Slides from my morning with at Westminster Presbyterian Church about Kindness and my book, In Defense of Kindness.

1. KINDNESS
Westminster Presbyterian Church
Oklahoma City
November 12, 2022

2. ELECTION
DAY 2022

3. ELECTION
DAY 2022

4. AGENDA
I / Introductions
Setting our Social Location and Context
II / Defining Kindness
What does kindness mean and NOT mean?
III / Kindness and Our Souls
Kindness as acts of self-care and healing?
IV / Kindness and Other Humans
Extending kindness to those around us?
V / Kindness and the Common Good
Envisioning kindness as a discipline that
changes the world?

5. SLIDES
www.slideshare.net/breyeschow
SOCIALS
@breyeschow on everything

6. INTRODUCTION
Setting my social location
Westminster Presbyterian Church, OKC
November 12, 2022

7. ABOUT
BRUCE

8. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"

9. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.

10. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.

11. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author

12. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author

13. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author

14. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Podcaster, Coach, Author

15. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author

16. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author
● Parent to three adults.

17. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author
● Parent to three adults.
● A’s

18. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author
● Parent to three adults.
● A’s, Soccer

19. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author
● Parent to three adults.
● A’s, Soccer, Coffee

20. ABOUT
BRUCE
● Generation X, “Whatever"
● Presbyterian Pastor rooted
in organizing and activism.
● Mediocre at a great many
things: Pastor, Planter,
Consultant, Coach, Author
● Parent to three adults.
● A’s, Soccer, Coffee, Plants

21. COVID
● Hospitalized, Fall 2021
● Long Covid: Muscular
Inflammation and Fatigue
● Left call in May
● Just building my way out
guided by, “What is enough?”
So many suffer in silence, so if
this is you or a loved one, you are
seen and loved.

22. PROFESSIONALLY
● Content Creation on Patreon: Weekly
prayers, liturgy, podcasting, etc.
● Authoring: We Choose Faith: A Healing
Gospel for a Hurting World (Spring 2024)
● Coaching and Consulting: Emergence
● Freelance Writing: Sanctified Arts, etc.
● Bridge Pastoring: 2-3 Week Stints
● Not Doing: No more travel/speaking and
no long term congregational calls.

23. INTRODUCTIONS
Who is in the room?
Westminster Presbyterian Church, OKC
November 12, 2022

24. WHO IS HERE?
Name/Pronouns
Connection to WPC
When you think of KINDNESS,
what first comes to mind?

25. KINDNESS
A Definition.
Westminster Presbyterian Church, OKC
November 12, 2022

26. WHEN YOU
THINK OF
KINDNESS?

27. Habit
Tactic
Event
Person
Aspiration

28. REV. DR.
MR. FRED
ROGERS

29. ESTEBAN
DE LOS
REYES

30. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
Kindness is choice to honor the
humanity (holiness) that lies
within each and every one of us.

31. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
TOWARD OURSELVES.

32. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
TOWARD OURSELVES.

33. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
TOWARD OTHERS.

34. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
TOWARD OTHERS.

35. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
TOWARD THE WORLD.

36. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
KINDNESS NOT AS/JUST NICE.

37. KINDNESS
When and What is Enough?
Westminster Presbyterian Church, OKC
November 12, 2022

38. Enough
…sometimes the kind thing to do
for everyone is to know when
and what is enough and walk
away, at least for a time.

39. Enough
…sometimes the kind thing to do
for everyone is to know when
and what is enough and walk
away, at least for a time.

40. Enough
…sometimes the kind thing to do
for everyone is to know when
and what is enough and walk
away, at least for a time.

41. Enough
…sometimes the kind thing to do
for everyone is to know when
and what is enough and walk
away, at least for a time.

42. Enough
…sometimes the kind thing to do
for everyone is to know when
and what is enough and walk
away, at least for a time.

43. KINDNESS AND
OTHER HUMANS
Extending kindness to those around us?
Westminster Presbyterian Church, OKC
November 12, 2022

44. KINDNESS
DEFINED
To be kind is to accept that each
person is a created and complex
human being—and to treat them as
if you believe this to be true.
Kindness is choice to honor the
humanity (holiness) that lies
within each and every one of us.

45. NOT OUR
BEST SELVES
Especially during times of stress
and anxiety (Pandemic, Politics,
Personal, Professional), being
humble and reflective enough to
know that none of us are are
best selves right now is an act of
kindness.

46. WE CARE
WHAT WE
CARE ABOUT
Remember that we all view the
world through different lenses.

47. EVERY DAY
KINDNESS
Notice where you are least kind
as you move through the day,
and shift the behavior.

48. MAKE IT
A HABIT
Choose to move the through the
world with a lens of kindness.

49. PRACTICE
APOLOGIZING
Remove transactional nature of
forgiveness and apologies.

50. ONLINE
Be consistent with online
interaction.

51. DISCOURSE AND
DISAGREEMENT
…dipping into the attack well of
body-shaming, racism,
misogyny, and ableism is just
lazy and we play to the
bot-fueled, troll-fed, worst of
who humans can be.

52. KINDNESS AND THE
COMMON GOOD
Envisioning kindness as a discipline that
changes the world?
Westminster Presbyterian Church, OKC
November 12, 2022

53. CHOOSING
TO BE KIND
There are three ways to
ultimate success:
The first way is to be kind.
The second way is to be kind.
The third way is to be kind.
—Rev. Dr. Fred Rogers

54. PROTEST
May our call to civil discourse be
more about listening to the
genuine struggles of our human
sisters, brothers, siblings,
neighbors, and strangers than
about protecting our own
spaces of security.

55. REDEMPTION
& HUMANITY
…we force those who are acting
as agents for the system to see
us as human beings and question
what they are doing rather than
see us as ideological opposition
that can be treated with
detachment and disregard.

56. THE BODY OF
CHRIST AND THE
BODY POLITIC
Suffering is not partisan or
political, so my ability to show
empathy should not be either.

57. THE BODY
If one part suffers, every
part suffers with it; if one
part is honored, every part
rejoices with it.
1 Corinthians 12:26

58. CHOOSING
TO BE KIND
Kindness is not a journey for the
meek and mild. For those of us
who have been steeped in ways of
being that are not kind, it takes
tremendous energy to purge
ourselves of patterns and
behaviors that are not kind. Every
day we have to choose to commit
to live out kindness that day.

59. Q/R
● What piqued your curiosity?
● Questions?
● Responses?
● Reactions?
● Commitments?

60. ALL THE LINKS
Today’s Slides:
www.slideshare.net/breyeschow
on the Socials:
@breyeschow on all the things:
Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
eMail:
bruce@reyes-chow.com
Blatant Shilling of My Stuff
https://linktr.ee/breyeschow