We should all be deeply concerned about the fracturing of our nation. The snag in the fabric has torn all the way into local communities and houses of worship. The tear does not show any signs of slowing. 

An obnoxious donkey is blocking your way on the path to success. That beast of burden brays and bucks and you just can’t get the stubborn beast to move.

The only thing that stands between you and your goal is that obstinate donkey.

Before you go kicking and beating the donkey to move it out of your way, you better take the time to discern why the donkey is blocking your way.

People who possess eternal life are not afraid to risk what they can’t lose. The question we should ask is not the teacher’s “who is my neighbor?” but the more expansive “to whom should I become a neighbor?”

How can we dismantle the distrust of this emerging tribalism? We are on the crazy cycle of distrust and defense. Your tribe attacks mine, we answer tit-for-tat. Your tribe becomes more defensive and even violent, mine reciprocates.

Jesus said, “Bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” (Luke 6:28, NIV).

Do we want a beautiful city free of violence, racism, classism, sexism, greed, self-righteousness, partisanship, and ongoing division that is wasting our communities? These are shackles and fetters that must be broken and only the truth can do that.

So let us sit together in the public square and boldly pursue the truth together. We can do it with openness, transparency, humility, laughter, and joy.

Deflated and disappointed, Cindy was brave enough to confess, “Is this all there is for me in life?” The uninformed observer would have been surprised to hear her ask that question. 

On the outside, Cindy had it all: attractive looks, beautiful home, successful husband, and cute kids. But on the inside, Cindy was experiencing an existential crisis that left her with a crushing sadness.

I am suggesting that social media has aided the multiplication of judgmental critics who do not operate out of a deep well of virtue and constructive concern. They are dangerous because they are destructive and lead others astray. 

What is worse, they even discourage the very people we need to declutter the path before us: the creatives.

The progression or regression of who you have become since 2011 is a net result of life experiences and choices you made over the last 3,650 days.

Each one of us has three versions of ourselves: the past, present, and future. Your present self is different from your past self. You have become a different person. Your present self has also not yet become who your future self will be.

2021 is a year of tremendous opportunity for you. While everyone is lamenting how challenging the last year has been, you should be gearing up to stretch yourself to take a risk.

There is another way. You can rise above. You must figure out how to do it ASAP.

TODAY is the day to begin rising above the chaos and the vitriol that threatens to undo the good work of our institutions.

YOU must lead. You must become the bigger person. You must refuse to be dragged down to despising your attackers. When they go low, you must go high.

Leaders face constant pressure to respond to the 24 hour news and social media cycle. This can be exhausting to manage.

The cycle offers endless material for media consumers to digest: school shootings, leadership scandals, outlandish statements and behavior by political leaders and celebrities, botched police incidents, blatant examples of racism, and the list goes on. In addition, people within my own network are reporting personal news (marriages, divorces, births, deaths, new jobs, job losses, etc).

Peacekeeping is exhausting because it requires constant avoidance of problems, calculating the cost of missteps, and manipulating circumstances to keep warring groups from fighting. Peacekeepers try to keep the temperature down while anger and bitterness is boiling due to unresolved issues. At some point unresolved tensions will blow up. The peacekeeping leader knows this and it causes a great deal of stress to prolong the explosion.

Exhausted, beat up, despairing leaders should be a cause of deep concern for our communities. These leaders are the people who are guiding the institutions that have held our fragile bonds together. If our leaders are all looking for a way out it means they are not energetically building the very institutions our children will need to prosper. Further, they are not fueled to fend off the attacks happening at the foundational level of their organizations.

It is a high probability that anyone reading this has little interest in hearing more about COVID-19. The quarantines, job and business losses, mental health struggles, and waves of deaths have cast a long shadow over all of us. One might call this a tempting season to “lose heart.”

How can we resist the tendency to lose heart in this difficult time?