3 Words Update...

Last week I decided to try something a little different, I wanted some feedback about how people perceive me. I email approx 100 people and asked them a simple question, "describe Larry in 3 words". I wanted opinions from a wide array of people that I've had connections with so I sent the email to friends, coworkers, people that I've helped and people that are no longer attending Elevation.

There were two words that were fairly consistent between all the groups of people; encouragement and intensity. I guess I wasn't surprised by those two words because I know that's in large part who God has made me to be. I truly look at glass as half full and believe that God will provide a way even when we can't see it. The intensity side is me has always been there and now that I have a 2 1/2 year old son I see first hand what i look like because he's a mirror image of his daddy...sorry Corbin.

The third word was the wild card and varied depending upon the relationship. If the feedback came from a volunteer that I've poured into I heard things like mentor or leader. When the feedback came from people that I have in one way or another helped they said things like compassionate, loving and generous. The feedback from people I'd had difficult conversations with and are people that probably won't send me a Christmas card I found the most interesting. To be honest I didn't really want to see what they would say, but it was extremely helpful. There were a few that were pretty harsh, but the majority were things such as straight-forward, loyal, and honoring of my pastor.

For me the value in this exercise is to see how am I representing myself, my church and Jesus Christ. I'm not going to take this information and try to change who I am, but I am using it to help me continue to discover who God made me to be. Through this little experiment I believe most people are consistent in two words, but the third word is the wild card. For instance I score a zero on every spiritual gifts test I've ever taken. But when I'm dealing with someone in crisis I need to operate with compassion. I don't like confrontation, but if I need to be straight forward I'll lean into the conversation.

I would encourage you to consider such an experiment. Stop and wrestle with the question, "how am I representing myself, my church and Jesus Christ?" Combine that question with "who do I want to be and what do I want to be know for" and you have a serious personal development tool in your hands. If you listen long enough you may be surprised by what you hear?