January 11, 2012

Courage

In the last two weeks courage keeps popping up. Well, to be honest, courage itself isn’t showing its face (yet). But I’ve been hearing about courage: on the radio, a friend’s Facebook post, email messages, and other conversations.

Is there something in the airwaves now, a ripe moment for everyone to be talking about it? Maybe. But more likely my own antennae are picking up a signal I need to hear. You know how that goes, suddenly hearing or seeing something repeatedly, even if it’s been there all along.

It’s an interesting message to think about in a new year. In addition to setting specific goals for 2012, I may focus on this driving question: in what parts of my life and leadership do I need more courage?

But in a vacuum this question isn’t very helpful to me.

What made a deeper connection was finding a bright orange button in the junk drawer I cleaned out after the holidays. In the midst of thumbtacks, dried-out pens, and mini flashlights it spoke to me: Love casts out fear.

Courage must be about love. We are willing to take risks for the people, places, and things we love. We need courage in the face of fear, not when things are humming along smoothly.

Yesterday I listened to a podcast interview* with Gary Hall, the rector of Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, MI (and an ECF Fellow) about “The Balancing Act of Leadership.” He shared a number of wonderful ideas about church growth, congregational change, and leadership. But his comments at the end of the interview, about his own leadership, really struck me:

You can’t lead a congregation you don’t love…. I love these people. I love this place. I see God incarnate here…. I love them too much to let them get away with anything bogus.

So now I ask myself: what do I really love enough to be courageous? For whom am I willing to sacrifice, to take risks?

What about you? What do you love? In what ways are you called to be courageous this year?




* This video interview is one of several excellent conversations hosted by ChurchNext, a website dedicated to building healthy congregations. In addition to watching online, the interviews can be downloaded as audio podcasts.