Subscribe
Share
Share
Embed
In this episode of Wake Up, Look Up, host Zach reflects on the inspiring story of Nike's new CEO, Elliot Hill, who rose from intern to the top leadership position over the course of 32 years. Zach draws parallels between this story and the biblical importance of investing in the next generation. He highlights how God values young people, as seen in the Pastoral Epistles, and encourages listeners to adopt the same mindset. Offering practical challenges, Zach emphasizes checking one’s heart, mentoring young people, and giving them opportunities to grow, knowing that today's intern might be tomorrow's leader.
Creators & Guests
What is Wake Up, Look Up?
Check out new episodes of our daily podcast, Wake Up, Look Up, with Zach Weihrauch as he interprets what's happening in our world through the lens of the gospel.
[Applause]
[Music]
hello everyone thanks for listening to
wake up lookup a podcast where we
connect events happening in real time to
the Gospel of Jesus Christ I'm Zach
wrock and in today's episode we are
telling ourselves to let Nike show us
the future now what do I mean by that
well you might have seen this in the
news recently but Nike just hired a new
CEO and what makes the hire so
compelling is that Elliot Hill the new
CEO actually started at Nike in
1988 as a 6mon intern that's right he
began his role as a company as an intern
in fact it's a funny story he thought he
was getting an actual job and didn't
know until he had actually moved to
Tennessee that it was just a six-month
uh internship he worked his entire
career at Nike over 32 years and retired
as a highlevel executive only to then
later be rehired by the company as their
chief executive officer from intern to
CEO and this by the way is not as rare
as you might think companies like
Walmart General Motors and sap all are
currently led by CEO who at one time
began either as an intern or low-level
associate in their company each one of
them is a story a testament to the fact
that a person's hard work can actually
take them from the lowest level of an
organization to the highest level and
let me just say this that I this is one
of the things I love most about America
the idea of our country is that a person
works really hard they should be able to
better themselves these stories are
incredibly rewarding because they're
they show that that is still reality at
least in some pockets of our country
very very encouraging maybe especially
to me as a father of teenagers to to say
to them work hard wherever you find
yourself and who knows what will happen
but these stories are also reminders to
us of something that God takes very
seriously in the church and that is to
see the value of young people uh time
and time again the Bible affirms the
value of young people but the way I love
that it does it most is in the Pastoral
Epistles I mean God writes the New
Testament uh the the manual for how to
think about the church in in the church
age after the resurrection of Jesus and
it's fascinating to me that God
dedicates three of those books first and
2 Timothy and then Titus to Paul
developing young leaders and they're
full of helpful things in a lot of ways
but their macr level contribution is to
show us that God takes very seriously
the work of one generation valuing and
raising up the next so much so that
three of the New Testament books are
dedicated to showing us how to do that
and that's so important because I think
each generation has this kind of
inherent sneering towards the
generations that come after it I I'm I'm
now over 40 and I feel it as I Look
Backwards that the generations behind me
just don't get it they don't work hard
enough they don't they don't think
through things the right way but the
Bible challenges that it calls me to see
the value that they bring and to invest
in them so that whatever shortcomings
they might have now can be developed for
the sake of the church and the gospel
moving forward these stories probably
also resonate with me because as many as
you know I've been in a growing process
I'm I'm being trained for an eventual
job in which an older guy my boss Joe
coffee is speaking into my life and I
have found it so helpful and so
rewarding so with all this in mind I
want to offer three kind of pastoral
challenges to you in thinking about
developing the Next Generation the first
is to check your heart where are you
with young people do you see their
strengths or their weaknesses their
value or do you see them as an obstacle
is your heart for young people reflected
of God's heart if it isn't I just want
to encourage you to seek repentance to
never devalue what God finds valuable
instead ask God what is it you see in
them God what is it you're wanting to do
show me some glimpses of positivity so
that I can get excited in the way that
you are excited second find a way to
contribute to them by the way it doesn't
just have to be in the church find
someone in your company a young person
that you can Inspire m motivate that you
can affirm and find Value in take them
to lunch and pay for it bring them
coffee ask them if they you can be
helpful in any way I think what you'll
find is if you make yourself accessible
to young people they'll often blow you
away with how hungry they are to learn
from you and in so doing will inspire
confidence in you that maybe their
generation isn't so off and then third
find ways to give opportunity to the
generation to come
it's interesting to me passing on
opportunity to Generations after us
always comes at a cost to our own
generation it always means giving up
something that we like doing or giving
up some Authority that we took time to
build but the reality is there's no
training like on the job training find
ways in the Ministries in which you work
in the place in which you work even in
the context of your own family to bring
someone along with you to give them
opportunity even at the expense of
yourself and to live through the
messiness of them learning on the job to
do it the result of that is increasingly
feeling like your company your church
your family is in good hands I hope that
God wants to do something in generations
to come that is even bigger and better
than what he has done and is doing in my
own generation but more than hoping for
that it's God's call on our lives to get
involved in the gener ations to come to
ensure they get there find God's heart
for young people you never know the
person you're getting coffee with might
just be the next CEO of Nike hey thanks
so much for watching this video while
you're here we'd love to ask you to hit
subscribe or to like so you get future
content if you listen to the audio
version too make sure you leave a review
and a comment that really helps consider
sharing it on social media and helping
us get the word out and hey while you're
here check out all the other content
that Christ Community chap is putting
out including the videos that are around
me right now