Does the Church Thrive Under Persecution?

"Does the Church Thrive Under Persecution?"  Unfortunately, "no" says theology professor and Dean of Western Seminary in Portland, OR, Marc Cortez. 

Take a look--a well thought out and written article: http://www.christianity.com/Home/Christian%20Living%20Features/11674936/

You might have to check some of your assumtions at the door as you read this.  Takes 5 min. 

I pray for the persecuted church, and for pastors and Christian leaders facing persecution much more frequently than I did even a few years ago.  Maybe because my world perspective has grown wider.  Or, because communication is much better than it was even five years ago, so we know what is going on in nearly every part of the world, almost instantaneously.

My heart goes out to them.   And I'll continue to pray for them, almost all of whom remain nameless to me, except for the few of whom I read about.

Leadership and Self Deception

You know how you sometimes finish watching a movie or reading a book and you have to take a minute to remember where you are… because you were so caught up in the story?  That was my experience in reading this book.  I highly recommend it.

My behavior—and attitude—toward others has already changed during this past week since reading the book, Leadership and Self-Deception, Getting Out of the Box, by the Arbinger Institute. 

It’s a simple read, written in story form, similar to “The One Minute Manager.” Yet for all its simplicity it packs a powerful punch with profound implications, much like the parables of Jesus.  Through the story of an employee who faces the fresh challenge of a new job, a new company, a “tired” marriage and a less-than-ideal relationship with his son, the authors reveal the way “we can blind ourselves to our true motivations and unwittingly sabotage the effectiveness of our own efforts to achieve success” in our work, and joy in our most important relationships.

Truth be told, I found it to be a modern parable of Romans 12.  Really.  In how we regard, work with, tolerate and treat others, but written in the context and language of business.  Which puts a fresh twist on a concept many of us are familiar with but have a hard time carrying out—and don’t know why.  This book helps reveal “the why,” which is why I found it so compelling and why I believe its message is so profound.

There’s something about stories that invite us into their action quickly, lowers our defenses, and excites something inside of us.  Before we know it the story compels us to consider a perspective of truth that we might otherwise have dismissed or ignored. 

This kind of truth, which has to do with the heart, cannot easily be taught as a piece of knowledge, to be learned, stored for future reference, and then used at a later time when the moment calls for it.  No, this is a more profound, character-shaping truth, that is best communicated in story.  That’s why Jesus so often used parables, instead of a didactic teaching of the Law, like the other religious leaders of his day.  Parables draw you in and before you know it, you recognize yourself, your family, and your friends in the characters of the parable.  It’s self-discovery rather than didactic.  Which always bears deeper personal ownership.  And leads to genuine change.