Orientation to Culture / Diversity

The topic of diversity is a is an extraordinarily tough topic to address. The fact that Choudhuri (2012) uses the "fourth force" descriptive does not add much to the validity of her writing. If this sounds harsh, it is not intended to be harsh, but personal convictions about the destructive power of multiculturalism may lend to the perception of harshness. 

Counseling from a Biblical perspective should be something that tends to be a bit more narrow in focus, but should never be narrow-minded. Acknowledging cultural differences must be integrated into the counselor-client relationship. It would seem quite foolish to assume that everyone, regardless of ethnicity, race, country of origin, socioeconomic background, or just about any variable, to respond to a one-size-fits-all counseling approach. 

Counseling, with in the cultural context, requires a counselor to adapt certain approaches to therapy to fit the client. Cultural background should play a role in the decision-making of the counselor. However, what does seem somewhat unusual is to require a counselor to share a cultural heritage with a client. The previous statement may sound strange, but that seems to be thought process, although not necessarily stated as such, of the emic approach to counseling those of different cultures. Choudhuri (2012) explains the emic approach as one that requires a counselor to adapt the approach they use to the client, and if they cannot adapt they should create a new way to counsel the culturally specific client. On its face this sounds like a grand plan, but there seem to be some underlying assumptions connected to the emic approach. 

This approach could arguably be implying that a counselor is not equipped, using their tested methods, to counsel someone from a different culture because they, the counselor, are not from that particular background. Does this approach produce unity among differing groups, or does this approach add to the division that can, and does, exist between those from differing cultures? 

It would seem that an etic approach would be more reasonable when counseling those from differing cultures. The etic approach seems, on its face, to be compatible with a Biblical approach. The Biblical approach seems to work best when common ground (principles) can be found upon which to build a trusting and mutually helpful relationship. The Biblical approach is exemplified so well in the Book of Acts when the Apostle Paul goes to  Athens to proclaim God on Mars Hill. At Mars Hill he did not change his method or approach, but instead Paul found common ground with those he sought to win over. Paul, like any responsible counselor might, started with common ground and insight into their culture. He did not remain there though. He moved on to share the truth with those who were listening, "The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things" (Acts 17:24-25, NASB). He may have started with cultural relevance, but he turned quickly to transcendent truth. This truth was foreign to the Athenian culture, but God can, and still does speak to people of every culture in the same manner.

References

Choudhuri, D., Santiago-Rivera, A., & Garrett, M. (2012). Counseling and diversity. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

 

TJ

Stoics and Epicureans

The Hellenistic period began with Alexander the Great taking the throne of Macedon in 336 B.C., and it lasted to the death of Cleopatra VII of Egypt in 30 B.C. Alexander's successful invasion of the Persian Empire has been noted as a starting point. The period came to a close after the Near and Middle East, between Rome and the Iranian kingdom of Parthia was divided.
Stoicism was a new philosophical movement that began during the Hellenistic period. Stoicism got its name from the porch in the Agora at Athens were people gathered and held lectures. Zeno of Citium (334-262 B.C.) is credited with being the founder of stoic philosophy. It is, however, the follow-up to materialism and Plato. The ultimate goal of stoicism is wisdom. The idea of the philosopher had been of a supreme power which was a principle rather than a person (Bryant, p. 28). The main edict given by stoicism was that one should be free from all worldly demands, and achieve wisdom by recognizing that one needs to harmonize personal desires and nature. Being frugal and unconcerned is the worldview of the stoic person. The stoic theory of knowledge turns about the enquiry after a criterion or standard by which what is true in our notions may be distinguished from what is false (Zeller, p.74). The Stoics did hold the position that emotions like fear and envy either came from, or out of, false thinking, and that a person who would be considered a sage was one who had attained moral and intellectual perfection and would not experience this type of faulty thinking. Stoics also adhered to the idea that the soul was a blank slate and that character was developed experientially from the outside world.

