A challenging blog from Mark Batterson on being transparent and authentic. No doubt about it, church today has a problem with being authentic. It's hard to understand... a place of grace and freedom should be synonymous with authenticity and transparency. My recent experience has been one of secrets, deceit, and distention; all things that block authenticity.
It's scary when the world is applying biblical principles more than the church is!
The article and Mark's comments are worth the read... here are a few excerpts.
Just read the cover article in this month's issue of Wired magazine. It's titled Get Naked: Why Exposing Yourself is the Future of Business.
...radical transparency is sweeping boardrooms across the nation.
"Transparency is a judo move."
Ever notice that people stop making fun of people who laugh at themselves? Ever notice that people stop criticizing people who admit their failures? It's judo.
Chief Reputation Strategist for PR firm Weber Shandwick, Leslie Gaine Ross, says, "Online is where reputations are made now." She says that a single Google search determines more about how you are perceived than a multi-million-dollar ad campaign. "Google is not a search engine. Google is a reputation-management system. Online, your rep is quantifiable, findable, and totally unavoidable."
Honestly, I think part of the magnetism of Jesus was his authenticity. He was touchable and approachable. He was holy, but he wasn't holier-than-thou.
We could definitely use a dose of radical transparency in our churches. The enemy loves it when we keep secrets! The greatest freedom is having nothing to prove!
