{"id":476,"date":"2011-05-11T10:29:06","date_gmt":"2011-05-11T14:29:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=476"},"modified":"2011-05-10T11:57:40","modified_gmt":"2011-05-10T15:57:40","slug":"the-dignity-of-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/05\/the-dignity-of-risk.html","title":{"rendered":"The Dignity of Risk"},"content":{"rendered":"

I direct two choirs as one of my tasks as area director of The Special Gathering, which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community. During one of our choir practices, I asked the choir to vote on which songs they would like to sing when we perform at a local church. We were currently rehearsing about five songs. \u00a0 We will sing at a large Presbyterian church and we will be ministering at their 10:30am worship service. \u00a0To my amazement, as we went through the list, they didn\u2019t and even with encouragement they wouldn\u2019t\u00a0raise their hands to tell me their choice.<\/p>\n

When Tim spoke out that he liked the second song best, everyone chimed in to agree with him.\u00a0 I was surprised\u2013not at their selection but in their hesitation to raise their hands regarding their personal choice.\u00a0 These are men and woman who are the leaders in our ministry in Melbourne. \u00a0They are intellectually disabled but they are our deacons. \u00a0During our prayer time, they are \u00a0the ones who stand at the front of their peers and pray for the member who request prayer. \u00a0They are part of our praise team. \u00a0They lead singing, read the scriptures\u00a0and greet visitors.<\/p>\n

Yet, they were hesitant to give their opinion regarding their choice in a musical selection.\u00a0 Once again they were exhibiting their need to please people who are in authority.\u00a0 They didn\u2019t want to be wrong and\u00a0not please me. \u00a0They were refusing to take the risk of offending me.<\/p>\n

I can only vaguely imagine the intimidation that my friends have endured that make them\u00a0too afraid to give me their opinion.\u00a0 I am their friend and they know it. \u00a0Additionally, these 13 men and women are not timid wallflowers.\u00a0 They are forward looking individuals who laugh and joke and seem to express their opinions with ease.\u00a0 Now, I wonder.\u00a0 How much are they hiding?\u00a0 How much of this self-confidence is another set of learned behaviors exhibited to impress the outside world?<\/p>\n

Each day I realize that there is much to learn about unlocking the potential of these men and women of God. \u00a0Nevertheless, I see all of humanity as I stare into their faces. \u00a0As much as we may want to deny it, their simplisitic faith and uncomplicated processing doesn’t make them less like people who are “normal.” \u00a0If any thing, it exposes more of our humanity than we want to confess.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>God make humans to be people who take risks. \u00a0It is part of what give us dignity. \u00a0Often, our community has been push into a corner and denied their God-given right to take risks. \u00a0However, I could not help but put myself into their faces and remember all the times I’ve not wanted to take a risk because of fear.<\/p>\n

Over the past three years, I written a daily blog about The Special Gathering ministry. \u00a0One of the Google searches that is most requested is a definition of the dignity of risk. \u00a0This is a phrase that is often used within the intellectually disabled community. \u00a0After 22 years of ministry within this community, I believe that a good definition is: \u00a0Dignity of risk is the moving away from a safe place, in order to fully experience the self-respect and self-esteen of being a human being.<\/p>\n

Taking risks is one quality that moves humans from the animalistic realm of instinct or habit. Therefore, anyone denied the ability to take risks cannot fully understand or experience their true humanity and is consequently denied true dignity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I direct two choirs as one of my tasks as area director of The Special Gathering, which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community. During one of our choir practices, I asked the choir to vote on which songs they would like to sing when we perform at a local church. We were currently…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,10,16,28,12,41,1],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,699,691,13,19,689,57,692,700],"class_list":["post-476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-inspirational","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged","category-religion","category-spirituality","category-uncategorized","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-inspirational","tag-intellectual-disabilities","tag-mental-retardation","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-prayer","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Dignity of Risk - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Dignity of Risk - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I direct two choirs as one of my tasks as area director of The Special Gathering, which is a ministry within the mentally challenged community. 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