Over the next few weeks I am planning to post some of my thoughts (and perhaps some of yours!) concerning the social issues of our day. If you’re like me, you’ve struggled with who to believe, where to get your best information, and how to process everything that is going on.

These are difficult times. COVID-19 was the first curveball 2020 threw at us. And if that wasn’t enough, the protests and mayhem stemming from the death of George Floyd have only added fuel to the fires of frustration related to lockdowns, financial difficulties, and increasing fears about the future.

Early on, I repeatedly stated that with great crises come great opportunities. That’s true in business, it’s true in Kingdom engagement, and it’s certainly true in terms of our personal growth and character development. I believe the first great challenge for all of us is to choose whether we will react or respond. Reactions are knee-jerk, emotion-driven retorts, responses are slower, thoughtful considerations. The former is often fueled by fear and disgust, the latter by empathy and careful deliberation.

Due to the nature of this conversation, it will be easy to jump to quick conclusions and simple solutions. However, as with most problems, one must wade through complexity before reaching simplicity. There’s much more nuance to these medical and social issues than what’s typically offered by many emotionally-driven “reactors” posting on social media.

I would like to invite you to join me in this conversation, sharing your questions and thoughtful ideas. It may be helpful to read through my five posts on the hard work of dialogue (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) before you jump in. Consider the following questions we should silently ask ourselves before contributing our voice:

• What is not being heard by me or others? Why?
• What have I been missing? How can this new information change my point of view?
• What is “triggering” me or causing me to resist other ideas?
• How might I form a response that will cause my opponent (true or perceived) to hear what I’m saying?

In all our correspondence and discussion, I ask that you be respectful when engaging the issues, remembering that at times you may need to agree to disagree agreeably. Thanks in advance for maintaining your humanity!

So what are your big questions? Ideas/solutions? Please email them to luke@lukekuepfer.com. I look forward to dialoguing with you!