Joseph Perry

2/16/16
Comm. 494
Dr. Cooper

Ethical Credo
My senior year of high school, the yearbook asked me for my senior motto. They wanted
some statement that guided my life. I chose Matthew 16:26, For what will it profit a man if he
gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? (Crossway Bibles 2002) The verse gave words to an
internal conflict I was experiencing. Many of my classmates were extremely gifted. Their intellects
were bright and their motivations strong. Yet, in conversation with them I saw that one primary
desire underlay all the discussion of college plans and future dreams. Everyone seemed dedicated
to their own personal advancement and gain. It was the desire to get ahead, which I imagine will
eventually manifest itself as the desire to climb the ladder. This pursuit seemed frivolous to me.
Growing up, I was taught to be selfless and to care for others. Consequently, when surrounded by
a pool of seniors professing their desire to give whatever it took to get ahead, I expressed my
commitment to maintaining my soul in all of lifes adventures. This expression continues to be a
guiding principle for my life. Over the course of the four years since then, I have incorporated
other guiding principles into my life. Together, they form my deepest beliefs. These core beliefs
typically followed similar pattern of genesis and development. The genesis is usually a book.
Books like Daring Greatly by Bren Brown and A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards sparked
thoughts on life values. These values are then developed and cemented through life experiences.
I first encountered Daring Greatly by Bren Brown in spring 2014 during my first semester
at Wheaton College. My second Sunday in Wheaton, I stepped through the doors of Life Church,
which would be my church home and family during my college years. The head pastor, Kurt
Hughes, referenced Daring Greatly in a sermon. He commented on the depth of Browns insights

Ethical Credo

and how impactful they had been in his life. From my limited exposure to Kurt, he seemed to be a
trustworthy man with a thriving faith in God. Consequently, I trusted his tastes and added Daring
Greatly to my reading list. When I finally got around to reading it that summer, it changed my
entire outlook on life. The author, Bren Brown, is a shame and vulnerability researcher. Her career
is certainly a niche occupation. At the start of her career, she identified shame as a base emotion.
Her research showed it to be fundamental to self-image and how we interact with others. Once she
identified this, she set about researching how people effectively dealt with shame. From her
endeavor, I gained a key insight into life. Being vulnerable is vital to well-being. The ability to put
down ones defenses and to be know are central to relationships and personal health (Brown 2012).
We see here a close correlation with Wheatons emphasis on intentional community. This interplay
was the first support I felt for Browns arguments. Further development of this value as one of my
core values came when I viewed the experiences of my gap year through the lens of vulnerability.
My college career began at Vassar College in fall 2012. Very quickly, I realized Vassar
College was not a good fit for me. I left after just one semester and moved back home with the
intent of taking one semester off to evaluate schools for transfer. Life took an unexpected turn and
one semester turned into two before I enrolled in a new college. This curve set me on the route to
appreciate the necessity of vulnerability. In early March, my older brother, Josh, took his own life.
I plunged into darkness. Grief overwhelmed me. Heavy silence best captured my feelings. Urgent
questions ran circles in my mind looking for answers that did not exist. As I reflect back on this
time, I realize how vital being vulnerable had been to helping me survive. First, being able to open
up and talk about what was going on with people helped me process the severe situation. Brown
ascribes a certain power to vulnerability. She claims that even the simplest act of vulnerability can
have tremendous power (Brown 2012). I certainly resonate with that! In the days and weeks

Ethical Credo

following Joshs death, I faced a choice: keep everything in or let everything be exposed. A number
of competing factors played into my decision. At the time, I was not a very open person. I was
very concerned with what others thought of me. I was concerned my sharing could put a heavier
burden on my familys shoulders. But most importantly, I was concerned that by keeping my
thoughts bottled up, I would begin to take the first steps down the road my brother had travelled.
This terrified me. Faced with the magnitude of consequences, I turned to my pastors, friends, and
family and opened the veil that shrouded my innermost thoughts. Two things happened. The fear
that had held me in its grip slipped away as others reassured me and offered support. Second, as I
grew more comfortable being vulnerable, I experienced a new, wonderful phenomena. My terrible
experiences could help people! They provided me with the background to understand suffering
and grief and, consequently, to empathize with people. This became a huge part of my ministry in
various youth groups. Being able to help others was essential to my healing process. In hindsight,
I am not sure how I could have worked through the terrible experiences of my gap year without
vulnerability. It was operative to a huge extant even though I was unaware of it explicitly.
Browns Daring Greatly yielded one more insight for my life. She entitled it Daring
Greatly after a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt, which she includes on the first page
(Brown 2012). Since reading it there, it has become my favorite quote. It is an excerpt from
Roosevelts Man in the Arena speech and says,
It is not the critic who counts; not the one who points out how the strong man
stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit
belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, who face is marred by dust and
sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again,
because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually

