Friday, September 26, 2008

Mission Next Idea 8 - Motives

One of the things I have seen at this meeting is the tendancy to question motives. I think this is natural. People question motives based on actions that they see. The challenge we have is that actions cannot always be understood because cultures are so different. So we see someone say or do something and in our culture their action would indicate inappropriate motives. However, that person may not actually have bad motives.

So we have to get beyond guessing about motives and really get to know people. As we get to know people then, we will see their hearts and their passions. That doesn't mean that many times people do not have bad motives. But until we know people intimately we will not understand what drives them.

One of our panel members said, "We want what is best for you." If all of us assume we want the best for each other then we can build the relationships that will allow for understanding the dynamics that are going on.

Close connections will allow us to be honest with each other and will allow us to come alongside each other in strategic ways.

1 comment:

Jon and Mindy Hirst said...

I think of all the times I ask myself "the why" of things within my own culture, and come to the wrong conclusion! Thanks, Jon for the reminder and for blogging from this conference. -Mindy