Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Support independent, faith-based journalism. Donate
Search Search this site

Where does your church fall on the ‘Grit Scale’? Its success may depend on the answer.

OpinionJohn Chandler  |  September 12, 2017

Educators are a-flutter over the well-documented parental habits of “hovering.” Helicopter parents at an elementary school PTA meeting are one thing; mom or dad showing up with their adult children at their interviews is quite another. When children are systematically shielded by parents and others from the opportunities to experience and overcome setbacks, they never develop the requisite muscles to do that important work when the stakes are higher in adult life.

To that end, there is a growing body of research around grit. Given adequate talent (an internal factor) and opportunity (an external factor), how important is grit, the muscle to persist doggedly? Turns out, it’s quite important. Penn psychology professor Angela Duckworth has developed the “Grit Scale.” Her book makes a compelling case correlating grit with leadership aptitude. For instance, West Point has found that a high score on the Grit Scale is the most reliable predictor of enduring “Beast Barracks” (the first seven weeks at the Academy). It also accurately forecast cadet educational and career success.

If grit is that important, why is it so elusive? Why do so many in our day lack the perseverance to tackle problems that exceed their current skill set? Is it a simple matter of impulse control? Distraction? Character flabbiness?

Duckworth came to see that gritty high performers are distinguished by their ability to process “feelings of frustration, disappointment or even boredom” not as “signals to cut their losses and turn to some easier task.” It was “as if they had been conditioned to believe that struggle was not a signal for alarm.” This was true for Green Beret candidates, National Spelling Bee contestants, Chicago public-school students, time-share salespeople, and Teach for America participants.

Grit is not in vogue in a culture that values having your irons in many fires and keeping lots of options open. Grit puts all of its eggs in one basket, for weal or woe. But I believe Duckworth is onto something significant in trumpeting the virtue of grit.

And here is a word of hope:  the church in North American has grit. Churches can drive you crazy with their change-resistance. They can be stunningly cumbersome and out of touch with the times. But say this much — the church has persisted to this point, and I’m betting it will continue to do so. If the March Madness mantra is “survive and advance,” then the church in North America has done that, and will do that.

The words to the ancient church of Philadelphia still ring true: “Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (Revelation 3:10). Amen, and pass the grit.


OPINION: Views expressed in Baptist News Global columns and commentaries are solely those of the authors.
John Chandler
More by
John Chandler
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma

      Opinion

    • Coronavirus challenging denominational summer conventions yet again

      News

    • One year later: Some musings on post-COVID culture and social ethics

      Opinion

    • What I learned by listening to women pastors during the pandemic

      Analysis


    Curated

    • Lawmaker pushes for 3rd time to make Bible the state book of Tennessee

      Lawmaker pushes for 3rd time to make Bible the state book of Tennessee

      March 5, 2021
    • A Third Of Gen Z Doesn’t Trust People Of Other Religions, But They’re Willing To Try

      A Third Of Gen Z Doesn’t Trust People Of Other Religions, But They’re Willing To Try

      March 5, 2021
    • Faith Leaders Urge Missouri Not to Create “Rush Limbaugh Day”

      Faith Leaders Urge Missouri Not to Create “Rush Limbaugh Day”

      March 5, 2021
    • Brian Houston apologizes for Hillsong NYC’s ‘failings,’ promises whistleblower policy

      Brian Houston apologizes for Hillsong NYC’s ‘failings,’ promises whistleblower policy

      March 5, 2021
    Read Next:

    Free Lenten daily devotionals offered

    NewsBNG staff

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Students and alumni express concern about restructuring of OBU’s storied music program

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pandemic plans: Keep on coping

      OpinionDavid Jordan

    • Learning to breathe in the Spirit by confessing, ‘I can’t breathe’

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • Does landmark religious freedom legislation need a fix or is it fine as is?

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • How to follow a leader

      OpinionPaula Mangum Sheridan

    • Black Baptist women in ministry and the principality of patriarchy

      OpinionAidsand Wright-Riggins

    • Author of Eugene Peterson biography was one of many shaped by America’s pastor

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 3-5-21

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Evangelicals are in trouble: Reclaiming ‘Oberlinism” could bring some redemption

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • U.S. agency calls for more religious freedom in Nigeria

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Repressing my sexual orientation cost me my health — permanently

      OpinionAmber Cantorna

    • World religious leaders remember Shahbaz Bhatti as martyr 10 years later

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • The charismatic story is part of the Baptist story, historian contends

      NewsPat Cole

    • Finding charity amidst the chaos one year into the coronavirus pandemic

      OpinionCurtis Ramsey-Lucas

    • Son’s legacy lives on through Kansas City ministry for children with special needs

      NewsHelen Jerman

    • Maybe your church needs a minister of loneliness

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Rural churches need to understand the cultural capital of their communities

      AnalysisBrian Foreman and Justin Nelson

    • How slavery still shapes the world of white evangelical Christians

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • New study finds affirmation of Black church experience even as attendance declines

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Faith leaders call for an end to racial bullying in the Indiana legislature

      OpinionIvan Douglas Hicks

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Christian nationalism deeply embedded into American life, Tyler warns

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • One year later: Some musings on post-COVID culture and social ethics

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Faith community nurses ‘carry the hope’ during COVID-19 pandemic

      NewsLiam Adams

    • Students and alumni express concern about restructuring of OBU’s storied music program

