Month: January 2015

Principles of Mission

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a. Life is ministry
Main pastoral responsibilities are to family and team. When mission comes first, ministry happens.

 

b. Do it with a few, for the many
With your team, aim for depth; with everyone else, aim simply to inspire. Deep teams will birth more deep teams.

 

c. If you aren’t willing, it’s unlikely anyone else will be
Your ultimate responsibility is to pursue your convictions unfalteringly and without compromise.

 

d. Gifts are a toolkit and an indication of the area of deployment – but they are not the mission

 

e. Battling one life-long problem is enough
The world is a big place, and you can’t do everything. Do one thing. We’re in this together, and it will take everyone one of us to faithfully play our part.

 

f. If you’re made for the edge, the centre will choke you
There is a frontier to explore. Define it.

 

g. Keep the faith
You must feed your vision, for the sake of the cause. The real battle is a battle of heart.

 

h. Passion + connection
Essence.

 

i. You require partnerships, which require self-sacrifice
Let go of grand delusions, pride and self-sufficiency, and step into grace. Be generous.

 

j. Unsolvable problems and impossible dreams don’t exist
You can do it. You just may need to look elsewhere for the way through.

Just Enough

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‘Just enough’ is the place of neither too little nor too much.

In music, the place of ‘just enough’ might be something like this: just enough technique to execute and contribute artistically and just enough disciplined practise to be natural. It might be just enough study to be aware of the the depths without becoming lost in them. It might be using the skill/technique/ability that you have just enough of to become a part of a group, to contribute, to add flavour.

‘Just enough’ sits between the other two places: too much and too little. How do we know what is too much and what is too little, and find the sweet spot of just enough?

The essence of creativity is limitation and boundary. So, too much is a curse, an enemy of creative action. If we are stuck exploring endless possibility, we get none of the opposite – certainty. We need some level of certainty to begin.

But too little is a curse as well. If we don’t explore widely we fail to stretch, stagnating from lack of challenge, and missing chances to connect (seemingly) disconnected things.

With just enough comes contentment. Alongside just enough stand clarity and understanding. While learning and living just enough is like walking a tightrope, it may well be the ultimate and fulfilling balancing act.