Good fruit

Openness, candidness and honesty

Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 | Uncategorized | 3 Comments

For as long as I can remember, I have valued open and clear communication. I strive to communicate myself clearly and concisely, and I am frustrated when I fail to communicate myself, or when I witness mis-communication. I firmly believe that friendships, families, corporations, and governments function BEST with the minimal limits to their communication, and a fundamental embrace of openness, rather than closed-ness.

At work, I strive to keep open communication with my team especially, but also with the general staff. I encourage my team to always be honest, and when they don’t know an answer, to be comfortable saying so. Though it’s not always easy, I have found incredible freedom in owning my failings upfront, and acknowledging when I drop the ball. (It helps that I have good bosses, btw.)

Socially, I try to never sweep things under the rug. If someone has hurt me, or I have hurt someone, I generally work to specifically resolve the issue. I want to talk about it. I want to bring light to it. If I have had a crappy day, I will tell you. If you have had a crappy day, I hope that you would tell me. I value candidness above politeness and “not wanting to burden someone.” My heart weeps just a little bit when a friend retells a painful event with honesty, and their spouse or a mutual friend sugar-coats the same story to me later on.

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With, not for – another thought

Sunday, February 1st, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment

What if Jesus hanged out with prostitutes, corrupt tax collectors, and other sinners… not because he primarily wanted to convert them, or because he wanted to illustrate some lesson, allegory or principle…

but because they were his friends, and he loved them.

Thoughts inspired by nakedpastor.