greatest endeavors. 1 in 5 American families misses out on the character-building, relationship-training activity that was ordained by God from the beginning of time. In 20 percent of homes, nobody works at all. Everyone in our society suffers as a result.

My first job was as a janitor. Monday through Friday for an hour and a half I went into a small office building and cleaned toilets, emptied trash cans. dumped ash trays and swept floors. I hated it. With no one else around it was lonely, quiet and even a little spooky at times. It wasn’t fun but it wasn’t supposed to be. It was a job. I learned responsibility, commitment and that being a janitor was hard.

As with many teenagers in the 1970’s and 80’s I had several other jobs during high school and college and each taught me important lessons. I scooped ice cream at Baskin Robbins, where I learned inventory management, customer service and how to negotiate a raise. I sold shoes at Thom McAn, where I learned sales techniques, how to close a deal, how to read a customer and that working retail means working evenings, weekends and holidays. I worked on a loading dock for Montgomery Ward, where I learned how to balance a refrigerator on a dolly and unload a truck. I worked for Vons grocery stores, learning more customer service, how to pick quality produce and the benefits and disadvantages of union membership.

In each job I learned what it meant to work, to set aside pleasure and leisure to do what needed to be done. I learned what it meant to be a part of a team and how to work with people who were different from me. I had good bosses and bad bosses, both of which helped me become a better manager and employer. I learned the value of a dollar and how long I had to work to earn something I wanted. I gained self-respect and learned what it meant to do my best even when no one else was watching, or worse, to work hard even when the people who watched did not appreciate my efforts. Every job, every task and every shift was a growth experience.

Today in America, in 1 out of every 5 families, there is no one who is benefiting from the blessings of work. The innumerable lessons are unlearned and are not passed on. There is no one modeling the self-discipline of getting up on time in the morning and making oneself look presentable for the day. No one learning to submit to and interact with a superior, no one learning to negotiate a better deal. No one pays income tax and contributes to society economically, no one participates in making something or providing a service to a customer. 1 in 5 families receives all of its financial support from society, is totally dependent on others for survival..

It is impossible to overstate the long-term negative impact on our society of such dependence. Beyond the obvious fact that no economy can thrive in the long term when 20% of its families do not participate in the production of goods and services is the reality that no culture can thrive if large segments of the population do not receive the education and personal growth that only work can bring. 

Something needs to change. We need to quit referring to work as a curse and a chore to be avoided  and view it for what it truly is, a blessing and an opportunity to be embraced, whatever or wherever the job may be.

-          Bart

Comments and questions are welcomed, and shared with friends appreciated. I can be followed on twitter @bartbarrettmd and can be reached through the website for personal questions or speaking invitation.

A Pastor Quits. Who's to Blame?

One Sunday he was there, the next Sunday he wasn’t. It came as such a surprise to me. I did not know him well but I loved his preaching and had learned and grown so much in the short time he had led our church. After he was gone I was left wondering what had happened. I was only 17, and like most of the other young people blamed the older people for the young pastor’s departure. I could not point to any specific person or group but I had heard things and it made sense that the old guard was to blame. Most of us young people did not know any of the leaders well enough to ask for an explanation but we were convinced that there was something seriously wrong with the church. Over time most of us moved on.

Those difficult days come back to my mind whenever I hear of a pastor resigning his position. Thoughts of that time returned this week when the pastor of my current church announced he was leaving after only 3 years in the position. He is dynamic and gifted and is loved by many. It is difficult to make sense of his decision. After the news came out the responses I have heard in conversations and have read on social media echo the feelings of those of me and my friends 35 years ago. People are convinced that something has gone seriously wrong and that they are not being told the whole story. A common theme is that someone needs to be held accountable, that either the pastor, the elders or maybe some of the old people, must be to blame.

This is the natural response when something bad happens. We want an explanation, want to know who to blame and to know how we can make things right or punish those who are at fault. This desire is natural but it is not biblical.

Jesus addressed the natural desire to assign blame for tragedy and loss in His interaction with His disciples in John 9. They had come across a man who had been born blind, a man who as a result was condemned to poverty and social isolation. His was a very bad life. When confronted with the man’s plight the disciple’s instinct was to try and assign blame. They asked Jesus, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Jesus’ surprisingly answered that it was neither, but that the man was born blind so “The works of God might be displayed in him.” Jesus did not say that the man and his parents had never sinned or done anything wrong, like all men they were sinners. Jesus did make it clear that their sins had nothing to do with the blind man’s terrible circumstances. No one was to blame. God allowed tragedy so that He could do something wonderful.

