Rusty Mullins
Spiritual encouragement can come from many different sources. There is an organization I follow and respect that encourages its members to live by five pillars.
The message is that if that group unites under these five ideals, then all they do will be successful, at least in the big picture.
The first goal is humility. The CEO of the group explains that if the group is to be successful, then they need to know who they are and to not just focus on themselves.
The fourth chapter of James has two wonderful scriptures that talk about humility. Verse six says, “But He gives greater grace. Therefore, He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Then in verse 10, James says, “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Humility is a key component to the Christian walk. We are all sinners saved by grace, and we need to see ourselves in the correct light. Jesus, in Luke 14: 11 says, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
The second pillar is passion. The CEO says that he does not want anyone in his group to do things lukewarm. Remember what Jesus said about being lukewarm? In the third chapter of the book of Revelations, Jesus said – 15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of my mouth.”
Jesus was pretty clear that he has no patience for His followers to be uninspired. You are either fully on-board, or you need to walk away. If you are going to be a part of this group, then you must be willing to give your all.
Unity is the third principle. In 1858, before he was elected president, Abraham Lincoln made a speech where he stated that the government of the United States could not survive being half slave and half free. He quoted from Mark 3: 25 and said “a house divided against itself cannot stand.”
The leader of the group who inherited these pillars from his father, has often made personnel decisions that complicated achieving their goals. His response, in those situations, was that the organization was more important than any one person who could create division.
In our spiritual walk, we need to seek unity with those we journey with. Fighting within the faith community does not make things better.
The fourth goal is servanthood. The idea from the leader of this group that things can be best accomplished by working together, not concentrating on your own success, but seeking the best for the group.
One of the CEO’s sayings to back this concept is, “whatever your role is, be a servant to the team and make your teammates better.”
Of course Jesus is the ultimate example of being a servant.
Lastly, but very importantly, the final pillar is thankfulness. Always continue to learn from each circumstance and at the end of it all remain thankful. A quote from the leader on this topic is, “be thankful certainly when there’s great success, but also be thankful for what you’ve learned through the hard times, because there’s great wisdom in those experiences.”
Jesus, likewise, spent a lot of time talking about being thankful. He had parables that He taught about thankfulness. In Ephesians 5, Paul says this, 15 Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise— 16 making the most of the time, because the days are evil. 17 So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 And don’t get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled by the Spirit: 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music from your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, what great Christian group could be guided by such solid principles? Actually, the Five Pillars originated from Dick Bennett, former head coach of the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team and father of current University of Virginia head coach, Tony Bennett.
The players on the second ranked basketball team in the country have to buy into this philosophy, or they will not remain on the team. Bennett, just last season, released the Memphis transfer that everyone thought would be the next star for the Cavaliers.
It was only announced as a violation of team rules, but the person who had been tagged as the next great UVa star was removed from the team.
There have been rumors, which I will not pass along, about the reason for the dismissal, but I wonder if other teams, without this kind of standard, would have found a way to keep “rule breaking” player on the roster.
Rev. Rusty Mullins was the former editor of the Radford News Journal and the News Messenger. He also served as pastor of North Fork Baptist Church in Blacksburg. He is currently the Senior Pastor of New Highland Baptist Church in Mechanicsville. He would enjoy any feedback at rusty.mullins@newhighlandbaptist.org.
