Yearly Archives: 2019

Choosing a Divergent Path: Wisdom in a World Gone Mad

November 11th, 2019 | Dr. Charlie Self

We are inundated with loud voices clamoring for emotional reactions. In contrast, followers of Jesus are invited to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd and choose loving obedience. Let’s take time to still our hearts, listen deeply, and love wisely.

We do not live in the best or worst of times…but in the most instantaneous information moment of history. Our conflicts are not new, but much more immediate and our responses are often unreflective. We can shun vulgarity. We can choose intercession for those who disagree. And we can recognize that power itself is an addiction affecting every part of the political spectrum.

Forgiveness often sparks revival in persons and communities. Without pretending about our real pain or excusing transgression, what if we let go of the rap sheet that we keep against ourselves and others and truly forgive? And when we bless those who frustrate us most, we are liberated, and a new future opens to us.

An antidote for our epidemic and anger: In the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, we can meet every insult with blessing, every denial of truth with love and truth, arrogance with humility, and intolerance with civil discourse. And let’s respond to emotionalism and incipient Orwellian controls with careful thought and affirmation of liberty rooted in virtue. Systemic issues of class, gender, and race must be exposed…and overcome with love, relationships, and wisdom. Protest is one step…and practical, sacrificial action for others moves our vision of shalom forward. This is more than being nice and it is not passive. Living in the opposite spirit of our age of insults and vulgarity is a courageous spiritual posture.

Navigating Unfairness in Life and Work

October 28th, 2019 | Dr. Charlie Self

A sense of justice is hard-wired into the human psyche. Without training, a three-year-old will say, “Unfair!” We are rightly outraged at abuse, prejudice, and violence. But what about the more daily, subtle ways unfairness comes into our lives?

A colleague and I sat down with a leader and shared some of our creative thinking for a new product. We were met with condescension and kindness and the meeting ended well. A year later, we discovered that our ideas had been rebranded, and met with public favor!

Our first responses were incredulity, anger, and resignation. It was maddening to see another get credit and our efforts be ignored. We both thought, “Self-denial is hard when he advances, and we are ignored.”

It is frustrating when others are celebrated, and we feel unheard and unseen. Our first reactions are not yet sins. The next moments determine whether we wallow in self-pity or cultivate godly character. When unfairness happens, our hidden religiosity comes to the surface.

Three insights help us endure these moments. First, remembering God’s mercy in our lives helps us extend grace when life is unfair (Rom. 12:9-21). Second, we ultimately work for One Master, who will reward more lavishly that human leaders (Col. 3:17-25). Finally, God uses these moments for our transformation (Rom. 8:28-39).

Life will be unfair. But we can turn our circumstances into character development and wisdom. We do not celebrate victimhood; however, we can refuse to wallow in commiseration and chose the high road of forgiveness.

People of Faith in a Confused World

October 21st, 2019 | Dr. Charlie Self

Friends, whether you are a devout Christian or a skeptic, inoculated to religious language or open to supernatural experiences, the importance of understanding faith is vital as we navigate our lives in a hostile and indifference world.

Four facets of faith are vital for our walk with the Lord and effective service and witness in our world where everything seems up for grabs:

We are people of “the faith” – the Event of Jesus Christ: his incarnation, sinless life, atoning crucifixion, burial, glorious bodily resurrection, ascension to the right hand of the Father, and Return in glory (I Corinthians 15; Romans 1:2-4, 16-17; I Timothy 3:16; Jude 3). Unlike most religious systems, our Christian life is built on God’s own activity in history, with the Cross and Resurrection as the defining events and definitive foundation. We must defend this truth amidst all the skepticism, historic revisionism, and basic doubt about the truthfulness of anything!
We are people with “saving faith.” We can be assured by the Holy Spirit that we are God’s children with a secure eternity (Romans 8)! How completely different this is from all other religions, with their emphasis on human effort. We are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2).
We are people with “growing faith.” This faith can move mountains when we trust God (NOT trusting our faith level!). Faith grows as we obey the Lord – and his first and foundational command is love (Galatians 5:6).
And, we are people open to the manifestation gift of extraordinary faith (I Corinthians 12). This is often linked with other gifts and is part of God’s sovereign activity as we seek to edify the Body and evangelize the world.

As we navigate the turbulent waters of a world in need, may the Lord strengthen all facets of faith, from solid apologetics concerning the Bible and truth, to deep assurance, to compelling obedience, and openness to the miraculous.

Wise Communication for the Workplace: When to Listen and When to Speak

October 16th, 2019 | Dr. Charlie Self

Every day in our workplaces we are surrounded by dissonant conversations, from practical scheduling to salacious gossip, from helpful inquiries to overt subversion of authority by ambitious colleagues. As followers of Jesus, we are probably familiar with biblical passages calling for respect to our employers (“masters” in Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3), and warnings about gossip and unwholesome communication (Ephesians 4). Challenges arise when we are faced with ethical dilemmas concerning our speech, particularly when it concerns our bosses and fellow employees. Leaving aside obvious insults and overt rebellion, friendly joking and celebrations, how do we discern when to be silent and when to speak? Here are eight insights that help us wisely listen and speak in our places of work.

For all our communication: are we unreflectively reacting or wisely responding? Put simply, when we restrain our tongues and pause to consider the situation, our words will be more carefully chosen (Proverbs 10:10; James 3).
Before saying anything critical about a fellow-worker or a boss, have we spoken to them? Jesus’ admonitions in Matthew 5 and 18 help us here: every attempt should be made to make peace before something blows up in public (Proverbs 10:19).
Critical thinking about issues is different than being judgmental toward a person. For example, “I think there may be a better way to craft the budget” is quite distinct from, “Accounting is full of fools with no vision.” The former allows debate toward wisdom; the latter alienates departments and persons (Proverbs 10:32).
Ambition directed toward kingdom ends is healthy. Desiring promotion for fruitful work is not sinful. But political maneuvering at the expense of another’s character or reputation is a serious transgression. “I really want the Director’s chair. I have some ideas that will move us forward and I think I am ready” is acceptable confidence. “We all know he is only a candidate because his friend is the CEO. He is an empty suit.” Even if the latter has some truth, speaking these words poisons the community and cheapens godly aspirations (Proverbs 11:3, 27).
Friendly banter must be distinguished from ungodly gossip. “What a colorful outfit!” must not give way to, “What a peacock!” Again, motive, selection of words, and the tone all contribute to joy or sarcasm (Proverbs 12:14).
When differing with our bosses on matters of importance, the shared mission must be the focus of our critiques. Finding the common starting point places the conversation away from opinions and toward solutions for the good of the organization. Keeping insight #2 in mind, we should make several attempts to convey concerns or divergent thinking privately before bringing our petition to higher authority. Good records of conversations will be essential if we must go over their heads (Proverbs 12:22; 13:15).
Instead of gossiping with peers, we should bring concerns to higher authority only after other avenues have been exhausted. The time frame could be days or months, depending on the issues at hand. Again, our motives must be unselfish and the mission in focus (Proverbs 14:30).
If we have been unfairly targeted by peers, subordinates, or authority figures, staying with the facts, non-judgmental words, and excellent documentation will all help us fight for justice. When we defend ourselves well, we are also advocating for others that could be subject to the same unethical treatment (Daniel 1-6).

As we navigate our workplaces, the Holy Spirit will help us pause and pray, reflect and respond, instead of reacting and regretting our words. We may not win every battle, but we can grow in holy love and inner peace.

Loving our Daily Work

October 7th, 2019 | Dr. Charlie Self

Most people spend most of their waking hours working. Is it possible to enjoy waking up each morning? We need a vision of work that is more than a means to an end.

Work is all meaningful and moral activity apart from leisure and rest. Paid and unpaid, labor and leadership, factory and field, home and office – it all matters to God and our world. Parenting is work! God ordained work BEFORE we fell into sin, commissioning our stewardship of the world and cultivation of creation (Genesis 1-2). Sin has corrupted our work, introducing greed and oppression, sweat and toil (Genesis 3; Ecclesiastes 4; Amos 2, 5 and James 5).

Throughout the Scriptures, creative, diligent, and ethical work is praised. But by the third century of church history, the sacred-secular dichotomy (SSD) was introduced and “spiritual” callings and labors were deemed more sacred that “lay” or “secular” labors. Praise God for dedicated women and men called to lead the Body of Christ and initiate evangelistic and missionary efforts across the street and around the world. They are worthy of honor and financial support (Galatians 6; Philippians 1). But no member of the Body of Christ is unimportant or inferior and no good work is “secular” anymore! Romans 12:1-2 and Colossians 3: 17-24 make it clear that our whole life is worship…and since we spend most of our waking hours working, this must be an offering to God.

Friends, thank you for all your good work, seen and unseen. The Holy Spirit is preparing an awakening unlike anything we have seen for at least 200 years. And one of the keys (along with prayer, repentance, love, and unity) is recognizing that God’s mission takes place through the entire Body of Christ – most of whom work all day/week. We must close the gap between Sunday’s ecstasies and Monday’s ethics, and offer all our daily activities as worship. The same gifts of the Spirit in operation as we gather in churches and homes are available as we go out in mission…at work! In fact, we should expect more supernatural signs as we are outside of religious gatherings, for God wants all to come to faith and Jesus did not perform for religious consumers (see Mark 6 and Luke 7).

We have been involved with a variety of faith and work movements since the early 1990s and we are encouraged by the kingdom progress as ALL classes and cultures, traditions and vocations are now being honored and empowered. Charlie works for Made to Flourish (www.madetoflourish.org), where the focus is empowering pastors and their churches to integrate faith, work, and economic wisdom for the flourishing of their communities. Charlie’s work with AGTS includes leading several initiatives that integrate faith, work and economic wisdom into the curriculum and community of the seminary. AGTS will be hosting its first Faith, Work and Economics Summit on October 15 (www.agts.edu). Charlie is on the steering team for the Oikonomia Network (www.oikonomianetwork.org), a group of colleges, seminaries, and universities equipping present and future ministers with this same integration. We are honored being Board members for Vine Associates, one facet of an amazing mission lead by Brett and Lyn Johnson. They are being used by God to reimagine and refocus mission to include transforming all facets of society (see the sites: www.repurposing.biz and www.inst.net). Charlie is a Board member of Missio Alliance, another network of networks dedicated to reimagining Gospel-centered mission for the 21^st century (www.missioalliance.org). We are also participants and presenters in events sponsored by the Acton institute, dedicated to a free and virtuous society, integrating good intentions and sound economics and uniting women and men of a variety of traditions (www.acton.org)

Let’s offer our day as an act of worship, knowing that today/s discipline is tomorrow’s destiny.