Day One Hundred Thirty-Six of 365 – Confessions of a Recovering Bapticostal: Step Back!

When I was a child, I recall how strains of a particular song spurred hearts and souls to action! “Onward Christian Soldiers” was the song. It begins with the words, “Onward Christian Soldiers, marching as to war . . .” The stirring anthem generated passion and energy in ways no other song did. Very often, the congregation allowed itself to be coaxed to their feet only to march around the interior of the sanctuary singing the song as a battle hymn.

There was an undercurrent inherent in the song that focused on progress of a certain kind. The progress to which it referred was the kind that is won through battle. Very often, war involves mindless emotion in which soldiers carry out orders to destroy and conquer. The war of the Christian Soldier is overcoming all who “oppose” Christianity. The progress of this war demands constant forward motion.

The focus of this post is the definition of progress, not of war. Why mention this? Great question! The primary reason I mix these two is that I believe we have a tendency to define progress in terms of overcoming and conquering. When we adopt this perspective, we often find ourselves constantly pushing, shoving and “marching” on without really understanding the nature of our mission or our intended outcome.

As a more “mature” adult, I realized that my own personal definition of progress had been infected with the idea of “going to war, of moving forward with little or no examination of my motive or direction. And as I read articles and books on leadership, I see some of the same ideas perpetuated.

So often when I read definitions or descriptions of progress, words and phrases related to moving forward dominate. While reaching goals or successfully completing projects does require forward movement, there should always be room for “stepping back” in our pursuit!