09-30-23

ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGS
September 30, 2023
For the last two and a half days, I have participated in an online Leadership Event at the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, where Adam Hamilton is the Sr. Minister. We’ve used a number of his books in our studies at CCCC, and when I lived in Kansas City years ago, I would often attend this annual Leadership Event as it was just 40 minutes away. One of the speakers was a minister from New York City named Jacqui Lewis. In her small group session, she had a line that stuck with me. She said, “Candor is a spiritual practice.” She did not say being "rude” or “nasty” or “snarky” or “a basic jerk” is a spiritual practice, but candor. 

In his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul writes about our need to speak the truth in love, and then he follows those words with a passing thought on the necessity of “growing up,” or maybe we might call it maturity. As we grow in spiritual maturity, there is a greater appreciation of other people, the unique stories they bring to the moment, the complexity of their lives, and the emotional entanglements in which they find themselves. Of course, the same is true about us. So speaking the truth in love, or with “candor,” as Dr. Lewis suggested, requires a lot of intentional work. Sometimes it is the hard truth that is only going to get push back, but other times it is an expression of the truth that can be heard and might actually help others take a step. Let us continue to grow in our spiritual practices, including candor.

Lord God, sometimes my strong convictions are spoken out of my own frustrations of not being heard, understood, or feeling as if I am making a difference. Teach me to speak with candor, not with insensitive frankness, but in the belief that there is almost always a way of speaking the truth in love that can be heard without being watered down. Amen.