Zero Affirming People

One of the malaises that seems to be in our culture, and even in our churches, is a general lack of pro-active encouragement. It is possible for someone to serve whole-heartedly week in and week out with barely a sole giving the simplest thankyou for their effort. A minister might get thanked for their contribution, but many others may receive next to nothing.

I'm not sure if it is just part of this malaise or whether it is a deeper issue for certain characters, but I have also learnt that there are some who just never seem to offer any affirmation. Its not that they are impolite, they just don't take the opportunity to highlight the good that another person has done, or encourage them in some way. I'll call them 'Zero Affirming People', or 'ZAPs' for short.

Don't get me wrong. They may be nice people. Easy to get along with, active and whole-hearted in their own service. Yet they simply just don't go out of their way to affirm people - even when an opportunity is presented to them square on 'nothing' is the 'obvious something' that is forthcoming.

Paul demonstrates a different model. Note how many of his letters start by talking about giving thanks for the recipients. For the Thessalonians it is a repeated mantra (at least 3 times across the two letters). Paul seems to go out of his way to affirm people - praising God for them and letting them know that he is praising God for them.

To affirm is a godly thing to do. It is surely a required leadership characteristic too. For this reason I must conclude that ZAPs will not make good leaders.