Have you ever, as you witnessed the results of a very bad decision, asked the person who made the bad decision, 'What were you thinking?"? It is not unusual, when this question is asked of a child, to get an answer like, "Nothing."
Looking back on my childhood, I have many memories of making bad decisions and realizing that I had, in fact, not been thinking at all. Really, I wasn't thinking. I was just reacting. As I reflect on those decisions, not thinking really didn't work out all that well for me. My lack of thinking led to several bad decisions that resulted in fist fights, trips to the principal's office, hurt feelings, scuffed skin, loss of blood, multiple bruises, broken relationships, various dented machines, angry parents, visits from and with the county police, extended time spent in the house and often being banned from using the car.
Now I think. I think a lot. I think when it is appropriate and sometimes I seem to just drift off in thought when I am supposed to be paying attention to what someone is saying. Sometimes I get caught up in thought when I am driving and pull into my destination and wonder how I got there. Even though I think more, I still make decisions that lead to negative consequences. But now I know what's coming and make the decisions anyway. Instead of doing thoughtless things that lead to negative consequences, I now do well thought out things that bring negative consequences.
What, you may ask, is the difference? Sometimes, it would seem, not much. Not long ago several of our church leaders were in a room discussing doing a new ministry. As a part of that discussion one of the people involved asked me, "Have you considered the negative reaction that will come out of doing what is proposed? Some people will think that is a stupid idea." The honest answer is, "Yes" and "No." For this particular decision the answer is "No" because I have quit making decisions for the future of this church considering the opinions of those who are always against any new thing that is proposed. You see, the wisdom or stupidity of the church doing something new isn't measured by whether someone likes an idea or ministry or not. We decide to do a ministry by considering whether it fits with the church's vision and mission, whether it meshes with and strengthens our response to God's calling for us. The question we must consider is, "Is it in line with our mission to connect with people who don't know God, introduce them to God and help them become fully functioning followers of Christ?" If it is, we do it. If it isn't, we don't.
I have discovered that "stupid" is making ministry decisions based on a person's or a small group's personal likes and dislikes. "Stupid" is deciding if something that is proposed is a good idea, or not, without thinking about it, without having all of the information, without understanding the mission and vision of the church, without really caring what the mission and the vision of the church is. "Stupid" is just raring back and shooting off my mouth without knowing what I am talking about. That may sound like a rather sweeping judgmental statement. It is if you fail to realize that I am an expert on the subject of stupid decisions. I have made hundreds of thoughtless, clueless, careless stupid decisions. Those used to be the only kind of decisions I made. In my earlier experiences as a pastor, decisions were made by taking the pulse of the congregation, figuring out how many people would and how many people would not like what was proposed and then making the decision by taking the least painful path.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, several years ago God delivered me from my fear-filled decision making. I have concluded that if I have carefully thought through a decision based on the criterion of our church's mission and vision and have sought wise, godly counsel; I have probably made a wise, godly decision. And if someone opines that they think it is a stupid decision, I am not concerned, upset and dissuaded. I have been stupid. I have been with stupid. I have seen lots of stupid close up. I have reaped the ugly results of stupid. So, at that point I am pretty sure I know who or what is stupid.
So, let me ask you something. What are you thinking?
Looking back on my childhood, I have many memories of making bad decisions and realizing that I had, in fact, not been thinking at all. Really, I wasn't thinking. I was just reacting. As I reflect on those decisions, not thinking really didn't work out all that well for me. My lack of thinking led to several bad decisions that resulted in fist fights, trips to the principal's office, hurt feelings, scuffed skin, loss of blood, multiple bruises, broken relationships, various dented machines, angry parents, visits from and with the county police, extended time spent in the house and often being banned from using the car.
Now I think. I think a lot. I think when it is appropriate and sometimes I seem to just drift off in thought when I am supposed to be paying attention to what someone is saying. Sometimes I get caught up in thought when I am driving and pull into my destination and wonder how I got there. Even though I think more, I still make decisions that lead to negative consequences. But now I know what's coming and make the decisions anyway. Instead of doing thoughtless things that lead to negative consequences, I now do well thought out things that bring negative consequences.
What, you may ask, is the difference? Sometimes, it would seem, not much. Not long ago several of our church leaders were in a room discussing doing a new ministry. As a part of that discussion one of the people involved asked me, "Have you considered the negative reaction that will come out of doing what is proposed? Some people will think that is a stupid idea." The honest answer is, "Yes" and "No." For this particular decision the answer is "No" because I have quit making decisions for the future of this church considering the opinions of those who are always against any new thing that is proposed. You see, the wisdom or stupidity of the church doing something new isn't measured by whether someone likes an idea or ministry or not. We decide to do a ministry by considering whether it fits with the church's vision and mission, whether it meshes with and strengthens our response to God's calling for us. The question we must consider is, "Is it in line with our mission to connect with people who don't know God, introduce them to God and help them become fully functioning followers of Christ?" If it is, we do it. If it isn't, we don't.
I have discovered that "stupid" is making ministry decisions based on a person's or a small group's personal likes and dislikes. "Stupid" is deciding if something that is proposed is a good idea, or not, without thinking about it, without having all of the information, without understanding the mission and vision of the church, without really caring what the mission and the vision of the church is. "Stupid" is just raring back and shooting off my mouth without knowing what I am talking about. That may sound like a rather sweeping judgmental statement. It is if you fail to realize that I am an expert on the subject of stupid decisions. I have made hundreds of thoughtless, clueless, careless stupid decisions. Those used to be the only kind of decisions I made. In my earlier experiences as a pastor, decisions were made by taking the pulse of the congregation, figuring out how many people would and how many people would not like what was proposed and then making the decision by taking the least painful path.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, several years ago God delivered me from my fear-filled decision making. I have concluded that if I have carefully thought through a decision based on the criterion of our church's mission and vision and have sought wise, godly counsel; I have probably made a wise, godly decision. And if someone opines that they think it is a stupid decision, I am not concerned, upset and dissuaded. I have been stupid. I have been with stupid. I have seen lots of stupid close up. I have reaped the ugly results of stupid. So, at that point I am pretty sure I know who or what is stupid.
So, let me ask you something. What are you thinking?
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