Firm Center with Soft Edges

It always amazes me the different kind of leadership hats we need to wear in IC ministry. Leadership is challenging in every part of the world but specifically in our diverse context of Europe.

In his book Love Kindness, author and President of Biola University Barry Corey, encourages us to lead with a firm center and soft edges.

One of the reasons leadership today is so challenging is because we are all required to have very strong people skills.

Our secular culture is stressed, hopeless, purposeless and has little patience with anything that doesn’t go our way fairly quickly.

In our pursuit to share faith, we engage frequently in conversations with those whose perspectives are different than ours which creates a natural tension for us to default to our firm center.

Barry Corey says that when we respond this way, our edges calcify and grace is lost in a fight for truth.

Our prayer today is that God would give us a firm center but with soft edges to engage our international neighbors in faith and build bridges that will lead them to Jesus, the One who is full of grace and truth.

Sometimes when I encounter difficult people, I remember the promise of Romans 2:4 – “…that God’s kindness leads us toward repentance.”

We’re praying for you and your team this weekend… that God would increase your leadership capacity to have a firm center and soft edges as we tangibly demonstrate the love and kindness of Jesus.

Larry