I vividly remember the second time I ever saw my husband, John.
He was up in front of the congregation at the church I was attending. He was the youth pastor, fresh out of seminary and it was his first time preaching. He was leading the congregation in reading the morning Scripture passage responsively – him one verse, us the next. The problem was he was reading from one Psalm and the congregation was reading from another – the correct one – the one printed in the bulletin.
After a few awkward, “off” responses that left people confused, he stopped and said, “Have you ever made a really big mistake in front of a lot of people?”
I may have fallen in love with him at that moment. A leader who can own his mistakes and move on is rare.
But some mistakes are much bigger than others. Sometimes owning our mistakes is complicated and the consequential damage can seem irreparable. Continue reading
