Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The other thing

I was thinking through the value of a ministry event with a friend.

"Is this a valuable activity or a distraction?"

"For me it's white noise: total distraction."

"What about for Joe? Could I get Joe interested in this because he is interested in maybe building a network of support for that thing he is trying to do and this might be a way of kinda of doing that, maybe."

pause

"I think you might just be trying to be a [ministry] director."

He called me out. What my friend meant, and he was right, is: you're just trying to get behinds in the seats.

I like it when lots of people come out. Lots of reasons: my ego, it looks like I'm doing something important, etc. I like to think I am doing everything to honor the event organizer and the volunteers who work on it, but...

Sometimes I do get caught up on the event and having, at the very least, an OK event. And I guess that's sometimes counter to actually working on, providing, and engaging in discipleship growth opportunities.

"So it must be hard- what you are doing."

"What?"

"Being a [ministry] director and this other thing that you seemed to be trying to do."

"Wait, wait: what is this other thing?"

What is this other thing? And why does being a [ministry] director seem at cross purposes to it from the standpoint of an objective observer?


2 comments:

Keith Reynold Jennings said...

I disagree that your motive is to get butts in the seats. and I disagree that you're real interest is having an okay event. I think these are what your brain is telling you.

What you're really trying to do is matter. To make a difference. And it's really fricking hard to believe you're making a difference when no one shows and/or you are ignored.

Butts in seats = mattering. At least that's what we're really telling ourselves.

Unknown said...

There is some level of the event failed, so I must be a failure.

This might be the entrepreneur leader in discipleship's thought.

But really that failed, what did I learn or that didn't go well, I'm sorry I wasted your time is probably healthier.

If events are about collective idea exchange I suppose there aren't too many failures.

Nothing matters.

It all matters.