Bishop King’s buzz word at Annual Conference this year was “Get Better”. He challenged us as clergy and laity, both individually and collectively to be continually working to improve. Pastoral effectiveness, how to assess it and improve it, is one of the hot topics across the Church. There are many ways to go about “getting better”, but we could think about it from two opposite strategies. Those in the Natural Church Development camp teach that to get better we have to identify and raise the level of our weakest or lowest area. In that model of getting better, our focus is on what we don’t do well. That is certainly a legitimate approach to “getting better”. We certainly need to be aware of our weaknesses and the things we aren’t doing very well. Paul said something about “becoming all things to all people in order that some may be saved.” I think that is a form of trying to do all things better and that means we have to strengthen our weaknesses.
There is an alternative approach to improvement. I recently read a book by a sports psychologist, David Cook (“Golf’s Sacred Journey: Seven Days at the Links of Utopia”). In the foreword by professional golfer Tom Lehman, he describes Cooks philosophy on getting better as, “find what you do best and perfect it”. In that model of improvement, you focus on your strength and make it stronger. Often our focus on trying to improve something we don’t have much capacity for leads to neglecting and weakening what we are really capable of doing well. I think there is merit in both approaches, but Cook’s approach in one we don’t often think about. Sometimes churches and pastors spend a lot of time and energy trying to be something we aren’t and may never be, instead of taking what we are capable of doing well and working to do it better than anyone else. In the new model of “simple church”, the theory is that sometimes “less is more”. In that way of thinking, we pour our scarce resources into fewer areas and do them very well. That may we be true in deciding on what to focus on in the pursuit of “getting better”.
I always loved Kierkegaard’s quote, “purity of heart is to will one thing”. Maybe that one thing could be either to strengthen my weakness or to perfect my strength, but either way, narrowing our focus and working on one thing at a time could be a good strategy for “getting better”.
Statesboro District Pastors Don't Forget this week's Cluster Meetings:
Tuesday, 10:00 a.m.- Southern Cluster-Baxley FUMC
Wednesday, 10:00 a.m.- Northern Cluster- Sylvania FUMC
Thursday, 10:00 a.m.- Central Cluster Pittman Park UMC
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