I recently read this article in the Baptist Trumpet Magazine where the editor gave the readers a brief description of the book “The Personal Credibility Factor” by Sandy Allgeier, and it really got me thinking. I’m not going to post the whole article, but here are the:
15 Credibility Busters
- Failing to do what you say you will do.
- Breaking appointments (or frequently rescheduling them.)
- Constantly showing up late.
- Speaking first, thinking second.
- Making decisions while keeping others in the dark.
- Telling “little white lies that morph into Big Hairy Lies.”
- Trying to do everything – but ending up doing it all in a half-hearted way.
- Putting others down to pull yourself up.
- Putting yourself down rather than learning from mistakes.
- Making too many excuses – even if they’re legit.
- Being a rigid rule enforcer rather than a flexible problem solver.
- Losing the balance between accomplishing task and maintaining constructive relationships.
- Casting blame when you should be solving problems.
- Coming across as “all knowing” when you’re really just thinking out loud.
- Exhibiting body language and vocal tone that don’t match your words.
As I read these, I decided to pick out two that really applied to me. Believe me, most do in some ways, but which two really hit me to the core. After evaluating each I came to the conclusion that numbers 4 & 12 are most applicable.
#4 – I am way too quick to stand up for my beliefs, and values even at the risk of permanently damaging a relationship or possibly even my witness. For example I find myself wanting to speak up too quickly in our church leadership team meetings, but I have to find a healthy balance of respecting the elders and the history of the past while at the same time give a vision for the future of our church that will benefit it as a whole.
#12 – I am so goal and task oriented, that sometimes I allow that to foreshadow constructive relationships amongst family, friends, and the fellowship of my church. People should be my priority. Statistics show that over 85% of people within two years of becoming a christian will no longer have non-Christian friends. That is startling, but also so very true. I have absolutely NO non-Christian friends, and that is a problem. The Bible talks about not being unequally yoked, and being separate from the world, but I think we take it to the extreme and isolate ourselves from even sharing the Gospel. I know that having no non-Christian friends has truly hindered me from being the soul-winner that I long to be. With that being said I have a new personal mission project I am working on. It is something I am diligently praying about, but I have found much assurance after hearing yesterdays messages preached about:
Three Characteristics of Faith
- Confident
- Courageous
- Contagious
I have felt God leading me into a personal mission project to reach out to some of the rougher characters in society. Society is so quick to just ignore the needs of these troubled individuals, and eventually we just lock them up in hopes of not having to deal with them. Even Christians are guilty of this. Sure we want to help them once they’re locked up, and have already committed the crime. There are hundreds of prison ministries. There is just something about ministering to people in the comfort, and security of the prison bars. We can minister to them on our terms, in our time frame, and according to our convenience. My question however is, “what if we started ministering to them in their environment and on their terms even if it is inconvenient. I will be sharing more about this project in the future. Be checking back often for updates.
So what about you? Which two stand out the most? What can you do to increase your credibility? If you feel that none of them apply, then I would bet you are a number 8. In closing I have not read the above mentioned book, but it does sound like one that would be worth reading.
