The man who came to my office was a retired moderate Baptist
pastor who had moved to Tennessee recently.
He came to talk to me about ministry opportunities in the immediate area. I expressed appreciation for his interest, asked
him some questions about himself, told him a little bit about the nature of
progressive Baptist life, promised to share his resume as opportunity presented
itself, and suggested that he might want to expand his search to some other
denominations in middle Tennessee. He
finally said to me, “I come in here asking for your help and all you can tell
me is that I might have to seek a place in another denomination? That’s not very helpful!”
Helpful or not, I had defined reality from my experience. He had the choice to accept it or not. In
this case, he did not. The late Max
DePree wrote, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you.”
When we go to someone asking for insight or information, how
will we handle the information we receive?
First, we can accept it as one person’s perspective or one
piece of the puzzle. Each of us tends to
see reality from our own point of view, so talking with several sources of
information provides balance. We say, “Thanks,”
and seek further counsel elsewhere.
Second, we listen to those we have asked for insight and use
it to formulate a strategy that fits our own gifts, talents, and needs. Too often we think inside the box rather than
reconfiguring the box to fit the unique service we offer.
Third, we hang onto our own perception of reality because of
inflexibility, lack of vision, or fear to move outside our comfort zone. We try to make it work for us despite the
obstacles.
My visitor did talk to others in the area, but eventually
moved on to seek opportunities for service elsewhere. I think it was a good decision for him.
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