A Volley from the Canon, Number 72
“TNTWWADI”*
“We’ve never done that before” is a reason to TRY something, not a reason NOT to! First, it may work. Second, if it doesn’t, we now have more information than we had before, and we are better prepared to try the next tactic we’ve never tried before, giving it an even better chance of success.
When a congregation takes some risk by putting forth an innovative effort, there’s no real harm done, even if the project yields less than stellar results. Benefits accrue just from the effort, without regard to the expected outcome. But if we want guaranteed results, we know how to get them: do ONLY what we’ve always done before. We WILL decline and die, guaranteed.
*”That’s Not the Way We Always Do It.”
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4 comments:
from Jack Hauber:
And a corollary ... WTTOAIDT ... "We tried that once and it didn't work."
From Mark Seitz:
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Thomas Edison.
The real value here is that Edison tried truely new things. We need to not just try another program to draw newcomers when all the other programs failed.
We need to be asking and answering the question what could a community of faithful people being doing to live out their faith whether it brings newcomers or not. And then do that.
There is two cents worth of something in a world in debt up to its eyeballs.
A Blessed Advent to all.
Watch out Jesus is coming. Look busy!
From Laurie Moyer:
Something that I heard yesterday at a Fresh Start meeting: Use Advent as a short time to try something and then evaluate. Advent is especially appropriate because of the liturgical message of looking forward and of a new church year beginning. But the idea of just trying something new with the promise of a corporate look-see at how it went at the end of the four Sundays gives it a bit-sized-not-forever chance more positive approach for folks that fear change.
Laurie Moyer
from Sue Doohan:
Remember the old joke where a person says “Doctor, it hurts when I do this” so the doctor says “Don’t do that.” There’s also the cliché about “stop banging your head against a wall. Someone has said “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” When we hear these things we smile knowingly because we DO know the truth behind them. How arrogant to think if we just keep persistently doing the same thing long enough we will somehow force reality to produce a different result! Only God can get water from a stone and even God doesn’t do that very often. What is it about taking a chance something may not work out which scares us so much?? Are we afraid of revealing our imperfection? Too late, that horse has already left the barn. Honestly, what is the worst thing that could happen if a new thing falls flat on its face … aren’t there already ways that particular thing could happen anyway?
Almost forgot another illustration you may have heard before of the courage to risk: A man falls off a cliff but luckily grabs a bush on his way down toward a deadly landing. Unable to climb back up, he clings to the bush praying “Lord save me” and God says, “Sure, just let go of the bush.”
Sue
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