The fundamental idea of self-discipline has its roots in stoic philosophy. Epictetus being a student of Zeno helped firmly implant stoicism into the Roman culture. Of all of the Greek philosophical system transplanted to Rome, Stoicism was probably the most successful (Albert, p. 66). The Stoics identify as a moral people those who live in accordance with the dictates of reason (Albert, p. 67). They actually believe that happiness does not depend on having material wealth or success, but on the character of the individual is based on rationality or logic arising from knowledge. The origins of knowledge, in the Stoic system, enter the mind through the senses. This is the where the blank-slate theory comes in to the picture. The knowledge which enters through the senses is inscribed on the blank-slate.

From the ethical perspective, virtue is a good in itself. Good consists of acting in accordance with nature. Therefore, stoicism is somewhat deterministic in its approach because it says that a person can do nothing but conform to nature, and when there is a balance between virtue and nature wisdom is obtained. The stoic teaches that the universe is governed by absolute law without exceptions. They also teach that the essential nature of humans is reason. Seneca had a famous saying which seems to sum their ideas up, “Live according to nature.”

Epicurean philosophy, unlike the Stoic philosophy which embodied forms and ideas, was born from Atomism. Atomism basically says that 2 thing make up the universe, moving atoms and void (a giant black nothingness) which is basically a radical materialism. Epicurean philosophy is a mutually dependent system which says that the goal of human life (happiness, resulting from absence of physical pain and mental disturbance), a pragmatic theory of knowledge, an account of nature built on a form of atomistic materialism, and a naturalistic explanation of evolution, that spans the creation of the world to the appearance of human civilization. To put their system into layman’s terms is means they believe happiness equals pleasure. Epicureans believe that they should never do something without considering the pleasure it will yield. The level of pleasure received has a direct correlation on if it should be done. The real flaw in their thinking is that is pleasure equals the absence of pain, then to not be living would be preferable to life at all. According to Epicurus, it is not the state of the body, but the state of the mind. Bodily pleasure is of short duration, and has much of a disturbing character about it (Zeller, p. 451). However, Epicureans should be consistent in their beliefs and they are not. If they are consistent with their principles, (they) cannot deny that the bodily pleasure is the earlier form, and likewise the ultimate source, of all pleasure (Zeller, 451).

A mark of Epicureanism is friendship. The Epicurean philosopher places a high value on friendship because it is one of the greatest methods of achieving pleasure. Friendship provides the greatest security. They believe that a life without friends is lonely and full of trouble.

The basis for the Epicurean thought process is very empiricist and anti-skeptical. They believe that all of our knowledge comes though the senses, similar to the Stoics, and that we can trust the senses when used correctly. Unlike the Stoic belief that virtue is a good in and of itself, Epicureans believe that virtue contributes to happiness. There is a huge difference in this belief between the schools of thought. Virtue, or doing right because it is right (Stoicism), and virtue, or doing right because it makes one happy (Epicureanism) can often lead to very divergent places. If it makes me happy to take your car, am I doing the right thing? The Epicurean type of virtue, more often than not, leads to plain old hedonism, which means that the only good is found in what brings me pleasure, and anything else of value is only a tool to use to bring me the pleasurable experience. Epicurus, however, offered some idiosyncratic views about pleasure which is supposed to lead to a virtuous life without as much hedonistic influence. Hedonistic behavior is often attributed to Epicurean philosophy, but it is a common misconception.

In The Extant Remains, Bailey offers a final thought from Epicurus that gives insight to his eternal outlook,

“Some men throughout their lives gather together the means of life, for they do not see that the draught swallowed by all of us at birth is a draught of death. Against all else it is possible to provide security, but as against death all of us mortals alike dwell in an unfortified city...[But] I have anticipate thee, Fortune, and entrenched myself against all thy secret attacks. And we will not give ourselves up as captives to thee or any other circumstance; but when it is time for us to go, spitting contempt on life and on those who here vainly cling to it, we will leave life crying aloud in a glorious triumph-song that we have lived well. We must try to make the end of the journey better than the beginning, as long as we are journeying; but when we come to the end, we must be happy and content…Meditate therefore on these things and things akin to them night and day by yourself, and with a companion like yourself, and never shall you be disturbed waking or asleep, but you shall live like a god among men. For a man who lives among immortal blessings is not like a mortal being” (Albert, p. 63).


