Values.
We are exploring 5 traditional coaching themes through the month of January through a contemplative lens. Last week we looked at Mission as “identity in motion,” and explored four different identity postures represented by Jesus. I hope these thoughts and practices will give you a fresh way of entering your new year.
Values is our new topic, and perhaps nothing has more impact on our daily choices than these. Named or unnamed, conscious or unconscious, the handful of attributes upon which we place most importance drives everything! In fact, the collective effect of our values creates what we know as Culture, whether that be a family culture or an organizational one.
Consider the vastly different environments forged by the value of quantity compared to the value of quality…or the value of financial health in contrast with the value of relational health…or the difference between those who value immediate decisions compared to those who value slow, highly researched decisions. These are dualities, of course, and my Vision post championed the value of ternaries. But the point is that what we value affects everything. So it’s exceptionally important to know what these are.
Can you name your top five values? If not, I hope that will change today.
I’d like to take you briefly through the five values we carry at The Vining Center, both as a way of inviting you into our culture as well as inspiring your own values-naming exercise.
Organic: Rooted in creation and relationship.
As we explored in the Trinitarian post, the essence of God is relationship—within themselves, with us, and even with the created order, which carries divine fingerprints of revelation (Jn. 1:1, Ps. 19).
We believe that God prioritizes healthy human relationships and a strong stewardship of the environment, both of which we want to champion.
Generous: Welcoming the disenfranchised.
Jesus’ ministry was almost entirely focused upon the poor and marginalized rather than the powerful. In fact, he continually indicated that spiritual and practical neediness gives us more access to the kingdom of God.
We seek to make our services available to those of varying means as well as welcome those who have been hurt or dismissed by the religious establishment.
Grateful: Savoring what is given with intention and attention.
If there is a “key to happiness,” gratitude is it. This attribute allows us to welcome all of life and to see, as Rohr says, “God coming to us as our lives.”
Pretty much all of our work at The Vining Center is around practices of attention and intention that help us increasingly align ourselves with the heart of God.
Simple: Keeping things easy, uncomplicated, and unhurried.
This one comes harder for my personality, but over the years, I’ve come to cherish the movement toward slow and simple, particularly in a world that seems to be increasingly complicated and chaotic.
We believe that simplicity is an inherently spiritual virtue that unlocks the secrets God longs to share with us, secrets otherwise missed in the hurry of life.
Loving: Championing compassion and reconciliation.
This attribute is so central that John defines God by it. (1 Jn. 4:8). Which means that Christ-followers should also be defined by it. It’s more important to be loving than to be right.
We seek to be motivated by a heart of compassion that shows itself in helping people be healed in all their internal and external relationships.
There are, of course, any number of excellent values you can choose from. Just know that there are values we aspire to…and there are values already embodied within us. The Work is to bring those together. Now it’s time for you to name your top five by clicking on the graphic below.
Next week we’ll look at Planning as three-centered discernment rather than merely strategizing.