Poise in a Pandemic
By Bishop Todd Hunter
Whether you are a pastor, parent, teacher, co-worker or neighbor, all of us are going to have to consciously cultivate un-feigned poise in the weeks and months to come. Embodying poise and relating to others through it will be a prized gift if things get really tough. Just think about emergency room waiting areas, store aisles and bank lines.
Poise is not in any way comparable to snobbery, cockiness or arrogance. Jesus was totally poised without any of those negative connotations. In fact, undergirding the most powerful poise is love for the other, modesty and humility. Jesus’ poise came from the fact that he knew he had come from the Father and was returning to him, and that between the moment of departure and homecoming all would be well.
(Did you come from the Father? Are you returning to him? Sit with that thought—in what way might it yield poise?)
True poise is both attractive and a source of buoyancy for others. Why? When everything is shaking, people need to see others who are both realistic and grounded. Not obsessed or shaken, but rather poised.
Why do some people seem to have natural or innate poise? I believe it’s because poise is the overflow of other attributes. When we name a few of these traits, we find the beginning steps toward a poise that calms, assures and serves others.
Poised people are humbly aware of having ability. Think of the poise of a brain surgeon or of nurses and PA’s serving courageously in HazMat suits. They are prepared to be present to trauma for the good of others. This preparedness brings with it a natural confidence. Knowing what they are doing also brings patience. When things don’t go just right, these people don’t freak—they focus. It comes naturally to them. And if we were paying attention, we would see that their poise overflows for the good of others.
“Well,” you might say, “that is fine for those sorts of people, but I don’t have those underlying, preparatory traits!”
But you can get them—and since God is on your side through the power of the Spirit (think Galatians 5), you can get them in some good measure in a fairly short time.
Begin with this imaginative, evocative self-talk:
- I am not just a body with a vulnerable respiratory system, I am a never-ceasing spiritual being with an unspeakably great future in God’s renewed cosmos.
- Economic certainty is fleeing from me, but God is with me.
- All signs point to the spread of danger, but I am always safe in the kingdom of God.
- I am not sure I can trust the leadership of the world, but the Lord is my shepherd.
I know most people reading this want to make a positive difference during this pandemic. Even if you are not a doctor, an economist or a senior politician, your personal, poised presence can make a difference in your sphere of influence.
Where to start? Over the remainder of Lent, memorize Psalm 23. Not as religious poetry, but as the record of David’s lived experience through all his trials, temptations, wars and grievous sins. For most people, it is just a famous bit of literature. For David, it was his reality. For you, it can be a source of poise—a poise that serves and heals others.
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Todd Hunter is the founding bishop of The Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others and founder and leader of The Telos Collective. He is past President of Alpha USA, former National Director for the Association of Vineyard Churches, retired founding pastor of Holy Trinity Anglican Church in Costa Mesa, CA, and author of Christianity Beyond Belief: Following Jesus for the Sake of Others, Giving Church Another Chance, The Outsider Interviews, The Accidental Anglican, Our Favorite Sins, and Our Character at Work.