Two stories or events came to mind when I think about raw authenticity. What I mean by raw authenticity is simply the clear, honest, and straightforward expression of one’s character or that of a group.
The first story. Talking with a friend recently, I noticed that the organization he worked for had processed 35+ new workers during the pandemic. “How were you able to bring in so many new people in the midst of one of the most difficult times?” I asked. His answer was enlightening. He told me that they had no idea as to why they drew in so many new workers. They hired a consultant to help them figure out “what they were doing right”.
Basically, the consultant said that the organization my friend worked for had not varied from their guiding principles over many years. In other words, their strategy may have changed, but who they were and how they lived together as an organization had not altered.
The second story or event. I once worked for the administrator of a long-term health care facility. He often ‘preached’ about the value and dignity we were to give or show to the residents of this facility. They were our focus. We were there to serve them. The way he personally demonstrated his commitment to this guiding principle was that his office door was directly accessible from the main hallway of the facility. No need to go through someone else to get to his office. And that door was almost always open. Any resident could simply walk right in if they wanted to talk to the director of the facility.
In both cases, what was said to drive their relationships, drove their relationships. And people were drawn to that authenticity of life and openness. Yes, there was an organizational culture and work strategy that people adhered to and believed in. But what seems to keep them or have kept them onboard was the outworking of the principles to which they held.
We talk a lot about the Gospel as the driving guiding principle of our mission (see the WT Ministry Framework). Perhaps we need to reclaim that principle as the driving force behind our actions and the way in which we work and will work together. And we would do well to look for daily expressions of that Gospel expressing itself in love, in and through our lives (Galatians 5:6).
What that might look like is fodder for ongoing discussions … and certainly a next blog post.
Filed under: Authenticity, Character, Gospel, WT Ministry Framework | Leave a comment »
Thoughts Along The Journey 