Outline – Growth Rings – by Robert E. Perrine

Introduction

Make it relevant

This is not about Christianity or about the USA – it is about people.

I spent 35 years trying to reconcile Gandhi, King, Lincoln and Jesus.

Situational – not based on pressures, emotions or cognitions, but maturity.

Gandhi ignored Blacks in South Africa because he was not mature enough yet.

Lincoln desired reconciliation because he finally understood stage-five.

Quickly describe all the stages – with stick figure illustrations.

Stages of Growth

Stage 0 – Infant

Define – initial, not even full concept of “I”

Example – a baby

View others – extensions of self

View me – undifferentiated

Ring – me

Relevance – this is where we start

Stage 1 – Selfish

Define – unable to separate self from others

Example – Charles Manson and embedded relationships

View others – everyone is just the same as I am

View me – self-centered

Ring – self

Relevance – we all do this to some extent in our relationships

Stage 2 – Me-first

Define – thinks people need to be manipulated

Example – Adolf Hitler and the politics of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

View others – as objects

View me – the most important

Ring – self and loyal followers

Relevance – dictators in society, business and family life AND lots of addicts

Stage 3 – Team-Player

Define – peers, us/them

Example – Richard Nixon

View others – friends are like me, everyone else is different

View me – through peers

Ring – the people who think like I do

Relevance – typical teenager, loyal sports fan and political parties, many of us

Stage 4 – Role-Player

Define – one group at a time

Example – JFK “Ich bin ein Berliner!”

View others – peers in every group, yet all groups are different

View me – roles

Ring – which ever group I am in at the time

Relevance – ability to see similarities in different settings, bridge building

Stage 5 – Statesman

Define – I am the same even though I take on roles

Example – Barry Goldwater after he lost the presidential race and became an elder statesman, Ted Kennedy in his later years

View others – we are all different yet in this together

View me – be true to myself

Ring – very inclusive yet think everyone has common interests

Relevance – wise leaders who speak for all and not just their party

Stage 6 – Humanitarian

Define – humanity has common needs

Example – Gandhi, MLK’s dream

View others – we have more in common than what separates us

View me – A drop in the ocean of humanity

Ring – humanity

Relevance – very rare – vantage point to guide our future

Stage 7 – Ecological

Define – all life

Example – Albert Schweitzer, Albert Einstein

View others – humanity is one of many species with shared interests

View me – as insignificant as a drop of water

Ring – ecology

Relevance – prophets

Trailblazers

Mahatma Gandhi

Chronology of speech phrases from stage-three to stage-six.

Abraham Lincoln

Chronology of speech phrases from stage-three to stage-six.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Chronology of speech phrases from stage-three to stage-six.

Social Evolution

Social Evolution in the Christian Bible

Primitive Governance

·         Quotes to show development from stage-zero to stage-three.

Harmonious Governance

·         Quotes to show the harmony in King David’s reign.

Empires

·         Quotes to show the mismatch between stage-two tyrants and the stage-three people.

Reaching Beyond Stage-Three

·         Describe the early Christian church as a stage-four people with a stage-four governance.

Vision for the Future

·         Who gets punished when things go wrong?

Social Evolution in the USA

Explain the tools I use to identify the stages.

Stage specific responses – create a chart and link it to quotes.

Analyze the stages found in the inaugural address for each President.

What does this say about the governance and the governed?

Illustrate how each stage views and treat minorities

Narrow the focus down to stages three through five

What are the implications?

The Appropriate Response

Loevinger’s concept of pacers.

Dialectic as a challenge to growth.

Make it relevant to the reader.

Make this relevant to Nar-Anon families.

Point forward towards discipleship.