Monday, July 30, 2018

Losing Your Voice

If you cheer really loud at a sporting event, you can lose your voice.

There is another way to lose one's voice.  If you yell at a child long enough, they will stop listening.  If you nag a spouse long enough, you can talk, but they won't hear you.

People and organizations lose their voice, their ability to be heard, in a number of ways.  Sometimes they are mean, and they lose their voice.  Sometimes they can't admit that they are wrong, and they lose their voice.  Sometimes people and organizations are so conflicted, so dysfunctional, so irrelevant that they lose their voice.  People stop listening.

The church in general has been losing it's voice for decades.  A young person in their twenties told me the other day that the church is on the verge of becoming completely irrelevant.  One of my friends wrote to tell me that in their opinion, the church is currently behaving immorally.

How do we counter this trend? 

Be nice.  Be kind.  Put people before ideas.  Apologize when we are wrong.  Our behavior will either draw people towards us or push them away.  We either endear ourselves to people or we become irrelevant and lose our voice.

Kindness, grace, love, joy, peace, patience....

It's a beautiful day in God's world be sure to see the good.
Send replies to jsbrink57@gmail.com

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I am leading some trips this year and next. If you are interested in reading about them, or joining in, the links are below.....

Wesley's Ireland with optional London Extension
October 8-17, 2018
http://www.eo.travelwithus.com/tours/wesley-in-ireland-2018-with-rev-jeff-brinkman#.WqHrI7puLIU

Holy Land Tour - includes my favorite spots
with optional Jerusalem extension
March 4-13, 2019

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