kindness

Daniel Darling joins “The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast” to discuss how church leaders can model speaking the truth in love in a divided time–particularly as we are facing another presidential election.

Many of us unconsciously build our lives on a foundation of religious behaviors, yet lack an essential sign of love for God—which is to love our neighbors who are made in his image.

Your words have power. When you choose to speak life into someone, you might not even realize how much they need it.

Unfortunately, many nonbelievers know only two kinds of Christians: those who speak the truth without grace and those who are very nice but never share the truth. What they need is a third type of Christian—one who, in a spirit of grace, loves them enough to humbly and speak with kindness the truth.

God’s kindness, the everlasting, covenant-keeping love he bestows on us, is the fuel for our own kindness to others. God does not ask us to do or be something he is not.

Those who love the vision, are positive and want what’s best for the big picture are easier to lead. That doesn’t mean there are no disagreements along the way, that’s natural, but vision overrides opinion and progress wins the day.

I quit making Joel Osteen jokes when I realized that making fun of him was doing nothing to bless God or others. I was just putting a guy down for the sake of a few laughs.