As I have been preparing for the teaching portion of our worship gathering for this Sunday [my first time speaking in a number of weeks], I have realized that I have not taken many creative risks with my speaking for quite a while. I think there are a few reasons for this:

1. Time has not allowed me to be too creative or think through creative ways of taking risks with my messages. The bottom line is, there have many important projects I have been working on, many important people I have been spending a significant amount of time with, and a few speaking engagements elsewhere which have all taken more time than I care to admit. Being creative, thinking through ways of communicating differently, and taking risks takes quite a bit of time and energy... of which I have not had a lot of "extra" as of late.
2. I have been emotionally drained for a while now. The pressures of ministry, a demanding schedule, and some personal "hits" has taken a tole on my emotional energy. I find that being creative takes tons of emotional energy... as well as the fact that perhaps I have steered away from risking in communication and "played it safe" in order to not add to the emotional pressure I have been feeling [ie. "don't rock the boat"].
3. My default is to do things in a way that I know I can without too much difficulty. It is easy to get in a rut, especially when you are comfortable with the way things are going. Even though I know it isn't the best way for me or anyone else, I think I sometimes do what I do the way I do because I can get by doing it like that.
4. I often wonder what difference it makes. Does anyone really listen? Does my teaching really produce any more missionality when I prepare creative, risk-taking messages than when I don't, in the community that has gathered at The Freeway? How much time should people who want to lead mission-shaped churches really spend writing sermons anyway?
   

This Sunday, I will take some risks. I will communicate out of my love for a story I am re-learning rather than my knowledge of stories I have studied much. I will do things in a way I haven't before. The thing is, even if the whole idea bombs, the process of thinking through a passage of scripture creatively has been life-giving for me this week. The story has really come to life in a way it never has before. I have tried to think through all the ways different people learn and take them all into consideration. I am actually excited about communicating this message to the community I have grown very fond of because I know it is a safe place to risk.

See you at church.

Labels: leadership, speaking, the freeway