Miracle Killers!

Birds, and a Man Named “Kevin”

Peach-faced love birds. Once, we had two of them. They were the most gorgeous creatures I had ever laid eyes on. After some time, one passed away due to the natural order of things. Although it was one way, the remaining bird of beauty was a little guy I really bonded with.

As is the way of things when you are starting out, the lease on our rental agreement came due, and as our young family was growing we felt it necessary to relocate. So—moving day came, and a friend of mine, let’s call him Kevin, generously offered to transport our furniture on his large flatbed truck to our new digs a few miles away. After he had agreed to help,?though, he came back to me and said he could only give me half the time he had originally promised. Since it was now too late in the game to ask anyone else, or rent a truck—Kevin was it.?

My chirpy little pal lived like a king at our place. I had built a portable six-foot bird cage outside for him and he had it all to himself. Come moving day however, it was clear that my fondness for my colorful little companion wasn’t reciprocated. Due to his miniature stature and lightning speed, he was impossible to get out the cage. So we decided to transport him VERY CAREFULLY in the cage to his new home. Kevin knew this. I made sure.

With my fragile feathered friend firmly secured in his large cage on the back of Kevins big flatbed, we headed down the road. 20 mph. 30 mph. By the time I saw 35 mph on the speedometer, I reminded Kevin, quite firmly, about our need to go slow to protect our fragile cargo, but it seemed the connection between Kev’s ears and his feet were severed… 40mph. 50mph.

I turned my head to look out the back window at 55mph, and to my utter horror, there was my one remaining avian companion, wings spread wide apart, plastered to the back of the cage with what looked like cyclonic wind blasting through his flimsy frame! To say he had a look of sheer terror on his tiny face would be an understatement.

“Kevin! Stop the freaking truck! You're killing my bird!” There were only two sounds that followed. The first was the reestablishment of the connection between Kevin’s ears and his feet as he stomped on the brakes. The second was the faint, yet chilling sound of my tiny, helpless bird hitting the bottom of the cage, breathing his last.

What Kills a Miracle?

People who bring death to beautiful things can come from the least likely places.

?We’ve all seen them in leadership. These are people who seem great in social settings, and then tend to suck the anointing out of the room as they walk in to the boardroom or team meeting. There seems to be a disconnect between their ears, their hearts and their mouths. They carry judgment, criticism, offense—they are miracle killers.

Miracle killers are a reality. Gosh, they were certainly around in Jesus’ day.?

One of the most amazing events in human history had taken place in Bethany. Lazarus had been raised from the dead! This was no ordinary event, but truly a miracle that reversed the natural order of things.?

Enter the miracle killers. The Pharisees were so blinded by their preconceived paradigm of how they believed God should work and their need to be in control, so distracted by jealousy, judgment, and offense, that they not only missed the miracle, they sought to kill it! Here’s how John recalls it in John 12:10-11,

“Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.”

Can you believe that? Jesus raises a man from the dead, and then others come out of the woodwork and want to re-kill him!?That’s the power of jealousy, judgment, and offense. It can take otherwise good people, and cause them to act in murderous ways.?

Signs to Look For

Miracle killers in the business realm often dress jealousy, judgment and offense in the suits of piety and self-claims of integrity in order to gain ascendancy and control. They will point to their history of trustworthiness and piety to justify their position and their actions. Miracle killers will attempt to discredit the work of God in the organization by downplaying the significance of what God is doing, and/or disparaging the motivations of the people God used in a bid to convince people to side with them.?

A client I was coaching ran into this very issue. A Senior Executive in the company he founded had married a lady who was also a member of their organization, although her role within the company was in lower management. She became jealous of the established relationships that her new husband had with others in the Executive Team. Whenever there were big wins for their company she would sow subtle seeds of doubt in conversations with her husband regarding the real motivations of others in the Team. The seeds of doubt sounded something like, “They’re just in it for the money. They don’t really have your back. They are using you and are going to eventually push you out.”

Suspicions grew within the Executive Team—30 mph. Efficiency wained—40 mph. Impact almost ceased—50 mph. The miracle of the Godly purpose of the business almost died. It wasn’t until the brakes were put on and honest conversations encouraged, enabling these things to come to the surface to be dealt with, that the health of the Executive Team finally was restored.?

Some outcomes from this near death experience included the husband recognizing his responsibility to actively create a more reassuring culture in his relationship with his new wife, and the Executive Team maturing in their brave communication skills with each other.

Protect the Testimony

A powerful leadership lesson I have learned is the need to keep my mind focused on Heaven’s perspective when miracle killers come near me. I need to be mindful of the power of miracle killers, because miracle killers are also testimony killers. The testimony of Jesus, partnered with His sacrifice and resurrection, is where the works of the devil are overcome in today’s world.

If you find yourself in a team with a miracle killer, then gathering your team for an honest conversation sooner rather than later is by far the best first step you can take. People all need a chance to be heard. Each person involved deserves an opportunity to speak truth regarding how they feel and how they see things, and?jealousy, judgements and offenses need to be owned and repented of. If the brakes don’t get put on soon, the chilling sounds of something beautiful hitting the bottom of the cage just may be the next sound you hear.

Here at Anothen we have a proven track record of being able to help Senior Business Leaders across the world get back to honest conversations with their teams. We build leaders to hear from Heaven.

What’s Next?

Perhaps today you could join me in praying something like this...

“Father give me eyes to see and ears to hear. Grant me a heart to know and a mind to understand when miracle killers are near. Give me the courage and wisdom to host honest conversations if needs be. I need to be a guardian of the testimony’s of the business You have entrusted to me so that Your power shines through for all to see, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

My lesson from Kevin? Better to go slow with someone who cares for what you care for, than to go at speed with those who have their own agenda.?

Connect with Mark today for a FREE introductory advisory call: https://anothen.co/schedule