making sense of the TRINITY

I heard some really good reaching on the Trinity today at Church (I meant 'teaching' but 'reaching' is a good twist on 'teaching'). JP, our associate Pastor, presented some thoughts on Trinity I would like to share. Trinity means "3 in 1". There have been many analogies formed over the years to explain this, but all analogies fall short in capturing this reality. There has been the analogy of a man who has multiple roles, husband, father, professional. But in this case the roles are not distinctly different persons as the Trinity is. There's the analogy of water in three forms, ice, gas, and liquid, but the different forms do not co-exist. One analogy appeals to me because it has a mathematical logic to it. take a box, it represents one space. the box is defined by three distinct dimensions, height, width, and length. If you take any one of the three dimensions, such as height, and compile all lines along the height, you get the whole box. Similarly, if you take width and do the same or length and do the same, each would represent the entire box. yet it takes all three to determine the box.

The word Trinity is never used in the Bible. It is a word early church scholars applied to what the Bible describes. The old testament is fully furnished but dimly lit. That is, the Trinity is described and supported but in more covert ways. In Genesis 1 we see that God created and the Spirit hovered over creation. When man was created, God said "let US create man in OUR image." Elohim, a Hebrew word for God is plural. Psalms 110 starts with "the LORD said to my Lord." The New testament is explicit often, but no where more succinct than John 1:1, "the Word was God."

If God is love, he must be in relationship. there must be three distinct entities. CS Lewis describes the Trinity this way in Mere Christianity. The Triune God is having a love party amongst Himself. Its like a bond fire, drawing people to Himself by the light and warmth of the party. Love does not have meaning absent relationship. God IS love. three distinct person's in perfect love (Grace, mercy, and affection).

Yet God is one, in perfect unity with Himself.

There is somethings about Himself God has let us in own, the rest is His mystery :-)  

acting on your behalf

For most of my life I was conscious of how my capabilities and effort could create the life i desired. Exchanging my knowledge and skills for recognition, acceptance and financial rewards seemed in the realm of my control. My challenge was to grow my potential value to others and I would be fine.

Nothing like age to bring a sobering reality to youthful ideals. As I begin my fourth quarter in life and reflect on how the world really works, I see more clearly that my life's successes really involved others acting on my behalf, giving me permission to do what i do. Without these people and institutions granting me the right to contribute - my skills, knowledge, and passion had no game within which to play.

As a youth success in athletics was my measure of identity and value. While I worked hard and possessed some skills in football and basketball, unless the coach selected me to play, I had no opportunity for success. All along my career there were always someone who initiated the situation in which I could work and flourish. I had to be selected by a committee at Ga Tech to enter their doctoral program. Had they said "no", i would not be a GT Ph D. Looking to enter the University scene in my50's, I began to see the reality that unless someone invited me to join their faculty, I would not be a professor. While i was qualified to teach at most any university, only one reached out to me to give me the opportunity.

I feel now I have more flexibility and content to offer than at anytime in my life. Yet, I am dependent on others to give me the venue. I, now more than ever, realize that while my competencies may be necessary, they are not sufficient for being successful at doing what i do. I am sure all of you have faced this along your life's journey. You got your college degree, but companies were looking for experience. You had paid your dues at your job, but the company chose someone else to promote. It may have been in relationships where you wanted to be with someone badly, but they would not give you the chance. The notion that someone else must act on our behalf for us to have what we want is humbling indeed.

More humbling is that the criteria as to whether you get the chance is not your knowledge, skills, abilities, and willingness (effort). It is whether the person, who must act on your behalf, sees you within their vision for what they want. Social Exchange is not a function of just what you have to offer, but also a function of what is valued by the other person.

This is the reason that the equilibrium imperative of our flesh sets us up for eventually being joyless, feeling a sense of fear, despair, and insignificance.Its then we must remember that there is One who has acted on our behalf when we could not, God. He came to us, providing a way to be with Him. This Grace is totally independent of equilibrium.

So when we find ourselves where we are waiting on someone to act on our behalf to make our life right, take time to ponder the action of the One who really matters :-)    

My next project

“The leader using the Strategic Option is a conductor bringing music out of a diverse collection of instruments, personalities, and temperaments.”  This statement on strategy and leadership is a Facebook post from a friend who does leadership consulting.  It is generally a feel good statement of leadership that travels well in social media.  My response to him was, “more importantly, the Strategic Option delivers the right music for the audience, music that scratches the itches of their soul.” The way a business’ products and services impact the market is the heart of their strategy.  The leader’s influence on internal inspiration, collaboration, and alignment of resources is obviously important, but if the orchestra plays the WRONG SONG really well, what are the chances for success of the business? The Double Bottom Line (DBL) mandate for any organization is leadership’s requirement to be effective managing the tension between the organization’s ecology (interacting with their external environment) and the organization’s economics (internally mobilizing capital).  

This is my first paragraph of my next book (I have a long way go, hahaha) 
entitled "Winning in a Hostile Environment: the Double Bottom Line mandate"

                               

My last book was focused on the imperatives that constrain personal well-being. This book will focus on the imperatives that constrain business (or any organization) well-being. Organizational imperatives that focus one on internal economic success, while not paying attention to how the "organism" interacts with its external environment, is subject to unseen threats on their ability to survive and thrive.          

                              

While this is not a new message, and I certainly do not have a corner on this concept, I believe I can offer some unique perspectives to business professionals that can enhance their effective leadership.

We'll see, its just another journey I have been called to take :-)