Decidedly Disappointed

About a year ago, I got into a conversation with one of my colleagues. They were exploring the role of disappointment in leadership, consulting with a client.

Some of the questions they was encouraging this client to think about was:

1. How do you react to disappointment?

2. What is your capacity to be disappointed by family, work, church?

3. What does it mean to you to disappoint others?

These questions are sticking with me this week. Our opportunity for disappointment is great -- both as perpetrators and as victims. Disappointment sometimes reveals itself in the form of depression or despair. UCLA psychologist James C. Coleman lists several examples. "Shipwreck victims who lose hope may die after a few days," he says, "even though physiologically they could have survived many days longer." He notes that despair can contribute to suicide, while hopelessness bred by poverty might manifest as apathy. "Values, meaning, and hope appear to act as catalysts" for mobilizing energy and finding satisfaction. Without them, Coleman reports, life can seem futile.

Ministry, in and of itself, is people focused/centered. Everything that we do, reflects back on how we fellowship, lead, give and take care of one another. As a Christian, I believe that our relationship with the Divine provides the moral directive for being in these types of relationships. However, what happens when we, as leaders, disappoint ourselves and/or the people that we work with?

In the midst of disappointment, depression and despair -- how do we keep hope alive? How do we lead a community of believers in the midst of expectations held on both sides?