Tuesday, October 26, 2004

being honest about weakness

how do you react when things get tough? When he appoints new staff American spiritual guru Francis Frangipane apparently asks them 'what are your weaknesses?' We've all been asked that in interviews and we normally just try to find a little weakness to share : small enough to not compromise our ability to do the job but significant enough to show that we are good at recognising weakness! Frangipane goes on to really press the point with his prospective staff saying that if they don't tell him about the parts inside them that they know are broken then those things will emerge in times of pressure and cause great damage. Rich Johnson has posted a very interesting list of ways that we react when the s*** hits the fan. The temptation is
- to look for a way out
- to give up on your dream/calling
- to let yourself be a victim
- to distance yourself emotionally from God and others
- to find comfort in places other than the presence and promises of God
- to lose perspective and put everything in to one big black cloud
- to assume that the future is determined by the current season
- to resent church
I really recognise some of those temptations.
I want to be part of a community that is honest about weakness in a care-ful way. I know that I need to be more willing to be honest about the areas where I am weak. We mustn't be squeezed into the mould of our culture which despises weakness.

No comments: