Dale Cresap's blog

Do you listen to other people for the purpose of refuting them or to learn from them? These are exclusive categories since you can’t do both at once. Have you ever had anyone listen to you for the purpose of refuting you? How would you know? Yet is there anything more obvious? This leads to no communication but rather a downward spiral of argument. You can score points in this situation, but no one really wins, for victory comes at the cost of alienating your brother. Why would you agree with your adversary?

Are you prepared to render first aid? First aid training is offered on the premise that those in emergency medical situations need immediate help. The person near at hand who can stop the bleeding is more helpful than the doctor far away. Relatively little training is required to save a life while more advanced care is on the way. Can you extend this principle beyond medical situations? What about spiritual ones? Are you prepared to offer spiritual first aid? In the routine course of your life you will meet people with immediate spiritual needs.

Do you see the gospel as primarily a positive or negative message? In some sports, like golf, you want as low a score as possible. In most sports you want to score as many points as possible to win. In comparison to the Christian faith, you would want a low score for sins, and a high score for love, faithfulness, generosity, righteous works, and other virtues and spiritual fruits. If both are important, which is more important? The answer to this question indicates whether the gospel is a positive or negative message.

Are you familiar with the idea of reserves? You may practice it. Are you aware of how much gas you have in your car and add fuel before you run out? Do you have some money available for emergencies? This concept applies in many areas. Can you think of others? What about a reserve of grace? Have you ever felt depleted by a series of extreme demands? Grace isn’t something you can measure and save like gallons and dollars, yet you still know people who seem to have a larger reserve to draw on than others.

Are you a leader? Do you assume that there are few leaders and many followers and if you are not a leader then you are a follower? Everyone can and should be both, and you should look for both aspects in your own life. I was impressed with a Centurion who had understanding not because he had men under him, but because he was a man under authority. Do you assume that you must be a follower rather than a leader because you cannot identify any direct followers? Even if you don’t have a title and an office I have still given you a realm in which you can exert influence.

Would you do your job any differently if you had the authority and resources to do it any way you wanted and total responsibility for the outcome? This is a relatively recent concept in the world of commerce and is referred to as empowerment. But it has been around a long time in the Kingdom of God. Have I not given you the authority to act in my name from the very first? Have I not promised to grant all your requests and to provide you with all the resources you need to do all that I have commanded you? I told you to occupy until I return.

Do you ever seek solitude? Do you ever feel the need to get away from the noise and activity of the crowd? Even I was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, and later went into the desert to pray, and the founders of faith traditions went away from human company to encounter God. Do you do this because you find people to be annoying? Yet you are called to love your neighbor and your brother. In fact loving God and loving your neighbor are inseparable. It is too easy to think you love your brother when he is not around.

Have you ever answered the phone and thought that you were talking to a real person, but found out that you were talking to a recorded message machine? Who wouldn’t prefer to talk to a real person? Yet have you ever had the same experience with a real person? Have you ever heard someone present a memorized message on autopilot and suspected that they were not really listening to you any more than the corresponding machine on the phone? Don’t do this to other people. It is okay to listen to what people say and make a response based on what is actually said.

Do you seek out a community to avoid living in isolation? When I said that it was not good for the man to be alone it was the expression of a universal truth, and there is a deep human longing to connect in community. But communities can themselves be isolated, and you have seen examples of this. If it is not good for the man to be alone, how much better is it to be in a group that is small, exclusive, intolerant, adversarial, and judgmental? This would not appear to be much of an improvement.

Do you assume that all tribes are monolithic? You could think of denominations or entire faith traditions the same way. Yet you know people in your own church who hold variations on your shared beliefs. Do you assume that those outside of your tradition or tribe are monolithic within their own tribe? They probably feel the same way about you, but the same arguments apply. Do you think of atheists as being monolithic? Yet even here there is considerable variation. Some are hopeful skeptics who hunger for a transcendent reality they have not yet encountered. Can you help them to find it?