APPROVAL AND AFFIRMATION

I Was Just Thinking About - - - 

It is obvious that every person would choose to be wanted; accepted for who they are; recognized for their worth and value; recipients of approval for the level of their achievement; and affirmed as one who is important and valuable for the contribution they can make or are already making. The measure of a person’s worth should never be measured in terms of appearance or intellectual achievement. In terms of the traditional Bell Curve, the majority of people will be found more toward the middle of the curve rather than at the beginning of it. In all fields of study, the Bell Curve is sustainable. In Education and test scores, a few students do very well and a few do very poorly. It has been found that most scores are bunched together around the mean score (or apex of the curve).

In professional fields, the same conditions prevail. While the goal of all pursuits should be excellence, the individual participants always strive for approval and affirmation. If that does not occur, performance will wane and stress factors will begin to surface. In order to gain recognition, several studies about athletes and the possibility of their use of performance enhancing drugs have occurred. In other instances, politicians wanting to stand out from the crowd have embellished their biographies and made unsustainable claims for themselves. In the area of education and the effort to excel, cheating and plagiarism has taken place. It is strange that the public seems to be impressed by the embellished biography but equally pleased if or when it is debunked.

This type of embellishments also finds entry into the area of religion. Credit for ministry accomplishments are often exaggerated. In the attempt to seem important, it is not unusual for one to resort to “name-dropping” of well-known people. The assumption is because one has spoken with or been in the company of such a person there will be linkage so that people will think the “name-dropper” is significant or equally notable. To get a sense of this, read book promotions or biographical notes about a publication. It will be observable with the frequent use of “I” in what is written.

Applying the Bell Curve to Christian ministry, the studies indicate that 10% of a congregation will be loyal to a Minister regardless of any idiosyncrasies he may have; 10% will hold him in low esteem and with disregard; and the 80% are similar to a jury withholding judgment or assessment until or unless he proves himself to be acceptable. Meanwhile, the Minister has to strive to please those who have been non-receptive. Is it any wonder that churches tend to shrink in size? The numbers of the “Nones’ (those who want no further part of the control and forms, seeking some other alternative) and the ‘Dones’ (those who bail out of organized churches and want nothing more to do with it) are steadily increasing! Additionally, churches reach an unsustainable point; ministers become laden with stress and their family is impacted - and - they just give up and go into some other occupation. 

What is the valid measure for ministry? I Timothy 4:12-16 indicates: “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity…devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you. Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” If the servant of the Lord follows the Lord  wholeheartedly, he will receive the Lord’s approval and affirmation. The well-intentioned naysayers in the church will receive their just reward for their words, deeds and actions in the Lord’s own time. Consider these things with me.