Recently I've been reading this book called "Louder than Words" by Andy Stanley. For those of you who don't know who Andy Stanly is he is a Christian dude often times viewed as a prophet by clergymen in contemporary mega-churches but who really does speak pretty well to the heart of the matter concerning many things applicable to the Christian life. This book is about character, integrity, and compromised living.
These are ideas that I am into more than your average church-goer. Does that mean that I HAVE more character and integrity than your average church-goer? No. It just means that I talk about it more often. This, I have discovered, is annoying to people.
I have decided recently to take a stance on issues that are "not a big deal" to most people. Sometimes this makes me, in effect, less fun. And sometimes I'm afraid of what this will lead to because I don't want to make my kids listen to Focus on the Family cassettes and I don't want my friends and family to tag onto most of their conversations "Don't tell Steve, he'll flip out." And while we understand that as Christians we are supposed to be a bit "weird" compared to the ways of this world there are definitely people that even we within the church think of as "really weird" because they will honestly tell you that their favorite movie is "Passion of the Christ."*
But here are the real pro's and cons to it. Once you start acting like "Mr integrity" everyone is reminding you of it all the time. Either because they are making fun of you, because they want to see you fail, or because they honestly support you and are trying to remind you that you swore you were going to do the "right thing." You have, in a sense, become a lightning rod for correction.
Being a leader puts you up on a pedestal and everyone thinks that they are entitled to an opinion on your life. (Why not, you're their leader?) And whether you like it or not being Mr Integrity** makes you open to the same kind of public scrutiny. And you will fail. Because no one can live up to the game they talk. People who don't get this concept call it "hypocrisy"
But I invite and embrace this scrutiny. Jesus invited us to look at his life and find him faultless. I invite you to look at my life and find fault. I am not Jesus, I am a man in need of Jesus, and who honors him with process more than product. Too few people are willing openly provide correction and admonishment because these things are annoying and unpleasant. I intend to make myself a lightning rod for these things. I don't really deserve the title, but if it will help the cause, you can call me Mr. Integrity.
*Which, by the way, is the only R-rated movie they own
**Which is not a self proclaimed title, but rather, what they will call you behind your back
4 comments:
interesting stuff. i'd like to talk to you about this sometime
Straight to the heart again, swath-cutter.
Let's write a pamphlet together or something.
Also, did you get your celly telly back online?
Also, I have a huge list of band names to share with you.
agreed. it's a way for people to keep you accountable for your actions, as well as you keeping people accountable for theirs, just by your presence. like you said, you'll obviously fail, but that's the point. we all need jesus.
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