You cannot grow without a humble, teachable spirit

By John Frost
Goodratings Strategic Service

Last week was an interesting week for me.

I spent two days with a man who, for the last 20 years, has been a "shock-jock" in his local market. God got a hold of him and now he's doing mornings on a Christian radio station, probably making a fraction of what he made before. You'd think that someone of his experience and success would come into a little Christian radio station with a sense of entitlement. Not so. He pulled me aside and said, "I've learned more in the last four months than in the previous twenty years I've been in radio."

Contrast that to the story about a newly hired promotions director who openly let it be known that she doesn't care for the station, that all her friends are listening to the competitor, and that music research-because it doesn't agree with her tastes---is invalid.

Rick Warren's e-mail this week hit a nerve. It is called, You Cannot Grow Without Humble, Teachable Attitude.

"Practice these things. Devote your life to them so that everyone can see your progress." (1 Timothy 4:15 GW)

Rick continues, "While you were given a brand new nature at the moment of conversion, you still have old habits, patterns, and practices that need to be removed and replaced. Yet we are afraid to humbly face the truth about ourselves.

We often build our identities around our defects. We say, "It's just like me to be ..." and "It's just the way I am." The unconscious worry is that if you let go of your habit, your hurt, or your hang-up, who will you be? This fear can definitely slow down your growth.

Only as God is allowed to shine the light of his truth on our faults, failures, and hang-ups can we begin to work on them. This is why you cannot grow without a humble, teachable attitude."

Tullian Tchividjian, Billy Graham's grandson, puts it this way, "The moment you say others are lucky to have you, you cease to be of value to them."

A sense of entitlement is an odd thing to encounter at a Christian radio station. And such a waste.

I have an idea....

Let's all get better. Beginning tomorrow. Let's all learn what we have yet to learn. Let's develop our gifts for the Highest and Best Use.

Let's ask the questions. Let's get the counsel. Let's surround ourselves with people that are smarter than we are.

Let's all be better tomorrow than we are today.