Crudelius est quam mori semper timere mortem
It is crueller to be always afraid of dying than to die

Albert, D. P. (1984). Great Traditions In Ethics. Belmont: Wadsworth, Inc.

Bryant, J. H. (1866). The Mutual Influence of Christianity and The Stoic School. London: Macmillan and Co.

Zeller, D. E. (1870 ). Stocis, Epicureans, and Sceptics. London: Longmans, Green, and Co.

t

Moses-Style Leadership

I’ve always found it fascinating that Solomon, the wisest king to ever rule Israel, understood the value of getting advice from other people. If God had already gifted him with wisdom, why did he pursue advice from others? It seems like it would have been appropriate for Solomon to say, “My wisdom and understanding comes directly from God. I will make decisions about my next steps based on that wisdom alone.”

The Moses Complex

There’s a dangerous trend I’m seeing in churches today that embraces this theology of leadership. I refer to it as the “Moses Complex.” In these environments, only the senior pastor can receive a vision from God and it only happens through a Mount Sinai-type experience.
In churches that embrace this theology, everyone waits for the pastor to receive a vision, and then all the staff “leaders” are responsible for executing the vision God gives the senior pastor.

The problem with this theology is that it discounts many passages of Scripture that offer contrary perspective on attaining wisdom. It’s based on broken theology and, in practice, it leads to an unhealthy and dysfunctional leadership culture.

Are you seeking advice from others?

Ironically, in the wisdom that God granted Solomon, the wisest man in the world understood the value of receiving advice from others. For example, Solomon offered:

• “Instruct the wise, and they will be even wiser. Teach the righteous, and they will learn even more” (Proverbs 9:9).
• “Without wise leadership, a nation falls; there is safety in having many advisers” (Proverbs 11:14).
• “Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others” (Proverbs 12:15).
• “Plans go wrong for the lack of advice; many advisers bring success” (Proverbs 15:22).
• “Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life” (Proverbs 19:20).
• “Plans succeed through good counsel; don’t go to war without wise advice” (Proverbs 20:18).

God granted Solomon wisdom, and part of that wisdom from God was that we need to seek wise advice from others. That’s not how I would have handled that if I was God. If I was God, I would say, “Wisdom comes from me alone. Don’t listen to the advice of others.”

TJ

Things I Learned from Job (of the Old Testament)

Things I Learned from Job

Most people look for simple/quick answers to just about every life event. In the Book of Job, God presents the basic argument that life is too complicated for the simple answers we all seek. When we try to analyze our situations by looking to God for simple answers, we are most often asking Him for information, that if He gave it to us, we would never be able to understand. God is telling Job, and us, that He (God) is the only one who can deal with the trials that often come into our lives. Our role, at this point in any situation, is to trust God and continue to bring Him glory by our responses to the good and the bad. Although Job's life was filled with tragedy, he continued to "worship" God in those times. The Book of Job gives us a great picture of God's response to Job's faithfulness, "and Job died, and old man, and full of days" (Job 42:17, RSV). 

Human suffering continues to be a result of Satan's original challenge to the hierarchy God established in the beginning. Job, as far as we know while alive, was never given an answer for his suffering. Likewise, we will more than likely never have exhaustive answers to suffering we face in life. The lesson from Job is that there will be times of suffering and hardship in life and we will never have the total picture. Most of the time God will not reveal the "reason(s)" for the struggle, but our role is to trust His plan and to bring Him glory through our actions in those times of struggle. Our witness before a lost world often depends more on how we behave (actions) than what we say.  

Bottom Line:
We need to trust God's plan, because life is too complicated to handle alone.

Verba docent, exempla trahunt
"Words instruct, illustrations lead"

TJ

John Wooden Defines Success

Leadership (vs Management)

Leading and managing are not necessarily synonyms.
Some leaders can manage, but the converse is not as common.

Efficiency orientation

Focusing on objectives, tasks and achievements. Setting challenging goals and supporting appropriate planning. Facilitating overcoming of obstacles. Encouraging people to act in this way.

Concern with impact

Demonstrating a significant interest in power and its symbols. Use of power-oriented behavior such as using various methods of influence, seeking positions of power, etc.