The blind man’s story seems especially relevant this week. Something bad seems to have happened at our church and things seem wrong. People wonder, “Who sinned?” and seek to assign blame. But what if there is no blame to be had? What if no one’s sin is the cause? What if God has a plan? We see something terrible, but we could be overlooking the truth that God is working in a way that will result in His glory.

As the church moves on in the coming months it is my prayer that we will avoid the trap that befell the disciples. I sincerely hope that instead of trying to assign blame we will choose to hold on to the truth that God is working, even in difficult circumstances.

It is what He does!

-          Bart

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Preaching Grace at 80

We live in a culture that worships youth and vitality and that devalues the wisdom and experience of our elders. Many churches have responded to the culture by hiring younger pastors, embracing contemporary music and emphasizing ministries that appeal to society. Sermons emphasize the need to perform community service and meet the needs of our neighbors. Topics such as sin and repentance, considered unappealing to the young, are seldom mentioned and evangelism, actually talking to people outside the church about faith, is a footnote to the church’s social justice agenda.

Chuck Swindoll stands out in stark contrast to the youth movement that has invaded the church. A nationally known pastor and Bible teacher, he is approaching his 81st birthday with no plans of retiring from the ministry. He continues to preach on a regular basis in the church he began in Frisco, Texas at the age of 64, launching a new ministry at an age when most others would be looking for the exit.

Chuck was the senior pastor at the First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, California for 23 years. I had the privilege of sitting under his teaching for 13 of those years. From Chuck I learned innumerable lessons including the importance of Scripture. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was also being taught how to preach. The hundreds of sermons I heard from Chuck taught me how to think about the Bible, how to organize my thoughts and how to apply lessons of Scripture to daily life. When he left Fullerton to lead a seminary in Dallas it was a sad day for me.

Chuck returned to Fullerton on Sunday, the guest speaker for the worship service celebrating the Fullerton church’s 60th anniversary. It was an emotional service for me. Sitting next to me was the wife I had met at that very church and our two children, whose child dedication ceremonies had been led by Pastor Swindoll so many years earlier. It was the first time my children had heard him speak.

During the message Chuck related a story of Howie Stevenson, the man who served at his side as worship pastor for 20 of his 23 years in Fullerton. Chuck told us that each Sunday before he would rise to speak Howie would lean to him over and quietly say, “Preach Grace.”

The message Chuck preached on Sunday was a beautiful sermon from Isaiah 6, a passage where the prophet shares a vision he had of God in His infinite glory. As only he can, Chuck took the congregation into the vision and reminded us of the awesomeness of God. The response of Isaiah to this vision of God’s holiness was to feel the weight of his sin and shame. Isaiah was completely undone by the realization that God is Holy and that he was wretched and sinful.

Then Chuck preached grace. He read the verses describing an angel touching Isaiah’s profane and unclean lips with a hot coal, burning away the sin, taking away his iniquity and bringing forgiveness. Isaiah was wretched, God was Holy, and in His grace, Holy God took away His sin.

We were deeply moved by the message. After the service my 25 year-old son, member of the modern church’s targeted demographic, said to us, “I would pay to hear preaching like that!”

That morning was a wonderful reminder of what matters in life. In addition to being reminded anew of the amazing truth that a Holy God loves and forgives a sinful man like me I was encouraged by the fact that God is not done with me yet. If God can use a man in his eighties to touch the heart of a man in his twenties, there is hope yet for me.

- Bart

You can listen to Chuck's message here . More of his messages can be found at www.insight.org.

Top 10 Mistakes Parents Make with their teens

Parenting teens is hard and not every parent succeeds. Here is my list of the top 10 mistakes I have seen parents make.

10- Thinking they are almost done parenting

Some parents see adulthood as the finish line. The closer their children get to 18 the less guidance they offer. We live in a world filled with temptation, which only increase in college. Our children often need more time and guidance when they are older. Good parents spend the time.

9- Arguing with their teenager

People who argue with their bosses get fired. Learning to control your emotions and to submit to authority when you don’t agree are priceless life skills. Losing our temper or debating with an adolescent teaches all the wrong lessons. Set rules for disagreement early. Let your children have an opportunity to respectfully disagree and express themselves but enforce consequences when they do not accept your decisions.

