About 10 years ago I signed up to volunteer for our middle school ministry.
I met guys like Heath Bennett and Kevin Ragsdale. I loved their attitudes and loved how excited they were to reach the next generation…and they opened my eyes to a whole new world of possibilities.
When I went into their environments and saw it for myself ….
I saw things I didn’t think were possible. I watched volunteers doing things I never thought they would do. I watched kids participate at levels I didn’t think they would or could ever participate.
My undergraduate degree in education had taught me some things…
my masters in educational leadership had taught me even more….
my years of experience as a teacher and a coach had taught me more than both degrees…
But seeing it all for myself…in a word…”ruined” me.
And that is one of the greatest things God has ever done for me.
I would never be the same. I could never do what I had been doing the same way ever again.
I think vision often rises from those of us who have been “ruined.”
I’ve heard Andy use this word. I’ve heard Bill Hybels use this word. I’ve heard and read many others who have gone on to take what they thought they knew…have their eyes opened to new possibilities…and have no choice but to go back and change it for the better.
What we know and love and live for collides with a whole new paradigm and things will simply never be the same.
In many ways, as leaders, I think we need to search for those things that “ruin” us. I think we need to be strategic about looking outside of what we are doing and seeing if something out there messes with us in ways we never expected…for things that “ruin” us.
So what are you doing in order to be ruined? Have you gotten away from the grind? Have you looked up from your daily stuff long enough to be ruined?
If you’ve got no plans can I make a recommendation?
Get away for a few days. Bring some folks you trust…some of the folks you love to debate, dream, and plan with. Come, sit back, take your eyes of of your everyday and let us “mess” with you…let us try to “ruin” you. In fact, lets try to “ruin” each other!
Drive is truly one of the few Conferences I would go to if I didn’t have to. It’
s just different. It’s not what you think it is in so many ways. Every year we “talk shop”, share, debate, and dream…and every year I get a little more “ruined.”
I always drive home after the last session discontent in a good, healthy, awesome way.
See you there? I hope so…I could use some “ruining” myself.
Love. I can remember when Kim and I got ruined 4 years ago, and then again while observing Upstreet, and then again while observing Xtreme. Love this post, good stuff.
Thanks Bro…love having you around!
Shef, I had the same experience – and I continue to be ruined by those I lead! I showed up seven years ago to volunteer for kindergartners in Upstreet, delighted that I could help “shape their lives” and entertain them for an hour at a time. Oh, silly, silly me. I still have some of those same girls and they have brought me from kindergarten to middle school – and ruined my plans of lofty benevolence! I am continually being reshaped by what we learn together and what God reveals to me as I prepare for them. Yielding to lessons learned from what their fears and insecurities and searching expose in all of us is still changing my life and competence as a parent. Sure, saying that I gain more than I give sounds like a cliche. It’s one I’m awed to say is real life for me!
Drive sounds like a great way to notch it up!
And….that is why you are the great leader you are. No doubt! I love your story…it’s the story I hope to hear with every leader. Thanks for sharing!
I too was “ruined” by my step to serve in Xtreme. I signed up with a passion for student ministry in hopes that my experiences would save some girls from having to go through the same heartaches that I went through. I have been through some hard times in my students lives with them, walking along side of them through the harshness that life has served up to them at such a young age. I have grown with them and love seeing their hearts grow for the Lord. I have moved up to Inside Out with them and again my life has been “ruined” by what these students deal with. I wouldn’t trade my Sundays with these girls though…it’s the highlight of my week. I am beginning to see them be “ruined”, in a good way, by serving and it’s an amazing observation for sure!