Anthony Philpotts commented that, “There’s an inertia to ideas.” This torpor, lethargy, disinterest in ideas is confining. I have my entire life been a person who consistently searches for a new way to accomplish the task, a person seeking innovative solutions to the problem and an idea person. But I find that most people are moderately to highly resistant to new ideas.
This has always been an enigma to me because when change stops, death has arrived. Ideas and change are synonymous, in that one generally flows from the other. While I am no great missionary, I have large respect for missionaries because they must assimilate so many changes and so many new ideas. Some of them are foolish, like in Russia you were never allowed to shake hands over a threshold, or in Macedonian a draft of air can cause anything from pregnancy in men to facial hair in children (thus even when the temp is 100+ outside, the windows are all closed on the bus!). But some of those ideas and changes are earth-shattering, such as different ways of thinking, viewing history from another perspective, perceiving world events in completely non-western ways and new languages give you innovative and diverse ways to process (and also endless headaches).
Those who resist change and fight it in culture, society or the church, (especially those who want to have a first century christianity in the 21st century) strike me as having a rotten core. They look fine, even excellent on the outside, but when you get to the middle, it’s rotten. I had a Delicious Red that worked out that way this morning. Didn’t even know it was possible in a Delicious Red!
I got back from my biking this morning, was hungry and grabbed the last apple in the dish. It looked great and even tasted great, but when I got down to the core, it was rotting! It just went squish in my hand! It had no solidity to it at all, no structure nor form left. Needless to say, I almost hurled the recently eaten part back up when the middle collapsed in my hand like an overripe mellon.
Organizations today state that they value, seek, want, need idea people, entrepreneurs, risk takers, people who push the limits, who exegete their world and respond in a bold fashion. My experience in organizations is that we allow these people to play, and if they succeed then we value them. But if they play and don’t have successes, we begin to fault-find and marginalize their efforts and them as people. Shame on us -- that is a rotten core.
As a developer of people, and leaders in particular, I want to have and keep and maintain my belief in people. We say that the journey is more important than the destination and I want to live that out (and that is coming from a person with terminal destination disease!). One of the few things about myself that I genuinely and truly like, is that I cheerlead people on well. I am thrilled when they succeed and am exhilarated when they try, fail, and then keep on trying! You church planters there in the States, and missionaries around the world, you rock! Stay solid to the core.
1 comment:
The funny thing about the movers and shakers is that they really, really need encouragement to BE different, and the managed status quo I don't think understands that. I find myself second-guessing and minimizing bold ideas in my own field (a place where self-expression is crucial), and greatly appreciate those who prize it. It's all to easy to be the observer.
Also, thanks for the "morale" blog. Hooray for another potential hermit and the energy to endure people (and even like them sometimes!). Just give into the hermit side when you need to. That's no accident you are like you are, and quiet is equally important.
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