Ethical Credo

strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who
spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of
high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring
greatly, so that his place shall never be those cold and timid souls who know neither
victory nor defeat.(The Man in the Arena - April 23, 1910 - Theodore Roosevelt
Speeches- Roosevelt Almanac 2016)
Roosevelt was not one to sit on the sidelines. Whether it be leaping from a horse into a pack of
dogs to wrestle a cougar or giving an hour long speech with a bullet in his chest, he never backed
down from a challenge. Brown started her book with this call to courage because being vulnerable
is often quite difficult. In my life, I apply this quote to vulnerability regularly. When I lead a youth
group trip, I like to start the trip with this quote and then encourage the students that great things
come when you do not hold back. Furthermore, I apply this quote in my everyday life. It is always
open on my phone for when I need to quickly turn to it for encouragement. It encourages me to
avoid apathy. The influence this quote has had on my worldview cannot be oversold. Aside from
the Bible, this is the most common place I turn to for inspiration. In all, Bren Browns Daring
Greatly affects my life on a daily basis. I stand committed to vulnerability and daring greatly.
During the summer of my gap year, I interned for my home church as a youth intern. Aside
from being the most fun summer to date, it also was a time for personal spiritual growth. My faith
metamorphosed during this summer. My time at Vassar lead me to conclude that my faith was
only a relic passed down from my parents and not a vivacious personal relationship with Jesus
Christ. As a result, my summer working in the church provided an ideal environment to nurture
my new, personal faith in God. Gene Edwards A Tale of Three Kings was thrust into this time of
spiritual formation. It is a dramatic take on the story of Saul, David, and Absalom. Edwards wrote

Ethical Credo

it centered on brokenness. He traces how brokenness interweaves into the successes and failures
of the three men. Many of the principles espoused have become central to my life, but none so
much as the necessity of being broken in the face of Gods will. Edwards places special emphasis
on Saul and David both being the anointed king of Gods people. In this tension, David lives and
struggles as he waits for when Gods will puts him on the throne. The situation comes to a climax
as David hides in the caves to escape Sauls wrath. While hunting David one night, Saul took
shelter in a cave. As Saul slept, David came from his place in the back of the cave and stood with
Sauls life in his hands. Yet David did not kill Saul. David knew murder was against Gods will,
so he allowed his will to be broken to make way for the fulfillment of Gods will. It was this
obedience to God and his commandments that made David a man after Gods own heart (Edwards
1992). This belief has traveled with me to Wheaton as a nagging blessing. It nags in the sense that
it is difficult to sacrifice my desires in favor of Gods plan. Often I struggle with God over an
issue. For example, many times in recent days I have gone to God to seek his will about my future.
In ten months, I graduate from college and am not sure what to do. I want God to tell me what he
has planned. Despite my many pleadings, he has not revealed anything to me yet. As frustrated
as I have been and will be, I will not abandon seeking his will. I refuse to allow my desires to
supersede his will.
Another life value from A Tale of Three Kings revolves around throwing spears. Not
surprisingly, I do not have a lot of experience with throwing spears. However, the spears Edwards
references are metaphors for insults. In a beautiful analogy, he asks the reader what the normal
response is when someone throws a spear. Edwards says the natural response is simple: pick the
spear back up and throw it back. In doing this, one proves their courage and, more importantly,
that they are in the order of King Saul. That is, they are lost to selfishness and power. Edwards

Ethical Credo

claims that the David action would be to let the spear lay where it falls. Picking it up and
throwing it back does not lead to resolution (Edwards 1992). This often runs counter to peoples
initial response of returning insult for insult. As it says in Proverbs 15:1, A soft answer turns
away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (Crossway Bibles 2002) Returning the spear is not
an act of love. As I interact with people, I have pledged to always give a gentle reply.
The road before me emerges slowly out of a deep bank of fog. Questions swirl around me.
Most go unanswered and precious few come with murky resolution. When I am not sure where
to place foot next, how do I proceed? A mentor once gave me this advice, Success always comes
back to the basics. If you forget A, B, and C, you cant get to D, E, or F. In my journey forward,
these few things are my basic philosophies. I will be vulnerable and encourage others to be
courageous in vulnerability and in life. Being broken in Gods sight will be a constant pledge. I
want to be obedient to his will. Finally, I will speak in love as way to minister to people every
day. In these ways, I hope to honor Christ with my life.

Ethical Credo

Bibliography
Brown, C. Bren. 2012. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the
Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. 1st ed. New York, NY: Gotham Books.
Crossway Bibles, ed. 2002. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version Containing the Old and
New Testaments. Classic thinline ed. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Bibles.
Edwards, Gene. 1992. A Tale of Three Kings: A Study in Brokenness. Wheaton, Ill: Tyndale
House Publishers.
The Man in the Arena - April 23, 1910 - Theodore Roosevelt Speeches- Roosevelt Almanac.
2016. Accessed February 16. http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsorbonnespeech.html.