Before you head off into your weekend, here are two things I’ve read and been thinking about this week and a part of last week’s sermon about where HOPE comes from. I hope you find them as helpful as I have. Have a great weekend!
#1
The one truth that would help us begin to solve our ethical and political problems [is] that we are all more or less wrong, that we are all at fault, all limited and obstructed by our mixed motives, our self-deception, our greed, our self-righteousness and our tendency to aggression and hypocrisy.
Thomas Merton
The humility to admit that “I may be wrong” opens a conversation to new possibilities. I’ve begun approaching situations of conflict by asking myself that question and a few others such as “How have I contributed negatively to this situation?” and “What do I need to repent from?” Wow has that made all the difference because it automatically opens me to hearing from others in a way that may change my mind. I’m beginning to wonder if conversation can really happen unless both parties are willing to change their mind. Call it debate or something else but don’t call it conversation.
When was the last time you’ve changed your mind? If you don’t remember, let me suggest it may be less about the positions you hold and more about how you are holding them.
#2
And a leader’s capacity to recognize sabotage for what it is—that is, a systemic phenomenon connected to the shifting balances in the emotional processes of a relationship system and not to the institution’s specific issues, makeup, or goals—is the key to the kingdom.
A Failure of Nerve by Edwin H. Friedman
Have you ever been in a situation where your car began drifting off the road? The temptation is to yank the wheel in the other direction isn’t it? And yet, that is exactly what gets you in more trouble. You don’t need a massive direction change but a gradual re-establishment of the wheels on the main road.
When you discover that someone has undermined or otherwise worked against you it is probably more about the emotional dynamic between you than the organization’s direction. They may feel as if the organization is drifting and instead of taking a measured approach they decide to take the wheel and yank it. But, if you take the time and not be defensive, you may discover that you share the same goals and have the same love of the group. It may be that the person feels the emotional balance shifting resulting in loss of control. Sabotage/undermining may be their attempt to regain control.
I am not trying to excuse bad behavior but rather establish what is really going on. It is most likely not a need to radically change course but rather slow a bit and make sure your people aren’t feeling left behind.
#3
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us,[1]
Romans 5:1-5a
Counting on Character – Sermon Excerpt from June 18, 2023
We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God through this grace and we boast also in the suffering we are invited to with God. And here is where the party ends! Do you know how easy my job would be if faith in Christ not only produced reconciliation with God but a freedom from all of life’s problems? Believe in Jesus, get on the Forbes list of richest people! Believe in Jesus, and never have a common cold! Believe in Jesus, and every plane flight get upgraded to first class! But the cold, hard, and sometimes neglected reality is that Jesus says to his followers, “Deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow.”[2]
Paul lays out a journey with Christ in verses 3-5 that does not disappoint for it ends in hope. What does disappoint many people however is how Paul says we get there. Boast in sufferings for they produce endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Can’t we just skip to hope? Nope. Hope flows from the deep recesses of character. Character counts. Character is the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual. It is who we are as evidenced by what we do and why we do it. Character formation is the work of Christ in us through is Spirit. What does Godly character look like? Jesus. We boast that we are bound for eternal glory and we boast that when we get there our character will be formed as a little Christ.
[1] The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. Print.
[2] Matthew 10:14
todd nelson 