Okay, I admit it. I am an entrepreneur. I can't leave well enough alone. If I am passionate about it, and it's not being done, then I nominate myself and get to it. If that weren't true, I wouldn't be three years into a church plant.
There is a delicate balance between entrepreneurial passion and arrogance. On bad days, I get to thinking I'm smarter than the next guy and if I really put my mind to it, I can come up with something better.
Recently, a coach of mine helped me to see that entrepreneurship is in part an exercise in this kind of creativity, but it is also more than that. It is also a ruthless commitment to leading others in the getting of things done. Getting things done with a group of people requires training and supporting them in working a repeatable, reliable process. I am learning slowly that entrepreneurs don't have to invent (or re-invent) everything.
This is where I get tripped up. On a bad day, I think I have to come up with every process. I don't. I can perfectly well implement processes other people have proven effective--I don't have to rethink everything, redesign everything from scratch, come up with all the content on my own. If entrepreneurs do that, they get bogged down and never actually lead anybody to get things done.
I am facing this balance right now. We are looking at a proven process (called Alpha) for taking a group of people who are asking questions about God and lead them toward finding their own answers in Jesus. The question for me? Can I integrate it into the life of Cascade Hills without feeling like I have to reinvent everything? Can I creatively implement a turnkey process? Can I get past the process itself and just mobilize people in making it work? We'll see.
2 comments:
You are a very intelligent guy. Let me say this: We looked at Alpha years ago to use in our church. We all agreed unanimously that it was the most boring, tedious thing we'd ever seen. The videos were laborious. It looked cheap. We ended up doing our own thing like Alpha that was much better.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Jason. I am so glad you posted again because you do such a fantastic job. You always have fantastic things to say for all of us. I know we are so busy but I want to encourage you to continue to blog. Keep challenging our faith. Keep telling us your story. I have heard nothing but great things about the churches that are being planting in OR. You, Tim, and Dwayne and Julie. Keep up the great work you are doing for the Kingom of God. You are doing a great service by using your tallents and gift that God has given. Hang in there no matter how tough ministry gets. Always remember that God is with you and if God is with you will no matter what happens and is going on. Always remember the all the many prayers that are going up on your behalf.
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