"When it all comes down, you know it all comes down to doin' the walk." Steven Curtis Chapman

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Blackaby’s "Subraction" Challenge


It’s Sabbath. I’m at Andrews University sitting in a special session titled “Spiritual Leadership” featuring Richard Blackaby a well-known pastor, beloved seminary professor, and best-selling author. One of the things I have loved about being in this doctoral program is that each summer I am required to be here for “Roundtable” a time when all Leadership scholars gather for training and inspiration.

Blackaby is telling a story about when he was in his 20s pastoring a church. Another pastor’s church across town was experiencing impressive growth. Blackaby’s church was stagnant. He went in tears and prayer to the Lord and complained, “God! I can’t work any harder! I’m doing all I can. Your job is to bless my efforts. Why aren’t You doing that?!” He says there was no audible voice, but God’s answer was very clear, “I am giving you all the success your character can handle.”

Blackaby was devastated. “Oh Lord, don’t leave me where I am. Do whatever You must to change me. I have 40 more years to work, I can’t do it as I am now.” Through the next year things got worse as key families left his congregation. “They found a way to blame me for everything from world hunger to climate change,” said Blackaby. The year was a prolonged lesson in managing his pride, and things turned around in a remarkable way.


It was a time when he had to lay down his pride before he could receive what God wanted to give. “There’s no point going to one more leadership seminar, filling one more book with notes on leadership, adding one more skill to your leadership tool belt if there is something God needs you to put down. It’s not all about addition. Sometimes subtraction is the key to progress.” 

Then he highlighted the five things he feels are the most deadly for a leader: pride, fear, laziness, unforgiveness, and pessimism. He had great stories for each one which I will not tell, but regarding pessimism, he said that some wear it as a badge of honor, a mark of superior intelligence. Once a church board member told his father, Henry Blackaby, “Well, I’m your Doubting Thomas. Jesus had one too.” Henry responded with, “Fine enough, but is that Thomas before or after he met the risen Christ?” Not sure I’m pessimistic, but I certainly am skeptical. My default position for looking at anything new is with squinty eyes.

It got me wondering if there is something that I need to let go of. I prayed the same prayer: “Lord, lay it on me if there is something I need to give up, don’t let up. Make it as painful as necessary until I surrender it.”

I thought about it on the way back to my cousin’s house and jotted down two things that might be issues for me: goofiness (Ginger warned me about this one. When I’m around other brainiacs I tend to say silly and confusing things.) and whininess (I’ve warned me about this one many times.) Goofiness comes from being a bit unsure of my acceptability, so it’s easy to keep things edging on the silly side so folks can think I was “just kidding” if they don’t agree. Whininess comes from being too easily upset by things that do not match my expectations. I can be easily rattled.

Hmm… not sure that’s all. Not sure those are the worst things I do. But I am sure God can make it clear in His time.

No comments:

Post a Comment