On the idea of "Everything is an Experiment"
Google has a "fail fast" philosophy. That is - launch, listen, improve, launch again. It requires a significant level of honesty when assessing data on how well things are working. Change it if it isn't working!
This is probably exactly the opposite of many church's philosophy. We have had this modeled for us: Get an Idea (maybe), committee it to death, talk about how "it's never been done that way before", "wait on God's timing" - then launch it way too late and then keep riding the dead horse when we should have dis-mounted a long time ago.
Another church barrier to experimentation and improvement is putting too many things under the "God told me to do this" banner. Then it becomes really difficult to be honest about shortcomings. Because "God told me"
I do believe in God giving us direction but it might be more honest - and healthy - to say "I think this would be a good idea. Let's try it,"
Save the "God told me" for when He actually really does tell us.
8 comments
at the high rates of speed we are traveling these days, waiting is the same as going backwards.
Posted on April 26, 2007 at 3:23 PM
i find that this is an area that there is no formula for. it is up to every person to decide when to keep going and when to call it quits. i find the modern tendency to live on impulse, derails many people from the benefits of sticking with something until you see a result. careers and dreams aren't something that the quick fail policy necessarily works for. this came to my mind as i was watching a program the other night on PBS about the current generation of 18-25 year olds. they feel a sense of entitlement, almost immediately, in their jobs and in their relationships. Is this a fantasy of the modern marketplace. i tend to think so. marriages and experience take time. patience may not be fashionable and it may not sell many things, but it will never stop being a crucial element of the human experience.
you said it-save the "god told me to" for when he really does....
Posted on April 27, 2007 at 10:17 AM
I have thought about this post of yours for several days. that's why i am coming back to it. i think i understand the point of the "quick fail" more clearly. the goal does not become the thing to abandon, but the approach needs to be flexible. i think that in a church setting, this means that a stepping away from a "group think" mentality seems logical. the flexibility required to change coarse and evolve, means that a huge amount of creativity is needed. which means that thinking outside of the box, the norm and the expected lines has to be encouraged. growing up in church, i saw the favor and rewards go to people who put on a cliched persona of what the leader wanted. they did not disagree or act authentically.
i think this is the opposite of what church can be-a place of wide dialogue, free thinking and grounded hearts. it is easy to hush up the people who bring up notions that seem out of the acceptable realm of thinking.isn't that where the ability to be so creative comes from?
thank you, again, for making me think.
Posted on April 30, 2007 at 1:46 PM
"Group think" is an interesting thing.
Everyone does it at some level. It's really just a matter of degrees.
I made a comment last Wednesday night - "Originality is just your particular mix of models". We all have models we follow. And groups we think like.
Bad "group think" - Iran punishes hairdressers who put styling gel in their customers hair. Too western, they say.
Good "group think" - we all agree to stop at red lights.
Thinking outside the box is great when the main agenda is about the team win.
Insistence on always having to be out of the box for the sake of being out of the box leads to bizarre citizenship.
I like the "Let's play beautiful music together" approach. You be the oboe, I'll be the flute. I won't try to be you, or you me. But we can play in the same key - together.
Posted on May 1, 2007 at 8:22 AM
agreed. I don't think I was advocating bizarre notions for the sake of being different. What I was speaking of was the human tendency to get comfortable.
It goes without saying that there are definite boundaries that do not get crossed-i agree totally!
I was speaking more about the things that aren't moral issues, just a current flavor of approach that we as people tend to cling to.
Posted on May 1, 2007 at 3:07 PM
we were "experimenting" with something last night at practice, and i remembered this post and the "everything is an experiment" approach.
there's a vibe of liberty and grace that go hand-in-hand with experimentation. feels good.
Posted on May 2, 2007 at 6:59 AM
Whenever I think of chalking something up to "God said I could- or should", I remember life as a little kid.
My parents had already been given me most of the pertinent information needed to make wise, ethical choices. Didn't stop me from asking questions I had already been given the answers to- or from using fabricated permission as an excuse for bad judgement.
Well, now that I'm all grown up, the way I see it, assumed orders from above, do not necessarily grant us immunity from making some pretty disasterous mistakes.
As believers, we have been given the macdaddy owners manual for life - all the needed rules and tools for living. Today, I realize, that God doesn't so much tell us what do do- He tells us how to live.
As far as failing fast... procrastination can wear a mask of patience. Experience takes time- but one can only gain experience by doing. Yes, wait on the Lord...yes, God said "Be still..."-but he also said "Go...do..", quite often, I think...
wow- that was wordy.
and that's all I have to say about that.
Posted on May 3, 2007 at 11:40 PM
Good word. You can only fail if you dont try. You cant please everyone, way to many opinions. Bottomline: your the captain of the Rock. You have a good crew and officers, they will follow you. If they dont, flog em'. Like Nike says "Just Do It". God never lets you crash when you step out in faith.
Posted on May 5, 2007 at 11:28 AM