8- Skipping family dinners

The importance of sharing dinner and conversation cannot be overstated. Have everyone put their phones away, turn off the TV and review the day.

7-Emphasizing college prep over life prep

Character is more important than education and relationships are more important than academic success. I went to community college for two years and took 5 years to get a bachelor’s degree. I came out okay. My son started at community college and was in the top third of his law school class at UCLA. Too many families sacrifice too much for the pursuit of a better school. It is almost never worth it.

6- Telling instead of parenting

Many parents tell their children not to drink, do drugs or have sex. Very few talk to their children about what to do when friends drink or use, or how to construct their lives in a moral fashion. Telling takes minutes. Parenting takes a lifetime.

5- Not hanging out with their kids.

Healthy families do things together. Good parents look for opportunities to spend time with their children instead of opportunities to get away from them. Date nights with a spouse are important, date nights with your kids can be priceless.

4- Modeling materialism

When we always have to have the best and latest we teach our children that happiness is dependent on things. Doing without, and telling our kids why, can be a powerful teacher.

3- Not teaching how to handle money

We live in a very expensive world. Our teens often have no idea of how much living costs. If our kids do not know the cost of a mortgage, car payments and insurance, food and utilities, how will they be able to choose a career path? Good parents teach their children how to spend, how to save and the importance of avoiding debt.

2- Not monitoring media

We live in a perverted and dangerous world. Parents who do not follow their children on social media, and who do not know the shows and movies their kids watch or the music they listen too are not doing their job. Once innocence is lost it is gone forever.

1- Trusting their teenager.

Wise parents do not trust their teenage children. They know where they are, what they are doing and who they are doing it with. Since we were all teens once ourselves we should know the trouble that awaits those kids who lack parental oversight.

-          Bart

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What is Your Doctor Worth?

How much is your doctor worth to you? For most people the answer appears to be, “Not very much at all.”

In the current rapidly changing health care environment patients are seeing their insurance coverage change on a regular basis. Their in-network physician can become an out-of-network physician overnight. Continuing under their physician’s care then results in additional charges for each visit. These charges are typically in the range of $30-$50. The vast majority of patients are not willing to pay the additional fees and therefore switch to a new physician. For healthy patients who do not have a well-established relationship this makes sense. Why pay extra to see a doctor you have only seen once or twice for a head cold?

For patients with chronic illness and who have more complex issues the decision is more significant but the outcome is seldom different. In the minds of many patients doctors are  like any other product they would purchase at the market. The name on the package may be different but the basic product is the same. They see no reason to pay more for something when they can get the same thing somewhere else at a lower price. Even when a doctor has provided exceptional care there is little extra value perceived.

Several years ago I had an active senior citizen come to me saying that he was getting more fatigued with exercise. He had no chest pain or pressure but I asked the appropriate questions and felt there was a significant chance of coronary artery disease. Although the symptoms were not classic I referred him to a cardiologist for an urgent evaluation. Further testing revealed significant blockages of his heart arteries and he underwent angioplasty. It is not an exaggeration to say that my thoroughness may have averted a heart attack. A few months later he learned that I might not continue to be covered by his health plan and that in the coming months he might have to pay an additional fee. He changed doctors immediately. I may have saved his life but I was not worth an extra $30 a visit.

For physicians who truly care about their patients this can be very discouraging. Last year I made a change in my schedule, lengthening routine appointments by 33%. Patients appreciate the time and attention and I think it has greatly improved the quality of medical care I provide but at the end of the day the percentage of patients willing to pay more for the extra time, attention and quality is discouragingly low. We live in a world where people who pay $5 for a cup of coffee, $15 to see a movie and $150 a month for cable TV are unwilling to pay more than the minimum to see their doctor.

This is part of the reason many doctors have converted to concierge practices, models in which patients pay an upfront fee to be a part of a quality practice. For fees of  up to $3000 a year or more patients are guaranteed same day access, rapid telephone and email responses, and lengthy appointments. Patients get high level service and physicians get patients who value their time and expertise.  

While concierge practices have much to offer they are out of the reach of the vast majority of patients. As appealing as the arrangement is from a financial perspective I cannot bring myself to closing the access door to longstanding patients of modest means. For the moment I plug along doing the best I can at current reimbursement levels, knowing that my current strategy of providing the highest quality care and service I can may not be sustainable in the long term. My hope is that over time more of my patients will grow to appreciate the value of the service we provide. If not, we will all have difficult decisions to make.

- Bart