If I had no time or budget limitations, I could probably pass all of my days working on do-it-yourself projects around the house. To me, it doesn’t really matter what the project is—big or small—as long as it’s moderately creative and will make a noticeable improvement (that is to say, I don’t like changing light bulbs or servicing the lawnmower.) I wouldn’t want to build a house, but I love to take on small tasks—especially when I have someone to share them with.
For some reason, when I think about ministry, I forget that I’m happy doing small things. This was particularly true when I was a pastor. It’s not that I believed certain responsibilities at the church were below me. Rather, the problem I had was being unsatisfied with progress that was too small or unspectacular. I didn’t want to invest my time in the couple who lived next door to the church but never attended; I wanted to grow our congregation from 20 to 200 in a month. I wasn’t content planting flowers outside the church entry; I wanted to plant a community garden that would provide subsistence for poor families. One thing’s for sure: I did not lack vision.
Why is it that I so often think everything I do in Jesus’ name must be earth shattering and world changing? After all, we’re not commanded to change the world. We’re called to mundane sorts of things—be fruitful; go and make; love your neighbor. I guess I feel pressured, as a representative of Christ, to accomplish extraordinary things.
I just finished a book that helped put this issue in perspective for me.
In Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling (IVP, 2008), Andy Crouch insists that as much as we might like to, we can’t change the world. Not any one of us alone, anyway. What we can do is partner with a couple of like-minded people who share a common vision for making real, if small, change in your immediate culture—your church, your neighborhood, your town. (His book says more than that. I recommend that you read it. It’s very good.)
It got me thinking that churches might do well to adopt this vision for culture making. Rather than launching huge programs that demand committees and volunteers to operate, why not encourage one or two people in your congregation to do something they love to do with the church’s blessing? For example, maybe a few of your women (or men) like to knit. Encourage them to meet together and knit blankets to give to babies at a nearby shelter. Perhaps you have men (or women) who enjoy home improvement projects. Suggest they lend their services to the elderly or needy within and outside your congregation. By empowering people to do what they do for the glory of God, a church could accomplish much more through these tiny initiatives than through one big program. Then you can judge success one small task at a time.
What do you say? Let’s build something together.
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