Making an Impact, Revisited

In an earlier post, we discussed Larry Crabb’s assertion that we are all built with a desire to make an impact. Larry described this as a desire to do something valuable and well, to be adequate for a meaningful task. In the comments section, our conversation quickly turned away from this task-oriented definition to a more person-oriented one. That is, in discussing the desire to “make an impact,” we all immediately began to think of how we impact people.

I wonder if that is because all of us understand, at least at a gut level, that making an impact on people is more important than doing something well. Connecting and relating to others in meaningful ways is more important than succeeding at a task, even when the task is good, valuable, and worthwhile. And by “more important” I don’t just mean in the eternal-scheme-of-things kind of way. I mean it is more important for our own well-being, for our own growth, for nourishing our own soul – to connect and relate to others in deep and profound ways.

It has been interesting to follow Larry Crabb’s writings over the years. There has definitely been a shift in his thinking about psychology and counseling. In fact, I think Crabb would have appreciated our discussion of impacting people, because this is exactly the focus of his later writings.

Crabb says that for too long Christian counselors have focused on one of two approaches in dealing with human problems: (1) The problem is a stubborn will and we ought to assist people in doing what is right through Scriptural instruction and exhortation. (2) The problem is psychological damage and we ought to help people fix what is wrong through self-awareness and the development of insight.

Crabb offers a third alternative. For him, the problem is a disconnected soul and we ought to pour our lives into them in deep, profound, and intimate ways – where “the life of Christ in one person is poured into another and awakens in the emptiest recesses of that other person’s soul the experience of life.”

This is far easier said than done, but this is what our souls were created for – connecting with others. To make an impact on others, we ought to follow God’s example. Here is Crabb again:

"…Like most Christians, I've put a great deal of stock in self-awareness and self-discipline. Know yourself and choose wisely…. It's become clear to me, though, that God handles things a bit differently…. The absolute center of what he does to help us change is to reveal himself to us, to give us a taste of what he's really like, and to pour his life into us.... God's method is neither to merely issue commands from the general's tent (do what's right) nor to improve the functioning of diseased organs (fix what's wrong).... God doesn't fix us or pressure us. He does whatever it takes to reveal himself to us. That may include probing deeply into our messy hearts or insisting we do something we really don't want to do. But the core purpose is always the same, not to repair or exhort us, but to draw us into a fuller appreciation of himself."

What do ya’ll make of all that?