My friend KJ John from OHMSI says the word for him the next 50 years is “Integrity”. Here’s a uncompromising quote to stir conversation:
“Integrity is a lot like being pregnant. Either you’re pregnant, or you aren’t. There’s no middle ground. It’s the same with integrity. Either you’re behaving with integrity, or you’re not.”
Nice list thrown in … lots of hard work here!
“Seven Secrets to Integrity
- Know when to say no to projects, ideas, and even jobs that aren’t congruent with your core values.
- Especially during your busiest hours, stay committed to a pre-defined list of priorities.
- Over-promise and over-deliver. Many times integrity at work and at home manifests itself through your work ethic.
- Gain clarity on all time and duty expectations. The clearer you understand what others need from you, the more specifically you can live up to those expectations.
- Apologize when necessary. Integrity is not about being right or having the answer all the time. Many times it only takes saying “I’m sorry” when other people would just walk away.
- Remember that you aren’t what you do once, you are what you do repeatedly. This is also an excellent metric when examining the other’s behavior.
- Respect people’s time and show up early. It is amazing how a person’s core integrity is illuminated in even the smallest of gestures.”
Why a great deal of writing about work/life balance is sadly off the point
One more from Slow Leadership which has many good posts! And the million dollar question is …
“How much of your identity, your sense of self, and your self-esteem, is linked to your work?”
The Kevin Vanhoozer Interview
Ben Myers calls him, “America’s best conservative evangelical theologian, Kevin Vanhoozer.”
So we become part of the solution to our problems by engaging in a creative process?
“There is a profound difference between problem solving and creating Problem solving is taking action to have something to go away – the problem. Creating is taking action to have some thing come into being – the creation. Most of us have been raised n the tradition of problem solving and have little insight or experience in to the creative process.”
inspirational v. institutional leadership
I need to get the Gandhi movie and watch it again …
“Inspirational leadership involves relationship between leaders and followers in which each influences the other to pursue common objectives, with the aim of transforming followers into leaders in the own right. It does this by appealing to values and calling without offering material incentives. It is based largely on moral power is therefore primarily internal.”
Back to the Bible …
“3. What do you make of terms such as “inerrant” and “infallible”?
The terms inerrant and infallible are modern ways of attempting to make clear that the Bible tells the truth about whatever it intends to teach us about. I much prefer the positive terms truthful and trustworthy. When you start defining something negatively (saying what it is not) then you often die the death of a thousand qualifications, not to mention you have to define what constitutes an error. I am happy to say that the Bible has three main subjects– history, theology, and ethics, and that it tells us the truth about all three.”
ENGAGING IN BILINGUAL THEOLOGICAL REFLECTION
Good questions …
“One of the ways to engage in the art of bilingual theological reflection and thereby better construct a local theology would be to have the local congregation consider four primary questions:
1. If God’s reign were to be fully realized in our neighborhood, what would be different?
2. What are the kinds of idols in our neighborhood that need to be unmasked?
3. What aspects of Christ’s rule do people in our neighborhood need to experience or see?
4. What narratives, practices, convictions and institutions might challenge these idols and more faithfully express the kingdom of God?
Thoughtfully asking these questions would provide the local congregation with much understanding in how to construct a practical theology that is faithful to the good news of Christ in their location.”
Brian re-emerges here and there 🙂 And it will be interesting to see the reactions to his new book … one little thought itching in me … Samir’s comment assumes a slightly global view of Christianity in terms of its size, but for us here in Malaysia (and in Asia) – is the question of our role as a minority religion and how different or similar that would be in articulating the “Christ-centred” viewpoint. How does one speak when one is not in a position of power?
“Samir: That’s where you go next in your book. You talk about the Christian religion’s pivotal role in our world because it is the largest:
In addition, since the Christian religion is the biggest religion in the world (with about 2 billion adherents, or 33 percent of the world’s population), whatever constructive things Jesus might have to say about our top global problems could be important in determining our world’s future. This would be the case at the very least because solutions in sync with Jesus’ life and teachings might get more buy-in among his professed followers. Add to that the fact that Islam is the world’s second biggest religion (about 1.3 billion adherents, or 21 percent of the world’s population) and that Muslims revere Jesus as a great prophet, and you discover even more practical value in seeing Jesus’ teachings in relation to today’s global problems.
Brian: This is really one of the key themes of my life – this belief that the issue isn’t Christianity, but Jesus. Depending on your background and what you’re exposed to, the Christian religion can have more or less credibility and appeal. But Jesus has an almost universal appeal. So that’s where I want to work from – not a “Christianity-centered” viewpoint, but from a Christ-centered viewpoint. In the book, I try to take Jesus’ teachings and example and show what resources they can bring to people today in grappling with global crises – whatever the religion of the people is who are getting involved. I don’t want to make the Christian religion the issue, or Western Civilization the issue, or whatever … I want to help people see the resources that Jesus offers to everybody as we and future generations face unprecedented global crises.”
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