Common Perils and Common Opportunities

Common Perils and Common Opportunities

by | Nov 12, 2024

Election Day 2024 has come and gone, the votes are in, and a new president-elect has been determined. No matter how you voted, our country will now face common perils and common opportunities. Your response as a faith-based leader to both the perils and the opportunities will set the stage for how your people respond as well.

In this blog I would like to name three perils and three opportunities with suggestions of how to respond. But first, I’d like to remind you of one important myth, and how you can avoid falling prey to it.

 

The Myth of Omnipotence

A great deal of weight has been placed on the presidential election. And rightly so. This is a crucial leadership position in our country, and there is much at stake. However, the president alone does not control the fate of the US, or the world, or especially you. Yes, the president does have a great deal of influence, however they are not omnipotent. Checks and balances exist between state and federal law, and ideally within the three branches of government. More than that, as faith leaders, we draw upon a Higher Power to guide and direct us. This Power has been known to burst through jail cells, confound rulers of the day, and transcend even the grave. Therefore I encourage you to exercise your faith, and remember Whose you are, even in uncertain times. Especially in uncertain times.

 

Three Common Perils

Peril #1: Adjust your morals. There will be constant, steady, and unrelenting pressure to adjust your morals. Outrageous behavior and unacceptable actions will again become normalized in the public eye. You may have to work very hard to keep your moral grounding. Norms that were once commonly accepted will begin to feel radical. Norms such as making space for people who are different than you, without having to demonize them or ostracize them. Or norms such as agreeing to disagree. 

Don’t give in to this pressure. Know what you stand for. Be clear on your values. Maintain your morals and ethics. At the same time, don’t demonize those who voted differently than you did. To do so would simply reinforce the polarization that got us here.

 

Peril #2 The Gospels will sound increasingly like politicized statements. Love your neighbor as yourself. Show hospitality toward strangers. Welcome the alien and immigrant. For Christian nationalists, “making disciples” may sound like a rallying cry to lead more followers to acceptance of authoritarianism. Or leading them to treating others with a cruelty that has no place in Christianity. Or any religion for that matter.

Preach the Gospel anyway. More than that, live the Gospel anyway. Be kind. Be hospitable. Be welcoming. Even more so, interrupt acts of unkindness. Speak up for those getting bullied. Correct hateful or derogatory language uttered in your presence. As St. Frances is quoted as saying: “Preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.”

 

Peril #3: You will be tempted to sensor your words or even downplay the Gospels so as not to upset others. You may even be tempted to ignore your baptismal vows. Peer pressure can be a fearsome thing.

Pause, get your internal bearings, then live true to your values. Frankly, the Gospels have always been countercultural. They have always made us uncomfortable. Even back in the day. Yet, a word of caution: don’t beat people up with the Bible. Or with your interpretation of things. That doesn’t help, either.   

 

Three Common Opportunities

Opportunity #1: Love others. The need for love, hospitality, and kindness toward strangers will only increase. More than ever, people in vulnerable populations will need hope and help.  Even the term “vulnerable populations” will expand. LGBTQ people, all people of color, as well as non-Christians such as Jews and Muslims, Sikhs, immigrants, women, the disabled, and the elderly may all be targets of hate.

Natural disasters and interpersonal violence will both create opportunities to extend the best qualities of the gospel toward others.

 

Opportunity #2: Dream of a better future. The time to create inspiring and inclusive visions of a better future for all is now. Dream big and extend your sights beyond the church to the community around you. Partner with agencies and groups who may share your vision. Tap into the wealth of resources around you.

While the numbers of vulnerable people may grow, so will the opportunities to be of service. As a leader, you can show others how to expand their vision beyond your church’s walls.

 

Opportunity #3: Deepen your spirituality. Spiritual growth and grounding will be essential. If you look to the circumstances around you for hope, or affirmation, you may find that wanting. To continue to be a light unto the nations, you will need to tap into your own inner divinity. Practice rising from faith in Jesus to the faith of Jesus.

If your congregation has a vision or a mission statement, let that be your guiding light. If there is a particular thing you are called to, do it, and do it well. If it is feeding the hungry, visiting the imprisoned, providing sanctuary for the immigrant – continue what you’re doing.

