Danny ChaiI resonated with Vanderpool’s April 26th entry. The part about which life is successful. It’s always bothered me that many Christians (me included) often seem to value the same things as the world in terms of success and respect. Like admiring most famous Christians, Christians who have achieved worldly success, even if that meant sacrificing things like time with family and whatever, more than maybe nameless people who chose to put their family first over their careers.
I think I was most bothered by this in high school. It drove me crazy that at church, we valued the same thing in “leaders” as the world did. Like self-confidence, personal charisma, stuff like that. I reacted so violently to it that since then, I’ve always said that if I’m going to be a leader, I’m never basing it on either self-confidence or charisma, I’m doing the exact opposite. Maybe that’s wrong, I dunno, but it’s how I’ve felt.
I dunno, it could be said that the church could learn a thing or two about good leadership and organization from the world, and there’s merit to that. I just think you can do that without valuing the same things the world does in terms of success and leadership. But maybe I’m wrong.