Last
week I proposed an idea borrowed from Simon Sinek’s Start with Why that suggested that the difference between success
and failure in projects often comes down to motivation, inspiration and
passion, which come from having a crystal clear sense of why we are doing
something (See last week's missive below) Starting with why touches our sense of identity; why speaks
to our soul.
A corollary to Start with Why is to
define “why” in terms that are real, compelling and connect to our lives in
simple yet powerful ways. Dan Heath, in his book Writing a Mission Statement that Doesn’t Suck, illustrates what
happens when we try to get too cute with our words. He tells the story of the
pizza parlor who proposed the following mission statement:
·
Our mission is to serve the tastiest
damn pizza in Wake County.
Nice,
right? Simple, clear, compelling: makes my mouth water.
But then Dan tells what happened
when the owner suggested this mission statement to his managers; everyone
became a 10th grade English teacher and began to worry about things
from grammar to political correctness to channeling one’s inner thesaurus. The
resulting mission statement sounded like this:
·
Our mission is to present with integrity
the highest quality entertainment solutions to families.
This past week I was privileged to visit
the border ministry of Frontera de Cristo with Mark Adams and folks from de
Cristo presbytery. We talked across the border fence with Mexican church
leaders; we visited a migrant repatriation center and a food cooperative; we
held a prayer vigil to remember those who have died in the desert; we spoke
with Border Patrol agents and the mayor of Douglas. Sounds nice, right? Perhaps…perhaps
not. But what happens when I talk not about what we did but why we did it; our
day of prayer and reflection takes on a whole new light:
·
Because Jesus is Lord of all nations, we
lived the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) by speaking with those of other tongues,
praying the Lord would break down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians
2:14).
·
Because God hears the cries of the
oppressed (Exodus 3:7), we visited a center of healing and hope to hear stories
of God’s mercy and care.
·
Because God cares for the needs of the
hungry (Matthew 25:40), we visited a food cooperative to hear the amazing story
of how 16 families no longer suffer food scarcity.
·
Because God knows all people by name
(Matthew 6:26), we prayed for those forgotten in the desert; we remembered
them, and our hearts burned with a passion for shalom.
·
Because God has established all
governing authorities (Romans 13:1), we listened to the hearts of Border Patrol
agents as they seek to protect our nation even while wrestling with the very
real human tragedies that surround them.
Do you know why you do what you do? Can you
articulate this truth in simple, compelling ways? As a spiritual exercise, I
urge everyone reading this to write a personal mission statement for at least
one thing you do for the Lord and then share that statement with another person.
In Christian faith, what we do certainly matters, but God cares about our
hearts; why we do it matters just as much, maybe more.
Abounding
in hope,
Brad
Munroe
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