a beautiful mess

disclaimer: this philosophy of ministry has been years in the making and is not a result of any single experience whether positive or negative, professional or platonic, vocational ministry or corporate america, one person or another. think more along the lines of, the butterfly effect.

continued from making moonshine or a philosophy of ministry, i and part b.

committing to conversation versus controlling the conversation

this “precious drop” is refreshingly relevant at any level of ministry and within any group (volunteer, leadership, eldership, etc.). being committed to conversation has all the makings of humility, honor, wisdom, and discernment which leads to unity and advancement; however, when we are interested in controlling the conversation, we actually stunt growth, close doors of opportunity and isolate ourselves and our ministries through fear, pride, or short-sightedness. and admittedly, i have experience leading the way with both – and i assure you, the latter is not kingdom-worthy. this doesn’t mean every leadership group will always agree on every matter: but it should be part of our leadership ethos to be committed to conversation, actively listen to our team, and be wise enough to recognize that we might not have all the right/best answers for the given situation/event/circumstance/series/etc.

embracing what has prepared us instead of performing what we have planned.

this is not my sublime attempt at throwing out days of study, neat calendars,  or bible software/commentaries or anything of the like. this is an overt reminder to anyone who has been privileged enough to be entrusted with leading worship in any of the various forms (teaching, music, fellowship, and on and on) that: most of our authentic interactions (from the various forms listed above) will be the result not of what we put on paper or practiced at sound check; rather, it will come from a place much deeper, the years of our own personal stories set against the stories of those around us: and our coming awake to that reality – not being ignorant of this fact.

we use planning to channel what’s prepared us – but we can never substitute that preparation!

another side to this is the classic mistake of copy-and-paste local church mentality: well it worked for so-and-so’s band/willow creek/rob bell so it must work for us, copy, change the color scheme, paste. we often think that because we’ve planned it, they will come by the thousands and all will be well; but often times one of two things will happen:

1) we do not prepare for what we’ve planned. we advertise and plan and hope for a billion people to come to our fish-taco block party in the hopes of baptizing them next month, but we staff twenty GREAT volunteers and forget to reserve our spot at the lake.

b) we are not prepared for what we’ve planned. we may write the message of a lifetime, complete with references, stories, maybe a really cool object lesson (or we write the song of a lifetime, complete with epic chord progression, modulation, harmonies, and some decent lyrics because we had time – note the sarcasm) but the problem is: they are not the results of our lifetime! it becomes a performance instead of a giving: we’re delivering a great message, but it’s not true to who we are; we’re singing a song that was written for someone else.

and we’ve all had our days! but it has become apparent to me that this is one of those few precious drops i want to always keep on my tongue and fresh on my mind. look to what has shaped me, to what GOD is making of me, to what GOD is saying to me this week, day, hour and to the ways in which i have been prepared and then proceed to plan, prune, cut back, study…

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i am thinking this may conclude my moonshine makings, but i suspect there will always be some refining to some degree. undoubtedly, something i don’t know yet will change or challenge what i have come to know thus far. and when that time comes, i can only hope that i will still be clinging to enough of these truths to take their advice and move forward with humility, seeking wisdom from those around me, and doing unto those downstream what i would desire those upstream do unto me ;]

noticeably absent from this philosophy of ministry will be content such as “what curriculum to use” or “pews or chairs” or different, truly important topics related to the activities of vocational (platform) ministry: not because it’s not important or relevant, but because these are contingent upon other factors, being the very subject of this threefold post.

look for an easy-to-read, sparks version of this to be posted soon – but i would love, love, love your thoughts and shared ideas!

which reminds me: catalyst is offering a free online SAGE conference, may 19th from 12p-4p! you do have to register though – this would be a great resource to any leader in the church (lay-person, full time, part time, any platform) to listen and learn from others in the arena!