Integrity and Skill
We recently took our guide team on a hike in Sedona. It was a remarkable day of adventure, strengthened relationships, and learning. The Canyon Ministries team loves these times together. We serve and grow as a family. We are dedicated to each other, our mission, and – most importantly – the gospel.
Guy Forsythe teaches our guide team.
Our ambition is to lead and serve with integrity and skill. Healthy relationships foster integrity. As we develop the relational strength of Canyon Ministries, we bolster the natural accountability that comes from doing life with others. Integrity (strict adherence to a standard lived out in humility, purity, and righteousness) is lost when accountability is removed. Our skill is developed through experience and continued education.
We have a biblical pattern for this pursuit. Psalm 78 provides a summary of the history of Israel. Asaph concludes with a powerful statement about David’s leadership.
“With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.”
Psalm 78:72 (ESV)
The parabolic recumbent “Forsythe Fold”.
The time we spent hiking in Sedona reinforced both aspects of leadership.
“Trail time” is fantastic for conversation and deepening friendship. We hiked about 3.5 miles with an elevation change of about 700 feet. The views were breathtaking and camaraderie great. Our destination was a recumbent fold in the same Coconino Sandstone we find in the Grand Canyon.
Guy Forsythe (fellow guide) provided a detailed explanation of the process required for folding to take place and its significance in interpreting the formation of the sediment layer. Folds such as the one we investigated are strong evidence supporting the rapid underwater deposition of the Coconino Sandstone. (Click here for more information on the Coconino Sandstone.)
Integrity and skill are centerpieces to the training and development of Canyon Ministries guides. However, a guide cannot lead someone to a destination where the guide is not willing to go. The implication here is that we are called to live a righteous life that is also built upon integrity and skill.
Who we are in the workplace, in our leisure time, within the church, and at home with family must be an outpouring of who we are in secret. Integrity and skill are matters of the heart and of the hands.
Praiseallujiah!
Jon