Proactivity

Showing a strong belief in individual self-control and self-driven action. Acting without waiting for full agreement or authorization. Taking responsibility for actions. Acting to dissuade defensive and risk-averse behavior. 

Self-confidence

Showing belief in self, values and ideas. Able to talk decisively and take confident and decisive action. Communicating this self-confidence to others and hence instilling confidence in them.

Oral presentation skill

Able to speak well, using effective language, modes of speech and body language. Uses effective symbolism and metaphor in words and actions. Appropriate use of visual aids.

Conceptualization

Uses inductive reasoning to identify patterns and relationships. Able to create models and symbols to communicate these concepts. Uses synthetic and creative thinking to develop further ideas and solutions.

Diagnostic use of concepts

Able to use deductive reasoning to convert models and ideas into specific instances and possibilities. Concepts are turned into practical and useful tools.

Use of socialized power

Developing networks and hierarchies of people and mobilizing them to to achieve specific ends. Acts as a person in the middle to resolve conflicts and bring people together. 

Managing group processes

Building the identity of groups and people in them. Building common goals and objectives. Developing group roles. Creating ways of working together and facilitating teamwork.




Historia est vitae magistra 
History is the tutor of life

T

Advice to an Aspiring Worship Leader: "Don't Do It."

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Don't Have Regrets. 12 Things You Need To Know.

Life is full of choices, and many of them come with uncertainty.

We can never know what might have been if we had chosen differently.


No life will ever be completely clear of opportunity for regret. 

Failed relationships, missed opportunities, poor judgment calls. 

Some choices seem easy at the time and later turn out to have been poorly informed; others are difficult from the beginning.



But some regrets are more fundamental, greater in scope. 

They tend not to focus on a single moment or area, but how life is lived.

Here are a dozen potential regrets to make sure you're keeping far away.



1. I wish I had spent more time with the people I love.

It's easy to let that time slip away, but once it's gone you can never get it back.



2. I wish I had worried less.


Worry is just using your imagination to create the things you don't want.



3. I wish I had forgiven more.


It takes a strong person to say "I'm sorry," and an even stronger person to forgive. Forgive and let go--free yourself from grudges and enjoy happiness instead of wasting it.

 4. I wish I had stood up for myself.


Never allow yourself to be bullied or silenced. No one is more important in this world than you are.



5. I wish I had lived my own life.


Spend your time now working on the things you want to accomplish--or even try. Build a business, cultivate a great career, build a family, run a marathon. The greatest success lies in living your life in your own way.



6. I wish I had been more honest.


If you don't own up to your own elemental truth, falsehood will ultimately end up owning you. Honesty is the clearest path.



7. I wish I had worked less.


Working constantly for something you don't passionately care about adds nothing but stress to your life. And even if the passion is there, keep your workload in balance with the rest of your life.



8. I wish I had cared less about what other people think.


Stop wasting your moments on other people's opinions. Ultimately they are just opinions from those who don't fully share your reality.



9. I wish I had lived up to my full potential.


Live up to your own aspirations, not down to others' expectations. There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.



10. I wish I had faced my fears.


Life is found in the distance between your deepest desire and your greatest fear. Remember, fear is only temporary, but regret lasts forever.



11. I wish I'd stopped chasing the wrong things.


When you let the wrong things go, you can give the right things a chance to catch you.



12. I wish I'd lived more in the moment.


Make a difference today. Make it a day worth remembering.



TJ

At Your Name E 01

First time to be up front

Karley CNN and ABC 20/20 Carnival Triumph

Leadership 101

T

Alan Jackson - Where Were You When The World Stopped Turning

How to be Thick-Skinned

1. Don’t take criticism personally. Instead, realize that criticism says more about them than it does about you.

2. Distinguish between facts and subjectivity. Most criticisms are just personal opinions. They are not objective and they do not reflect the truth.

3. Look at the beliefs you hold about yourself. Do you feel defensive and under attack because you do not believe in yourself?

