It’s day two of my interview with Michael Hyatt.
Check out yesterday’s first half of the interview here.
This was an email interview and, to be honest with you, I was a little disappointed when I first read through Michael’s answers to my questions. Somehow I felt like he had been holding back or maybe I hadn’t asked the right questions to get the best responses out of him.
A little later though, as I took a little time to re-read them and really listen to what he said, I realized that there is a depth of wisdom and honesty in what he says that God could really speak to me through.
I encourage you to take the time to read his answers both in part one and in part two (below) and see what you can learn from him.
The Interview
Richard Stearns, in his book ‘The Hole in our Gospel’ chronicles his fight against God’s call to take over at the helm of World Vision. Have you ever wrestled with God over something he was calling you to do?
Constantly! For me this always comes down to the courage to obey. And usually, there is a cost involved. Years ago, one of our authors publicly proclaimed that Jesus was not God, but was a created being. (This is the old heresy of Arianism.) Even though we had a big financial investment in this particular author, I had to pull the plug. It seemed outrageously expensive at the time, but I believe God honored that decision and blessed us for it.
I really try to pay attention to the little nudges I get from the Holy Spirit. This is especially true if they persist. I know that God is calling me to act.
Do you ever have days when you wish you could get away with acting in a rather unchristian manner, maybe to a staff member or to someone who has given you bad service? How do you deal with those kinds of urges, and are you always successful at resisting?
Honestly, not really. I have just seen too much abuse of power, and it scares me. I am more tempted to go in the opposite direction and get run over by someone who is abusing me or not providing good service. Believe me, I have plenty of sins in other areas, but this is not one I struggle with as much.
Do you find it easier to to be overtly Christian online than in the real world? Do you have any advice as to how we can become more like our online selves in the real world?
I actually think the online world—particularly social media—forces transparency. You really can’t be two different people. Eventually someone will call you out on it. The thing I like about social media is that it makes me think about my life and whether or not I am living up to my beliefs.
I believe all of us should strive for more congruity between our words and actions. I think this is one of the reasons God gave us community. Whether it is our family, our neighbors, our church, or our social media friends, we have to have people who will hold us accountable.
7. Finally… what one piece of advice would you give to people wanting to be more outward with their faith at work and with their friends?
I like what Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” People are desperate for love, and I think this is one place where we can express our faith. Be humble, be loving, and be generous. Without this, our words will matter very little.
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Thank you, Mike, for being willing to take part in this series, I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts with us.
If anyone wants to find out more about Michael Hyatt and hear more of what he has to share, then drop by his blog at MichaelHyatt.com or friend him on Twitter: @michaelhyatt
I really like the thought that social media forces transparency. I would definitely have to agree with that. People can see a fake a mile away.
Absolutely!
Great interview. I used to say that the Lord would come in the back door on projects He knew I'd initially say no to if He presented them outright. ;D I'd agree to the small portion He would let me in on, then I'd find out it was this huge thing I'd have been too scared to agree to if I knew all the fine print. ;D Over the years I've come to trust Him more on these. But still don't know that I would have agreed to minister to people with cancer if He hadn't come in the back door and allowed me to experience breast cancer!
Thanks, Beckye.
God does work in mysterious ways!
All of these answers reflect what I've seen from Michael on his blog and respect so much. It's a rare leader who understands all the different ways in which one may be tempted to abuse power…but he understands. I'm glad he's running a mentoring program for others. We need all the good leadership we can get!
Absolutely, Rosslyn.
Thank you for taking the time to comment.
I'm so glad he's running a mentoring program – in fact, I considered joining it myself but the time was not right.
A Christian publisher obliged to take printed words seriously, as they are the foundation of all he is trying to accomplish. And yet, Michael is aware that deeds – especially loving ones – are vastly more important than words. I would be inclined to take a more open view than Michael's , to publishing "heresies". If they are being discussed in a helpful way by an author whose deeds clearly mark him as a Christian, I would value the contribution, even if it seemed contrary to some theological position I thought I ought to hold.
I have no idea if that was the situation with the author Michael mentions above, but the simple fact of a theological or philosophical disagreement ought not the be basis of "pulling the plug."
Hi Linda,
With any system of beliefs, there have to be some rock solid, immutable facts that form the basis of what you believe. For example, the existence of God is basic to Christianity, if God does not exist then nothing else matters and Christianity is a lie.
As a Christian publisher, you have to define for yourself which are basic facts and which are not. Publishing controversial works can be acceptable providing they don't end up denying the basis of what you believe.
For example, if someone wrote a book questioning the existence of God, a Christian company could put their weight behind it if that book ultimately concluded that God existed but they could not do so if that book concluded that God did not exist. It would be ludicrous for a company which, at its very core, was founded on a belief in God to publish a work which concluded that its very founding belief was wrong.
However, as I understand it, the situation Michael was talking about was not one where they were making an editorial decision, it was one where they were already publishing books by the guy and he then announced publicly that he did not believe that Jesus was the son of God.
A publisher has to promote and 'sing the praises' of the books it publishes and the authors who write those books. To most Christians, the fact that Jesus is God is very, very basic to our beliefs. In fact, almost all of what we believe stems from that basic fact. When someone publicly declares that one of the publisher's basic beliefs is wrong, they have to decide whether or not they can continue to align themselves with and promote that author. Are they willing to continue spending money on giving this guy a voice to proclaim something heretical?
I think Michael was right to decide not to. Whether or not this guy did 'good' things, like Christians should is irrelevant. I can dress and act like a Buddhist monk, but if with my words I declare that the Buddhist beliefs are false, then I'm not a Buddhist. In the same way, you can act like a Christian but if you declare that the Christian beliefs are all lies then you're not a Christian.
On another subject, I never seem to get email notifications of posts that I have subscribed to. Do others?
Excellent analysis! If someone concludes simply, "God does not exist", and reasons from there, I would not publish it, if part of my reason for existence were to promote Christian belief. And I wouldn't call myself a Christian publisher, if that weren't the case.
In the case of Arianism, I personally would be interested in what the writer had to say, for one thing, just to understand what Arian Christians believe the relationship between God and Jesus was. And why they deny something fairly central to Christianity, while maintaining they are Christians. I imagine it would come down to the different ways people use words. Maybe they just want to emphasize that Jesus really was a physical being, but that his physical being and humanity are not what God is limited to. There _are_ folks who go to far in the other direction, and make an idol out of the traces of Jesus' physicality.
But if they understand Jesus' message of love and forgiveness, and bear fruit commensurate with that understanding, then I might, as a Christian Publisher, feel I needed to publish their work. If the book has no useful message, then I certainly wouldn't publish it, but that wouldn't be because of the writer's belief.