Compassion

This morning I read a newsletter from a friend of mine that comes out on Friday’s. Angie Mizzell wrote about the 7 books that have changed her life. That reminds me of what my pastor likes to say. “Leaders are readers”. Through reading (the right types of books) we learn how to be better people and leaders. It also reminded me of a book that Chuck Swindoll wrote years ago. One of them was a short book on compassion. One of his key statements in that book was on compassion. People do not care how much you know until they know how much you care.

That statement on compassion changed my outlook on Christian ministry to people. I believe it radically changed the course of ministry and how I approached people. We all have a story and we are all broken in some way. We all need healing in our lives, right? I realize that my words with regards to Christian ministry may or may not resonate with everyone. Some of us were raised in Christian homes and were exposed to church and all of that goes with it.

Let me give you some background as to why compassion is so important to me and why that statement means so much to me. I was raised in a very harsh and judgemental home by adoptive parents that demanded perfection from my sister and I. We could not do anything right in their eyes and we failed them at every turn. Our actions or inactions or failure to move in the right direction was judged on a daily basis.

So, I understand what it means to be judged. My self esteem and self image were very poor. It took me a long time to understand that I would never…