We Are in The Redemption Business

For 14 years, I worked as an HR Director and Training Manager in a remanufacturing business. We hired a lot of people, we trained them to be excellent, and we honored God in everything that we did – this was one of the corporate objectives. I loved that job because we were clearly in the redemption business. We redeemed all kinds of car parts, of course, and made them like new. We also were in the redemption business in the people we hired. There were a host of people who graduated from teen challenge and similar drug and alcohol programs. No one in that business thought more highly of themselves than anyone else. It was an incredible experience and very formative to the work that I am doing now. I am still in the redemption business. And so are you, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ. That was the business that Jesus was in.

There seems to be two types of redemption which are common to us, but at opposite poles. There is the redemptive work of Christ on the cross, whose substitutionary atonement met the obligation for my sinful life (Titus 2:11-14 ESV). This is the message we preach to a lost world, and we believe upon conversion that the initial work of sanctification is done. There is another redemption of which we hear, often cited in news articles and popular media. This redemption is more aligned with earthly vindication. We read about the redemption of a character in a movie or book, or a game or sports player’s redemption opportunity through victory (Bucci, 2016).

So there is this paradox of redemption in our experience: there is the work of Christ to redeem and transform a soul which takes place instantaneously upon conversion; while the earthly human results may struggle to match up. Yet when we consider redemption in our cultural context, more often than not it is an effort to find redemption in the public square, which is not at all complete like the redemption provided through the work of Christ (Wellman, 2014).

One thing we have failed to see in these two extreme examples are the individuals that God has placed before us who have failed at a task, blown up over a disagreement or dropped the ball on an important project… or even worse. While there is an opportunity here to offer a “second chance” to the failed or insubordinate employee, more often we instead pursue discipline to correct behavior or seek dismissal.

One workplace study indicated that as many as 75% of employees have engaged in some form of aberrant behavior including theft, fraud, embezzlement, vandalism, sabotage, and unexcused absenteeism (Harper, 1990; Hayes 2008). It seems like common sense that different individuals from different backgrounds under enormous pressure in the same workplace can act in different ways. If hiring were from the normal distribution curve, then it would be easier for managers to hire employees without these different traits to avoid the potential for this behavior. But these are often not behaviors that are represented or assessed in a traditional interview process. There is a significant disconnect in thinking that hiring involves drawing from a normal distribution curve (Blanchard et al. 1985).

Much of this second side of redemption is effectuated through our work. Working in Business has nobility. Work was created before sin came into the world (Genesis 2:15). Work was not a punishment for sin although it was severely affected by it (Genesis 3:17-19).

Yet work is that means by which we cooperate with God in the exercise of leadership and stewardship over creation (Genesis 1:28). In this verse, God commanded human beings to be responsible trustees over his creation. So work in the business enterprise allows us to serve others and stewards the resources God has given to us for our flourishing (Genesis 1:29). Business leaders succeed when they create an effective organization that is fruitful, productive and wise in the harnessing of the resources given by God (Pearcey, 2004). Work is also that laboratory where God does His perfecting redemptive work in our lives, as previously noted.

Here is one example of a public-private partnership where work is redemptive, helping at-risk youth find success through employment: a Georgia company hired troubled teens and proved that hard work can overcome hard knocks (Helman, 2014). There is a structured program in the State of Georgia under the direction of Southwire industries. Southwire is one of the world's biggest wire manufacturers. The company has invested $4 million to get the program going, which includes purchasing a building and outfitting the classrooms (Southwire, 2015). The school district contributes teachers and transportation. Students can earn money for their expenses but they must attend class and they are carefully monitored. They work part time in the factory and the rest of the time they're in class working on getting their high school diplomas. The district's dropout rate has plunged from 35% to 22%.

It was the company that approached the Georgia School District. The company wanted to be more focused in their philanthropic efforts and do something that would actively improve the lives of those needing the most help and encouragement (Helman, 2014). In these rural areas drugs and violence have destroyed the social fabric, and many students fall through the cracks. This is a win for the school district, and a win for the students, who are motivated to earn money and finish their degrees and pursue higher education or technical work. It's also a win for the business because the students perform much better than the average workers they hire.

If redemption is an important value to you, then where does it appear in your leadership style? Jesus didn't simply dismiss the things that people did. With the woman caught in adultery (John 8), He didn't simply say, “Okay, no problem, I got you.” He offered forgiveness borne by His own impending sacrifice, and then directed the woman to discontinue this behavior. The difference between employee discipline and restoration is not increasing penalties until behavior change occurs. It is together acknowledging the error, and offering a path towards restoration. This will at various stages represent time spent in self-reflection, purging my self-interest in the restoration process while considering what is best for the organization and the individual. It will also require listening carefully to heart and head issues from those involved in the failure and from trusted others, seeking restorative justice while offering this second chance.

This type of Redemptive leadership requires great empathy matched with a directive approach, pressing in to confront previous aberrant behaviors, and stressing this opportunity to restore this one from the shame of previous failure. There may still exist some hurt feelings and bitterness in the organization. A restorative approach balances the expectations of the organization with the potential opportunity to redeem the talents of a failed employee for whom Jesus gave His life, that they might live “more abundantly” than to carry the guilt of this failure with them into the next position.

When was the last time that you as a “servant leader” gave your life to redeem or restore one of the people on your staff (Matthew 20:28)? In this verse, the work of redemption cannot be separated from the work of leadership: this was exactly the serving work Jesus came to do.

Dave’s Killer Bread was eventually acquired by the same company that owns Wonder Bread and Tastykake. But the business now supports a foundation which encourages other employers to offer ex-cons a second chance. They do this because of their success with Glenn’s brother Dave. Shouldn’t those of us who have experienced redemption through Jesus also consider offering redemption to those close to us who have a history of failure?

There was no distinctive between Christ’s mission of coming to serve as a separate entity from giving His life as a ransom (Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45). For those of us who classify our leadership style as “servant leaders,” our challenge is to exhibit those same redemptive leadership behaviors as Christ did; and to live our lives as expressions of the same missional focus as Christ Himself, “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14, ESV).

Sources

• Blanchard, K. H., Zigarmi, P., & Zigarmi, D. (1985). Leadership and the one minute
• manager increasing effectiveness through situational leadership . New York: Morrow.
• Bucci, J.J. (2016). Redemptive leadership: Offering second chances as a value-added management practice. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Our History: Dave’s Killer Bread (2018).
• Harper, D. (1990). Spotlight abuse-save profits. Industrial Distribution (79), 47–51.
• Hayes, R. (2008). Strategies to detect and prevent workplace dishonesty. Alexandria, VA: ASIS Foundation.
• Helman, C. (2014, July 30). The dream factory: How putting kids to work helps them stay in school. Forbes Magazine
• Wellman, J. (2014, December 25). What Does Redemption Mean In The Bible? Christian Definition of Redemption. Patheos

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