On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2:11
This is post #14 in a series of posts in a book I read on my Philippines trip and en route home. It contains leadership insights from the most victorious team in sports history (winning percentage = 86% as of the writing of the book): The All Blacks, The New Zealand National Rugby Union Team.
“Large or small, formal or informal, corporate or creative, personal or professional — conscious or not — rituals continue to recreate meaning and have embedded within them the deep values and purpose of the person, the place, or the project.
Though they often become almost invisible, they never lose their meaning, their metaphor, the story they tell us about ourselves and each other: that we’re hospitable, collegiate, united, generous, respectful, remembering, reverent, committed, or in love.
By inculcating rituals into a culture, leaders can bottle its essential spirit, capturing it for future generations. ‘Tell me and I’ll forget,’ goes the old saying, ‘show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.'”
James Kerr in Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business of Life (London: Constable, 2013) 163-164.
Everyone who reads these posts and has family and friends desires for generosity to pass to the generations. The way to do it is to embed rituals that are not formulaic but formational. They shape families and communities when they do them together.
When Kerr said, ‘large or small’ all I could think of was today’s Scripture and watching our children, Sammy and Sophie, act out the nativity on Christmas morning. We did this for years when they were growing up. We’d read it, and they’d make the characters enter the scene with the story. Then later the Maji would enter with three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Ever since, we have given three gifts to each other to make gift-giving meaningful and to not get out of hand. We simply played off the fact that Jesus was content with three gifts, we certainly don’t need more than the Son of God. The ritual has given structure and life to our gift-giving ever since.
I can only imagine how fun it will be with grandchildren someday, though we have to get through two weddings in the next seven months first.
This is also partly why I have hired staff younger than me with Global Trust Partners, like Ereny Monir, who arrived in our home last night from Alexandria, Egypt, or Ruthie Cristobal of Quezon City, Philippines, who just got her 10-year USA visa yesterday (that’s a tool that prequalifies entry into many countries). I am, from the start, trying to create a structure that involves workers who are deeply committed to Jesus Christ of the next generation from the beginning. I have work to do to build this culture. We will spend time together this month to form and forge it. I am prayerfully planning some rituals to help embed the values to the GTP culture. God guide me.
Don’t miss the point today. In whatever roles God has us, if we want to create a culture of generosity that outlives us, it requires doing intentional activities that involve others in structured and repeated ways.