Go find a ladder.
While it might be fun (or appear expedient, or brave, or heroic) to try to scale a cliff with no tools, it turns out that ladders are a more effective way to level up.
When it’s time to drive a nail, a hammer is a lot more useful than a rock. Even if you have to invest in obtaining one.
Often, we spend most of our time throwing ourselves at the wall instead of investing the time to find a useful ladder instead.
Perhaps, instead of restating our audacious goals, we can spend more time finding useful tools–insights, skills, trust, attention, access–instead.
It’s worth the search.(1)
Seth Godin is a marketing guy whose daily ideas I follow. He has an interesting worldview and way of seeing projects. When I read the post about ladders, I thought about sabbatical time. You may remember I announced a couple of months ago that I am gifted sabbatical time this year. I am grateful to the Regional Board and our staff for these three segments of time, when I will pause and unplug from Regional responsibilities.
One of the things I’ll be doing is searching for useful tools to help me be a better minister.
Sometimes, ministers do this kind of thing as part of their routine each week or during a year, but the pace of life in the 21st century can blur one’s best intentions. That seems true for all humans.
As we wander into a new year I encourage you to spend more time finding useful tools — if possible ones that require little re-engineering to make them fit your context or theological perspective. That doesn’t mean we should cease learning, exploring, or trying new ideas. The Internet and sharing-economy make it easy to borrow these days. That is good and bad. You can copy the latest filter on Instagram, Snapchat, or Facebook banner, and join that social community or movement for a while. But, I don’t think Christian syncretism is the same thing as Christian unity. Maybe it is better to use the 3-D printer in our minds, spirit, and faith to learn from the past — to invent more and copy less. It seems to me that is how generations of disciples before us, (little d and big D), impacted their time. Maybe, that is what we are called to do as well.
My first sabbatical segment is January 7 – February 1. I will finish self-publishing an eBook. It is a resource to help the process of creating the children’s sermon. It follows the weekly Lectionary reading and it will be free for Oklahoma Disciples.
May God continue to bless you with ministry to do and Gospel to be in 2019.
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Note
1. Seth’s Blog, “Go find a ladder.” December 28, 2018.
