Lessons Learned
Sometimes God chooses the most unusual of ways to teach us.
A few weeks ago the confirmation class was doing a group building exercise called swamp. The point of swamp is to get all of your teammates across an area, the swamp, using a few tools as aids. If anyone touches the swamp the whole group must start over. The group has two minutes to plan how they will get across the swamp and then needs to start acting.
The confirmation youth did a great job of planning. Their plan was safe and fairly quick. It was not the most efficient. About half way through their game a few of them realized that their plan had one person doing most of the work. As the exercise progressed it became obvious a few of the youth wanted to help. They moved closer to the action. They made movement towards the main worker but at no point did they actually get a chance to be a part of what was happening beyond their one trip across the swamp.
As we were debriefing the experience we asked why more people didn’t help do the work. The reply surprised me. Most said, “She wouldn’t let me.” We then asked the person who did most of the work, “Would you have let someone else have a turn?” She said, “Of course, I was tired.”
In the course of our discussion it soon became evident that almost everyone would have liked a chance to help but they didn’t think the person doing the work would appreciate it. Both the workers and the spectators were unhappy because neither stopped to talk to the other.
The confirmation youth realized three things that night:
1. It is easier to get mad at someone than it is to talk with them.
2. If you want to do something, ask.
3. If one person does all of the work, it will get done, but most people will be unhappy by the end of the project.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians, “14 Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many… 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.”
God will build up God’s Church, the Body of Christ, when we work together for God’s purpose. What is God calling you to do? What have you wanted to do but were afraid to ask about? Come…ask…learn…grow.
God’s Peace,
Pastor Mark