Developing a Moral Compass for Christian Leaders Essay

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A moral compass refers to the attributes that individuals and groups use to guide their lives with a sense of purpose and direction.[footnoteRef:2] Although different faiths subscribe to various types of “moral compass points,” the moral compass advocated by the United Methodist Church provides a useful example that can be used to gain a better understanding concerning its purpose and tenets as well as how these can help improve people’s lives. To this end, this paper reviews the relevant literature to provide a discussion concerning the moral compass espoused by the leaders of the United Methodist Church to identify potential opportunities for improvement and which sources can facilitate this outcome. A description of a compass chart and its four constituent categories (i.e., walking with God, a well-lived life, a good community and just society) is followed by a discussion concerning how the chart could be refined. In addition, an assessment concerning how a moral compass can be improved by drawing on the insights provided by Aristotle, Bennis-Goldsmith, Lebacqz, Erikson, Press and others contribute to the conversation about moral agency, leadership and moral reorientation is followed by an analysis concerning the role played by moral leaders in this enterprise. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings concerning the United Methodist Church’s current moral compass and how it can be improved are presented in the conclusion. [2: Helen Altman Klein. “A Moral Compass. (for Parents Particularly),” Childhood Education, 78, no. 4 (Summer 2002): 236.]

Refinement of the moral compass

The moral compass followed by the United Methodist Church is comprised of the four constituent components depicted in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Moral compass graphic conceptualization

The four “moral compass points depicted in Figure 1 above are discussed in turn in the sections following below.

Walking with God: The adage that “angels whisper to humans when they walk in the woods” is reflective of this moral compass component. Indeed, the importance of walking with God has been an early and central theme in the Holy Bible. For instance, Sorge reports that, “From the very beginning, God had a relationship with Adam and Eve that found them "walking in the garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8). God created man for the enjoyment of a walking relationship that involved companionship, dialogue, intimacy, joint decision-making, mutual delight, and shared dominion. God longs to walk with you, which is why his arms of grace have been pulling you into a closer walk with him.”[footnoteRef:3] The list of biblical patriarchs who walked with God begins with Enoch. According to Sorge, “After he begot Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three hundred years, and had sons and daughters. So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years. And Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him (Genesis 5:22–24).”[footnoteRef:4] [3: Bob Sorge, (2016, May 5). “The Secret of Walking with God.” Christian Bible Studies. [online] available: http://www.christianitytoday.com/biblestudies/articles/theology/secret-of-walking-with-god.html.] [4: Sorge, “The Secret of Walking with God.” ]

Other biblical figures who walked with God included Abraham (“And he said unto me, The Lord, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house” – Genesis 24:40 KVJ) and Noah (“These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God” – Genesis 6-9 KVJ). It is important to point out, however, that achieving the penultimate and final components of the moral compass, a good community and a just society, requires performing this component. As Sorge concludes, “God wants to walk with us before he works through us. So he will wait to act until he finds the right man or woman through whom he can work. To put it bluntly, God works with his friends. When God has a friend, divine activity accelerates. When God has a useful vessel that has been prepared for noble purposes, he will use that vessel.”[footnoteRef:5] [5: Sorge, “The Secret of Walking with God.” ]

In this context, it is also important to note that “walking with God” does not necessarily mean actually talking a physical stroll in the garden or a hike in the woods in an effort to communicate with the Creator in order to satisfy this moral compass component, and it can perhaps be used more metaphorically and better understood as referring to spiritually communing with God in other ways that contribute to a well-lived life, a good community and a justice society as discussed further below.

A well-lived life: Although this moral compass component is also a priority in other religions, the United Methodist Church has made it clear that, “There is no greater witness for the Kingdom of God than a life well-lived.

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”[footnoteRef:6] It is important to note, though, that a well-lived life does not necessarily mean an extraordinary life (and they frequently are not) but rather refers to a life that is devoted to trusting and following God’s loving guidance, which are also fundamental to the first moral compass constituent component, walking with God. In this regard, Pegram adds that, “The life that is well-lived, the life that is an incredible asset to the Kingdom of God, making an eternal difference is not usually extraordinary! It is an ordinary life committed to walk with God, to trust God, and to live in God’s ways.”[footnoteRef:7] [6: Ronn A. Pegram, (2012, September 16). “A life well lived.” Dodgeville United Methodist Church. [online] available: http://www.dodgevilleumc.org/2012/a-life-well-lived/.] [7: Pegram, “A life well lived.”]

A good community: This moral compass component also dates to antiquity and has long been regarded as being an important outcome of walking with God and a well-lived life. In this regard, Trefts note that, “I would like people to consider how they can play a role in their local communities at beginning and sustaining the ancient questions that go back to Socrates and the Bible.”[footnoteRef:8] As Socrates rationalized early on, “Wouldn't we say that morality can be a property of whole communities as well as of individuals?”[footnoteRef:9] The moral compass that promotes a good community, however, can be highly subjective and varied depending on prevailing definitions of what constitutes a good community depending on time and place as the ancient examples of Sodom and Gomorrah made clear. [8: Deborah Trefts, (2017, June 27). “Rev. Robert M. Franklin Jr. to discuss expanded religious presence at Chautauqua.” The Chautauquan Daily. [online] available: http://chqdaily.com/2017/06/rev-robert-m-franklin-jr-to-discuss-expanded-religious-presence-at-chautauqua/.] [9: Louis P. Pojman. Classics of Philosophy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003), 123.]

Just society: Some authorities adopt a strictly pragmatic view of a just society that is based on the manner in which basic liberties are guaranteed and protected as well as providing equitable access to available resources is a just society. For example, Petts argues that, “Any society that provides well for freedom will count as just. If the society entrenches each [freedom] against the danger of interference from others in the domain of the basic liberties, then it will count plausibly as a just society.”[footnoteRef:10] This pragmatic perspective is also even highly congruent with the United Methodist Church’s moral view that charitable acts must likewise be applied equitably. As Bauer points out, “The goal of creating a just society that keeps inequality in check, is still applicable even if the laws are not. Charity can be governed by the whim or favoritism but we are taught that such action is unacceptable. The obligation is to create a just society and not to rule over the poor with acts of charity.”[footnoteRef:11] [10: Philip Pettit. Just Freedom: A Moral Compass for a Complex World (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2014), 37.] [11: Renee Bauer, (2015, September 7). “Biblical Call to Address inequality.” Sherman Avenue Methodist Church. [online] available: http://workerjustice.org/interfaith-resources/sermons/biblical-call-to-address-wealth-inequality/]

This assertion suggests that because resources are by definition scarce and represent a zero-sum game (e.g., if some poor people are fed and housed, there will be fewer of these resources available for other poor people), creating and sustaining a truly just society requires first walking with God and living life well in order to develop a good community that places a high priority on these issues. As Calhoun emphasizes, “any real society is a caregiving and care-receiving society, and must therefore discover ways of coping with these facts of human neediness and dependency that are compatible with the self-respect of the recipients and do not exploit the caregivers.”[footnoteRef:12] [12: Calhoun Chesire. Setting the Moral Compass: Essays by Women Philosophers (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 74.]

Taken together, the four constituent components of a moral compass provide a viable framework in which individuals of all faiths can make the world a better place during their lives and thereafter but as with anything, a moral compass can be improved and these issues are discussed further below.

Assessment concerning how a moral….....

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