Mild warning: I use a bit of language in this post. Rated..PG13. Just a heads up.
The past several weeks at church, I’ve been preaching on sex, marriage, and relationships. Not always easy topics to address, but it’s been a good reminder about the price of leadership.
- Download my notes (big thanks to Christopher Hopper for his research)
- Listen to the messages
It doesn’t matter if it’s church or business: speaking on tough topics requires well, toughness. During my second message in the series, I asked our men:
“If you have music on your iPod that calls women bitches and whores and you’re single, do you really think you’ll automatically start honoring a woman the moment you say ‘I do’ at the altar?”
Yes, I really did use those words. When you hear them in the context of beautiful Sunday weather sitting in church, you realize how degrading and ugly they really are. My church is primarily comprised of young adult singles, so I take liberties to communicate to them more directly. Compared to the recent Miley Cyrus/Robin Thicke craziness, maybe it wasn’t too bad after all.
Dealing with hard topics requires courage. It also requires sensitivity and relationship, and even if that’s built up you still may not get the benefit of the doubt. I’ve been at our church for 8 months and feel like I have a great relationship with the congregation. Nevertheless, I may have just brought our 300% increase in attendance to a grinding halt.
But ultimately, leadership is not a popularity contest. The elephants in the room always seem to be very personal and touchy.
Be encouraged. Be courageous. Keep facing the elephants in the room. It’s all part of the price of leadership and progress.
Question: What lessons have you learned from addressing difficult topics?
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