{"id":3155,"date":"2014-11-03T08:52:12","date_gmt":"2014-11-03T08:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=3155"},"modified":"2014-11-03T08:52:12","modified_gmt":"2014-11-03T08:52:12","slug":"fight-the-good-fight-finish-the-race-keep-the-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/fight-the-good-fight-finish-the-race-keep-the-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Fight the Good Fight, Finish the Race, Keep the Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As I read through Edwin Friedman\u2019s book, <em>A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix,<\/em> I was reminded of one of my favorite verses in the New Testament: \u201c<em>I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.\u201d<a href=\"#_ftn1\" name=\"_ftnref1\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/em> These are words of endurance and perseverance. Perhaps the apostle Paul used these three metaphors to reflect on the struggles and difficulties in his ministry and life. Yet, I am reflecting on this verse as I celebrate (a bittersweet celebration) my last Sunday as pastor of my church and as I begin a new journey after 23 years in Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m almost certain that many leaders have fought a fight, but not \u201cthe good fight.\u201d \u00a0Some have exchanged strong words that have caused discouragement. Others have engaged in conflict situations that have left them exhausted and burnout. I must confess that there were times when I too was discouraged and almost burnout. Yet for me, \u201cthe good fight\u201d must not be solely about conflict situations or hurtful words, but about where and how leaders spend most of their energy. \u00a0It is very easy for leaders to spend their time putting out fires and going from crisis to crisis. If that is how we choose to use our energy, then how much energy do we have to be creative and to engage in what is life giving?<\/p>\n<p>We live in a very anxious society. Friedman states that America has become so chronically anxious that our society has gone into an emotional regression that is toxic to well-defined leadership.<a href=\"#_ftn2\" name=\"_ftnref2\">[2]<\/a> \u00a0This regression is characterized principally by a devaluing and denigration of the well-differentiated self.<a href=\"#_ftn3\" name=\"_ftnref3\">[3]<\/a> \u00a0According to Friedman chronically anxious families and societies have five key characteristics:<a href=\"#_ftn4\" name=\"_ftnref4\">[4]<\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reactivity : a vicious cycle of intense reactions of each member to events and to one another;<\/li>\n<li>Herding: togetherness triumphs over individuality and everyone adapts to the least mature members;<\/li>\n<li>Blame displacement: a focus on being the victim rather than taking responsibility for one\u2019s own being and destiny;<\/li>\n<li>A quick-fix mentality: seeking relief rather than change;<\/li>\n<li>Lack of well-differentiated leadership: a failure of nerve that both stems from and contributes to the first four.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is a clearly defined, non-anxious leader that can promote healthy differentiation throughout a system.<\/p>\n<p>When I first planted the church that I just left, I constantly asked myself, \u201cWhat race am I running?\u201d \u201cWhose race am I running?\u201d With the overabundance of ministry demands, the desire for a quick fix, the demands for new strategies, programs and growth, it can be easy to run the wrong race. We forget about the race that we\u2019ve been called to run and we spend most of our energy running someone else\u2019s race. We judge ourselves and our value by how our ministry is going; all this to the detriment of the lives of those whom we are leading and serving. \u00a0As leaders, we need to be discerning about the right race to run and finish well.<\/p>\n<p>As much as leaders would like to have a quick fix strategy or program, we all know that there is no such thing. \u00a0\u00a0\u201cKeeping the faith\u201d requires the leader to have patience with the process, with themselves and with others. \u201cKeeping the faith\u201d is not a quick fix, but a lifetime work. Keeping the faith is also about continuing to work on one\u2019s self. This does not mean working on \u201cself\u201d to be greater and better than others. This working on self is what Friedman calls differentiation. According to Friedman, differentiation means the capacity to become oneself out of one\u2019s self, with minimum reactivity to the positions or reactivity of others.<a href=\"#_ftn5\" name=\"_ftnref5\">[5]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFighting the good fight\u201d is being able to maintain a non-anxious presence in the face of those who are anxious. \u201cFinishing the race\u201d is being clear about one\u2019s own personal values and goals. \u201cKeeping the faith\u201d is taking responsibility for one\u2019s own emotional being and destiny rather than blaming others or the context.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.\u201d<\/em> Will we all be able to say this at the conclusion of our ministry?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref1\" name=\"_ftn1\">[1]<\/a> New Revised Standard Version (2 Timothy 4:7)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref2\" name=\"_ftn2\">[2]<\/a> Edwin Friedman, <em>A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix.<\/em> (New York, NY: Church Publishing, 2007) p. 53.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref3\" name=\"_ftn3\">[3]<\/a> Ibid., 53.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref4\" name=\"_ftn4\">[4]<\/a> Ibid., 53-54.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"#_ftnref5\" name=\"_ftn5\">[5]<\/a> Ibid., 183.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As I read through Edwin Friedman\u2019s book, A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, I was reminded of one of my favorite verses in the New Testament: \u201cI have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.\u201d[1] These are words of endurance and perseverance. 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