I got an e-mail this morning from my mom telling me she had seen Romeo on Primetime last night. I’m still looking for the video of the show, but I did read the story on their website.

One day, there will be some stories about this day from my students that have not yet been processed. In a small town most people knew both the boy and the girl in this story. Hopefully, it’s a reminder to parents to get nosey with their kids. Of course this implies that parents are actually caring about what’s happening in their kids lives when over and over again kids are telling me "My parents don’t want to know the details."

We all know this isn’t true. Parents desperately want to be there for their kids and kids desperately want to have their parents there for them. The issue is that neither is comfortable with the details… How do we make this happen?

Two things you need to read/do in follow-up to this entry.

1. Read the Primetime story
2. Watch the video The Secret Lives of Teens
   

This weekend we’re playing hosts to the Cedarville University Jackets racing team. Basically, these are engineering students who design, build, and race a F-1 car. I hoping to run over to the Ford Proving Grounds a few miles away and check them out later today.

Tonight at Light Force we’re exploring the idea of true loyalty and the high cost of disloyalty. Here’s a quote from Donald Trump’s blog that I’ll be using in my introduction.

On a recent episode of The Apprentice, some people were
surprised that I didn’t fire Rebecca after a rather contentious meeting
in the boardroom. Rebecca had broken her ankle the week before and set
out to prove, despite her physical setback, that she was still capable
of leading her team. She volunteered to be project manager, but
unfortunately for her, the women’s team failed.

There was a lot
of finger pointing for the loss, and most of those fingers were aimed
in Toral’s direction. But instead of immediately picking Toral to
return with her to the boardroom, Rebecca opted to let her return to
the suite. Apparently, Toral had helped Rebecca with her ankle, and
Rebecca held Toral in high esteem for her educational background (my
alma mater, Wharton) and for her business background.

Even when I
personally suggested that Rebecca reconsider, she remained steadfast in
her decision. It was either a really stupid move or a really smart one.
Fortunately, for Rebecca, there are few qualities I value more than
loyalty.

When employees and employers, even coworkers, have a
commitment to one another, everyone benefits. I have people who have
been in business with me for decades. I reward their loyalty to the
organization and to me. I know that they’ll always be dedicated to what
we’re trying to accomplish. The reason I have so many loyal people in
the Trump Organization is that the loyalty is reciprocated. A lot of
companies feel that dedication is a one-way street, but I think that’s
an easy way to lose good, talented people.

In Rebecca’s case, I
was impressed by her steadfastness. (I still think she made a stupid
decision, and I fired Toral the following week.) Nevertheless, I was
moved by her dedication.

I’m not saying that "The Donald" is nearly the leader that Jesus was and is… but it needs to be very clear from anyone claiming to be a leader that they demand and respect loyalty.

That said, the true test of loyalty isn’t in proclaiming it… it’s in living it out when that loyalty is tested. When the one you are being loyal to isn’t living up to expectations, are you still loyal?

I’m in the process of re-evaluating myself, my ministry, my direction (heck, I do this every day don’t I?) and I know I clearly reward those who are loyal… but I wonder if I’m really fostering loyalty? Am I worth someone being loyal to?