4. Learn what you can from any comments that are made – and discard the rest as being useless information. 

5. Decide not to ruminate on barbs or criticisms - as that will reinforce the faulty message in your brain.

6. Choose to spend more time with people who’re affirming – and minimize the time you spend with those who put you down.

7. Look for a role model who can handle criticism – and try to copy them, so you become more thick skinned, too.

TJ

Leadership Wisdom

Leaders create environments and relationships where others change themselves.

We are transitioning from a knowledge-based to a wisdom-based economy.   It’s no longer about what you know, but what you do with what you know.   When leaders lack subject matter expertise, they fail to develop the wisdom to communicate effectively.

Leaders who lack confidence are poor communicators. They may have a tendency to overcompensate by being loud and obnoxious. They create a lot of noise and say more than what is required to appear important – in an effort to hide their insecurities and self-trust about the subject matter.

Most leaders will not admit to their vulnerability – but it becomes quite apparent through their poor communication skills.

When leaders are inconsistent communicators, it makes it difficult for others to rely upon their leadership and take action.

When leaders believe they can change others they adopt strategies and behaviors that create resistance in others. Leaders don’t change others.

 

Ineffective leaders spend too much time thinking about changing others and not enough thinking about changing themselves.

TJ

What if I have doubts about God?

Who is responsible for evil?

LORD_I_NEED_YOU

Texas Football

TJ

Perserverence of Belief

Once we have decided that we believe something, we will tend to keep on believing it, even in the face of dis-confirming evidence.

Particularly if other people know of our belief, it can be embarrassing to climb down from our previous assertions. 

It is also difficult to remove a belief which has been woven into a wider web of belief, without disturbing those other beliefs.

T

Absolute Truth

Antithesis

*

For a better understanding of what I am firmly convinced is the absolute truth I offer the following quote:

"If the truth of the Christian faith is in fact truth, then it stands in antithesis to the ideas and the immorality of our age, and it must be practiced both in teaching and practical action. Truth demands confrontation. It must be loving confrontation, but there must be confrontation nonetheless."

Francis A. Schaeffer

One of the major issues of our age is the absolute lack of unity of our professed beliefs and our daily actions. So many today make a claim to be "Christian," while their actions leave me scratching my head. It is amazing how much biblical knowledge can be gained today with our vast array of resources, yet the lack of literacy shown by believers, the many divisions within the body of believers, and simple pride makes one wonder if most people are even serious about their faith.

Schaeffer uses the word "antithesis" throughout his writings to accurately describe the foundation of an accurate worldview. When people have beliefs, and act in ways that are in direct opposition to what the Bible teaches, the worldview they profess to have doesn't represent the foundational antithesis required by the Bible. Therefore can this type of person claim to be a follower of Jesus Christ as described in the Bible?

It is not for me to judge someones eternal destination. Only God and that person truly know the answer to eternity. Although without evidence of Biblical conformity, or an outright rejection of Biblical standards, there is a problem.

"We must acknowledge and then act upon the fact that if Christ is our Savior, he is also our Lord in all of life. He is our Lord not just in religious things and not just in cultural things such as the arts and music, but in our intellectual lives, and in business, and in our relation to society, and in our attitude toward the moral breakdown of our culture. Acknowledging Christ's Lordship and placing ourselves under what is taught in the whole Bible includes thinking and acting as citizens in relation to our government and its laws. Making Christ Lord in our lives means taking a stand in very direct and practical ways against the world spirit of our age as it rolls along claiming to be autonomous, crushing all that we cherish in its path."

Francis A. Schaeffer

TJ

Useful is Captive to the Moment

“Useful” is a very interesting word. My truck is useful, my computer is useful, and my tools are useful.

Is religion useful?

As I have read and studied about ancient Greece and Rome I have noticed something interesting. It is said that, all religions were, to the common people, equally true, to the philosophers, equally false, and to the governing bodies, equally useful.

There is that interesting word “useful.”
The way ancient governing bodies used the word “useful” was similar to how one might have used a fence to keep the livestock contained, or, in reality, like a boundary to keep society in check.

An important point to remember is; religion based on truth, when reduced to only a sociological function [usefulness], will disintegrate through abuse.

Which leads to this conclusion:
History shows us that pragmatism [a variation of usefulness], defined by doing whatever works, in the long run doesn’t work because it is captive to the moment.


TJ