we should be whittlers
Whittling is the art of carving shapes out of raw wood with a knife.
Whittling is typically performed with a light, small-bladed knife, usually a pocket knife. Specialised whittling knives are available as well. They have thick handles which are easier to grip for long periods allowing precise control and pressure.
| Look up Whittle in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
Leadership I’ve found is a lot like whittling – it’s definitely a discerned exercise of precise control & pressure towards a common creative goal. Something Jesus I’m sure as a carpenter, a man, and as God in the flesh displayed so well. So, I had a meeting with our talented communication staff yesterday trying to whittle down our purpose as a team – revisiting the “what” and “why” we do what we do. I asked them to describe to me a work situation where they experienced the moment of ”man, this is what I am passionate about!”- where they knew they were “in-the-zone” of what they are shaped to do. In all our sharing, each story was whittled down to seeing a God-need being met through our simple act of service, witnessing a person or group of people easily finding and learning to follow Christ.
So we bounced around the idea – to chisel down our purpose as a ministry…and we’ve arrived at:
“We do everything we can to help people find and follow Christ!”
(which just so happens to be in alignment to our church’s purpose!)
We update our website…so people can find and follow Christ.
We shoot and edit videos…so people can find and follow Christ.
We produce signage…so people can find and follow Christ.
We send press releases…so people can find and follow Christ.
We design logos..so people can find and follow Christ.
We pray together…so people can find and follow Christ.
We simplify..so people can find and follow Christ.
We upload podcasts…so people can find and follow Christ.
We fix typos…so people can find and follow Christ.
We share stories…so people can find and follow Christ.
We think of creative solutions…so people can find and follow Christ.
…and so on.
Questions:
Where/When do you find yourself the most fulfilled and invigorated – used by God?
What seems to be the common thread among those moments?
How can you simplify “that” into one easy memorable phrase?
Related reading:
Was just reading Kem Meyer’s post today – and thought it was relevant. Check it out!
5 ways to start dissolving silos… http://bit.ly/ap8u7n
