If How To's Were Enough . . .

Brian Klemmer is a Christian corporate consultant and an acquaintance who has done significant work around a core belief.

He contends that the answers to life's toughest challenges are not found in the Self-Help sections of your favorite bookstore but in challenging dysfunctional belief systems, putting healthier beliefs into practice, and committing to excellent results. I seem to recall a Jewish carpenter's kid who said much the same thing in the gospels.

Last weekend a number of colleagues were part of a group that met in St. Joseph for a Quickening retreat. There we looked at some of the dysfunctional belief systems that guide our decisions. The truth came out when we least expected it - while playing games and observing our behavior. By examining what we actually did, we got a glimpse of our truest intentions behind the behavior.

I contend that some of the failure of the church to act boldly is connected to the failure of leaders to truly appreciate their own lives, gifts, and their status as joint heirs with Christ.

Many clergy do not like themselves. Job satisfaction is so-so. Relationships with family sometimes suffer.

Small wonder then that they demand so little of congregations, areas, regions, and denominations. To expect much, one has to telegraph integrity at a level few of us will dare to experience personally. Some of us would rather settle for a life that vindicates our low esteem.

Are we okay with that? Can the Church afford that?