But keep an eye out for other opportunities to help.

 

Leaders, this is the time to not only believe in Jesus, but to believe like Jesus. Expand your capacity to be a light in the world and to be the change you wish to see.

Help bridge the gap between our common perils and our common opportunities by following me on Facebook and joining me for my 40 Day Spiritual Transformation Series, starting November 27. I also encourage you to join me this Thursday, November 14th, for my free seminar, “How Christian Ministries are Achieving Success.“

 

Copyright © 2024 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.

7 Tips for Keeping Cool in Hot Times

7 Tips for Keeping Cool in Hot Times

by | Jul 23, 2024

I first published a version of this blog in July of 2016 during the campaigns of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Once again, we’re looking at either President Trump or our very first “Madame President” and what could be a contentious campaign season with polarizing politics, fastidious fact-checking, and flaring tempers. On a pastoral level, we’ve seen thousands of churches disaffiliate from the UMC since the 2019 special session decision. Throw in an unprecedented heatwave or two and we’re really experiencing some hot times!

That being said, I thought this was the perfect time to revive these 7 tips, with some revisions. I think they’re just as pertinent today as they were in 2016.

How do we stay cool in hot times? How do we keep the lines of communication open when we honestly disagree with each other?

 

Keeping Cool

My 7 tips for Keeping Cool in Hot Times are derived from my work with emotional intelligence.

 

1) Assume the best about others; not the worst. In 2016 when this blog was first published, I’d also written one about the election of Karen Oliveto to the episcopacy after which I received quite a bit of push-back.

Both then and now, I assumed that the colleagues whose opinions differed from my own cared every bit as much as I did about what is right and holy and good. We’ve had some good, heart to heart conversations about our assumptions.  If you catch yourself thinking that yours is the only right way—this tip will be hard.

 

2) Ask how questions, not why questions. Why questions put people on the defensive. How questions encourage people to think creatively.

Ask “How did you arrive at this position?” instead of “Why do you think this way?” to get a better understanding of the other person’s reasons and story. Then, feel free to share how you came to your position on the issue.

 

3) Open your ears, not your mouth.  When you’re talking to those who you don’t always agree with, listen to their answers. Really listen. Don’t just wait for them to pause so you can slip in your rebuttals. As you listen, you might just discover more similarities between the two of you than differences.

Identifying your shared humanity is an important part of staying cool in hot times.

 

4) Practice disagreeing without cutting others off. When it comes to hot topics, the usual response is to avoid, or to push away from another, and be done with them. Kick the dust off your heels and move on.  Sometimes love actually requires us to stay connected in spite of disagreement. This is hard to do, but necessary.

In the groups I lead, we encourage a wide variety of theologies and perspectives, and work at staying at the table together.

 

5) Fact check, fact check, fact check. Just because someone repeats a talking point, or says it louder than others, doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true. Dig deep. Get the facts. They’re likely more complex than you first understood. This goes for everything from presidential politics to church politics to international politics.

 

6) Pray for each other. Ask God what you can do to forward the Kin(g)dom in the midst of change and upset. And how you can be kind toward those who misunderstand you and do good to those whom you fear may hate you.  Ask to see things from another’s perspective.

 

7) Resist being hijacked. Fear activates the reptilian part of our brain that’s wired for fight or flight. It can also activate the limbic part of our brain that’s wired for emotion. So intense can the emotion be, that it literally hijacks our thinking and our responses—leading us to say things we might not otherwise say or do things we might later regret. The neocortex part of our brain is activated by higher-order thought processes like logic.

So, avoid gossip, reputation-bashing, and either-or thinking. While it feels powerful in the moment, it intensifies polarization. It’s hard to take words back once they’ve been spoken. Instead – pause, breathe, pray, and see what sort of logical or creative responses you can generate.

 

Yes, we are again in hot times, but by practicing these 7 tips, we can learn to keep our cool while, possibly, finding common ground with those around us.

