Thursday, October 18, 2007

Deadly Viper


Currently reading Deadly Viper from Mark Foster and Jud Wilhite. It covers serious character assassins which can derail us. The layout is very fun, in a Kung-Fu style.

Quote from Rabbi David Wolpe on character being both personal and communal:

"If you have deep relationships it shifts the center of your gravity from work to relationship. It lets you know what ultimately matters. Tomorrow, if you were fired from your job, work would be gone in an instant, but the relationships endure. That is what is lasting."

The question to myself/our team is "are we creating that kind of environment?" I'm not saying we need to kum-ba-yah together and never get anything done, but are my interactions with volunteers and other staffers based on genuine care for the person first? I think that is the heart of Jesus. He did commission the disciples to do work, but first he poured into their lives. I believe this is the essence of discipleship.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Speaking as a former "ger er dun" type A driver kinda guy, I couldn't agree more. At the end of my life I am hoping that I will be known for the loving way I enteracted with the people God put me in contact with as husband, father, grandfather, brother, friend, employer, co-laborer etc. I no longer believe the road to success in any endeavor needs to be lined with the bodies of the people I ran over in the name of productivity or excellence. "They shall know we are Christians by our love".

Kristin Baker said...

I'm learning a lot from you and Dustin about how to slow down my Nazi productivity and look around at how everyone's doing. This came naturally for me as a teacher but for some reason didn't switch over automatically to adults. I'm not sure why you're interestd in this part of the book since you provide this environment naturally, kind of like Pigpen's smell that follows him everywhere in the peanuts cartoons, only with you it's grace and encouragement . . . how's that for poetic illustration?

@heredes said...

Yo Danny Halen ... could you spread the word amongst your circle regarding the open spot down here in Sunny Florida (see my latest post)


Thanks bro! I'll call ya soon ..

Miami Thug

Rob Wegner said...

There's an old managerial saying, "Getting work done through people." Actually, I think Jesus' agenda is exactly the opposite, "Getting people done through work." Dillard says work is the place where the greatest amount of spiritual formation can happen. That's what I want for us...

Rob W