Start from scratch… on a regular basis.
That’s the attitude leaders need to take. Every so often, actually regularly, leaders would do well to pretend that they were starting the ministry over from nothing. The only thing we know about the world before God breathed it is that there was nothing. Pure, blank slate waiting for Divine Creativity to make it everything it was meant to be. (Genesis 1.1)
Why did you start doing what you are doing now? Why did you take that job or volunteer opportunity?
If there is a story you should know and make sure all the people involved in the ministry know its the how and the why that place started. Take time to study that history and then pretend that it was you and your team starting it anew, from nothing. How would you breath it into life?
It is often in those beginning that we find our next steps, the answers to our roadblocks, or the call back to the deeper mission to pull us out of going through the motions. During your next staff meeting or training session, try giving them all that assignment. Have them pretend they are starting from scratch. You’ll learn a lot about why they are involved with the ministry and how they see themselves in it.
When I think about it, this isn’t a terrible idea to do personally either, for our own faith.
If you’ve got your camp history online somewhere we’d love to hear about it and let others read. Leave a comment on this post with a link and your thoughts on starting from scratch.
Blessings in ministry…
Jared, Lead Guide