Want to discover more about how to navigate intense situations with a cool head? Check out my upcoming free online seminar, How Christian Ministries are Achieving Success: An Intro to Creating a Culture of Renewal.

 

Updated and revised from original publication, July 2016.

Copyright © 2024 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.

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4 Ways to Make the Best of the Next Crisis

4 Ways to Make the Best of the Next Crisis

by | Mar 18, 2024

The past four years have forever put to rest the notion that churches can’t flex and adapt. In fact, the pandemic showed that churches could successfully pivot on a dime. Increased adaptability, resilience, and creativity were all positive outcomes. For this reason, many churches did not suffer the losses that might have been expected during such drastic change. We’re not done with crisis, though. We have a contentious presidential election before us, the impacts of AI, and ongoing structural inequities. The second largest Protestant denomination in the US (the UMC) recently lost 25% of its churches during a split. How can you be ready for the next calamity? Read on for the 4 ways to make the best of the next crisis.

 

Are the Best Days Behind You?

Before I share the 4 ways to make the best of the next crisis, let’s address one persistent stumbling block, head on. This stumbling block is the belief that crisis means the best days are behind you. That the future is no longer hopeful. And that it’s all downhill from here. This belief becomes a roadblock to recovery. It prevents you from seeing new opportunities and unexpected openings, or to sense God’s blessing around you.

 

We Had Entered Into the Best Days of Our Ministry Yet

I hate to admit it, but when the pandemic shutdowns first began it felt like the end of the world to me. How will we get through this when community is what we most need, I wondered? How will my ministry survive when we have depended on in-person gatherings? I was quickly losing heart. But I began to speak to friends who were starting new jobs, getting promotions, and even moving across country. It was a jarring sense of abundance amidst a narrowing of my own vision. It prompted me to catalogue the following guidelines. My team and I met, and figured out a way to put everything online. And we had entered into the best days of our ministry yet.

Here are the four guidelines that we followed, that allowed us to not only survive, but thrive, in the midst of very tough times.

 

4 Ways to Make the Best of the Next Crisis

1) Learn from The Past

During the pandemic, many churches quickly moved online. They distinguished between owning a building and being the church. Church leaders and members expanded their sense of agency and acted quickly in the face of need. In fact, the pandemic did for congregations what they could not do for themselves. In a pinch, churches finally made the changes that they had needed to make for decades.

 

 2) Reframe the Negative

A pandemic seems like a negative. Same with waves of disaffiliations and the loss of congregations. Same with contentious presidential politics. And AI. And persistent inequities. But what if each of these crises actually carry the seeds of innovation? What if each of these challenges carry within them the genesis of blessing? When you actively choose to reframe the negative, the positive can appear that much sooner. Being on the lookout for blessings allows you to innovate with speed. This is part of tapping into Jesus’ miracle mindset.

 

3) Build on New Strengths

A leader that I coach had to navigate lawsuits, file appeals, and appear in court as disaffiliations took on dimensions he couldn’t have anticipated. This leader is tired, yes, but stronger and smarter than ever. Each crisis will draw on skills you already have, even as you build new strengths.

 

 4) Take Ownership

In a crisis, it can be easy to feel like a victim. Especially when things aren’t going your way. The best way to get through a crisis is to take ownership of what is yours to do. No, you can’t change all the circumstances around you. But you can take ownership of your feelings, your mindset, your reactions, and your prayer life. This will take you a long way toward being more effective and more resilient.

 

Next Steps

As we look towards Holy Week, remember the God of miracles. Jesus caused the blind to see, healed the leper, and cast out demons. Your crisis is not big enough to stop the God of miracles. Unless you insist on staying stuck.

As we approach the days ahead, let us grow in resilience as we practice 4 ways to make the best of the next crisis. Cultivating resilience in your congregation and your life is possible. It calls for conscious leadership. Come to Elevate Your Ministry: An Introduction to Conscious Leadership to learn about the importance of mastering your mindset, awakening your spirituality, and becoming an intentional visionary.

 

If you want input on your ministry, click here for a free one-on-one 45-minute Discovery Session with me.

 

 

Copyright © 2024 rebekahsimonpeter.com.  All Rights Reserved.