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Author of Eugene Peterson biography was one of many shaped by America’s pastor

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 3-5-21

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • U.S. agency calls for more religious freedom in Nigeria

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • World religious leaders remember Shahbaz Bhatti as martyr 10 years later

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The charismatic story is part of the Baptist story, historian contends

      NewsPat Cole

    • Son’s legacy lives on through Kansas City ministry for children with special needs

      NewsHelen Jerman

    • New study finds affirmation of Black church experience even as attendance declines

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Christian nationalism deeply embedded into American life, Tyler warns

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Faith community nurses ‘carry the hope’ during COVID-19 pandemic

      NewsLiam Adams

    • Coronavirus challenging denominational summer conventions yet again

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Some Methodist churches finding greater mission results with simplified governance

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Diverse religious coalition urges Congress to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • She’s Gen-Z, became leery of the church but practices faith with fitness

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • LGBTQ inclusion and clergy sexual abuse treated equally in SBC expulsions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • As people walk away from the church in droves, Russ Dean hopes to tell the old story in a new way

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The strange saga of the Riley Foundation lawsuit now forces SBC to figure out who has the right to remove a seminary trustee

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In-person worship dropped in January as more churches were directly affected by COVID

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Caldwell succeeds Anderson as chair of BNG board

      NewsBNG staff

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Final vote sounds the death knell for capital punishment in Virginia

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Reeves to lead Fellowship Southwest

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Three years later, Leah Sharibu is still held captive, reportedly for refusing to renounce her faith

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Wake Forest Divinity gets $5 million grant to help combat HIV/AIDS

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pandemic plans: Keep on coping

      OpinionDavid Jordan

    • Learning to breathe in the Spirit by confessing, ‘I can’t breathe’

      OpinionPatrick Wilson

    • How to follow a leader

      OpinionPaula Mangum Sheridan

    • Black Baptist women in ministry and the principality of patriarchy

      OpinionAidsand Wright-Riggins

    • Evangelicals are in trouble: Reclaiming ‘Oberlinism” could bring some redemption

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Repressing my sexual orientation cost me my health — permanently

      OpinionAmber Cantorna

    • How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Finding charity amidst the chaos one year into the coronavirus pandemic

      OpinionCurtis Ramsey-Lucas

    • Maybe your church needs a minister of loneliness

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • How slavery still shapes the world of white evangelical Christians

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • Faith leaders call for an end to racial bullying in the Indiana legislature

      OpinionIvan Douglas Hicks

    • One year later: Some musings on post-COVID culture and social ethics

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Why vote to fund something you won’t ever use?

      OpinionGreg Garrett, Senior Columnist

    • Matter-of-fact statements about Scripture aren’t always the gospel truth

      OpinionJordan Conley

    • Black History Month: Remembering, waiting, watching

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Canada labels Uyghur repression ‘genocide,’ but that’s not as exemplary as you might think

      OpinionRay Mwareya

    • About disfellowshipping churches based on the ‘clear’ teaching of Scripture

      OpinionDalen Jackson

    • What the SBC should learn from the Ravi Zacharias tragedy

      OpinionChrista Brown

    • The Black church and the salvation of the world

      OpinionPaul Robeson Ford

    • St. Benedict and a two-fold path for the church In America

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • What if we cared about Black History Month as much as Lent?

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Prophecy is obedient imagination

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • How much wealth does America need before we’ll address homelessness?

      OpinionMichael Chancellor

    • Why we need to talk about abortion

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • How travel and food break through barriers that divide us

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • Lawmaker pushes for 3rd time to make Bible the state book of Tennessee

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A Third Of Gen Z Doesn’t Trust People Of Other Religions, But They’re Willing To Try

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith Leaders Urge Missouri Not to Create “Rush Limbaugh Day”

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Brian Houston apologizes for Hillsong NYC’s ‘failings,’ promises whistleblower policy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Myanmar’s Christian refugees hold anti-coup protest in India

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Tanzania’s President Focused on Prayer as Coronavirus Cases Climbed

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • After Ravi Zacharias report, Christians examine how to avoid ‘betrayal blindness’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why a Catholic journalist is urging the church to engage Black Lives Matter

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Texas church helps mosque damaged after snowstorm

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Vaccinated for virus, Jimmy Carter and wife back in church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Black Church Group Offers Its Best Shot at Closing Vaccine Gap

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Man who played Duke Chapel bells for 50 years dies

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ravi Zacharias’s Denomination Revokes Ordination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Disinformation Fuels A White Evangelical Movement. It Led 1 Virginia Pastor To Quit

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Southern Baptists divided over politics, race, LGBTQ policy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Rush Limbaugh, who shaped conservative Christian politics on the radio, has died

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Dallas faith groups help shelter homeless Texans during deep freeze

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • SBU Trustees Reverse Some Tenure/Promotion Denials

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • U.S. Supreme Court sides with Alabama death row inmate, declines to lift stay of execution over state’s refusal to allow clergy in chamber

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Survey: Black Americans attend church and pray more often

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How Christian Bookstores Survived 2020

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Celebrating Ash Wednesday in a pandemic? There’s an app for that

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • From ‘Lent-in-a-box’ to ‘ash n dash’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • No execution: Courts side with inmate wanting pastor present

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • New Arkansas Law Exempts Churches from Pandemic Restrictions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2021 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS