Disclaimer: I am NOT a bassist. I know
where the notes are on the bass, and that’s about it. My tone is inconsistent,
so much that I HAVE to use a plectrum. The tone becomes sharper, more twangy,
but at least I have more control over the sound. And sometimes I’d blank out
half-way during playing. I’d suddenly forget where are all the notes I need on
the fretboard. If I stayed within the first 5 frets or so on the neck I would
be fine, but I didn’t. And sometimes that meant I’d go “Where is the C sharp
note again???”
More than a month back someone I knew via
Facebook needed some help. He was a Chinese Kungfu instructor and had to put up
a show last minute. None of his regular students were available to help him
out, so he appealed for help on Facebook. Just so you know, the last time I
took any lessons in this (Northern Praying Mantis style) was when I was 18
years old, and that was many, many years back. But he needed help, so I offered
to be contribute what little I could remember after all these years.
So it meant I had less than a week to brush
off many years of dust from my Praying Mantis forms. During that one week I
still had to juggle my work, family and ministry, while being firmly reminded
of the words of my teacher the last time I met him one Chinese New Year a few
years ago. He told me “At your current age, forget about doing Praying Mantis,
go do Tai Chi instead!” (No encouragement there...) In the end the whole thing
went OK. I did my part in the show, and I don’t think I would have embarrassed
my previous teacher that much if he saw me in action!
One thing both of these episodes had in
common: I was doing stuff that I wasn’t the best at. And that meant a lot of
work for less result. But the fact is that I was filling a gap and I was able
to be of help. And I guess that is one of the core values of my life: I want to
be of help!
Two
Attitudes
Whether in church or outside of it, I see
two attitudes that people can take when deciding whether to help. Some people
would not help unless they are totally skilled in that area. As I played bass
in church, I did it knowing that there actually WAS someone else available to
play bass, and he actually would have played the bass better than me, but he
did not step up because his playing was not up to HIS own standards.
Others would expect that because there was
a need, other people are obliged to accept their “help” even though they were
really unskilled and more a hindrance than a help. And they get all offended
and throw a hissy fit when they were told they weren’t really suitable for the
role. (Some wannabe drummers immediately come to mind…)
One reason why I get more ministry done is
because I avoid those two extremes. I prepare; yes, I certainly believe in
preparation and training! But if a need comes up before I believe I am ready, I
would approach whoever is in charge and offer my help. And let them decide if I
was good enough for the role or not.
Perfectionists,
freak out!
This attitude puts me in the worst of two
worlds, so to speak. Because I am not as ready as I would like to be, I run the
risk of being rejected. The Kungfu guy I helped, for example, could have taken
a good look at my form and decided that I would be an embarrassment to him if I
performed. If I ruined his reputation his career would have taken a setback.
Not really worth it, right?
(Of course he didn’t turn me down in the
end. During my teenage years I was pretty serious about Praying Mantis, so
under the dust I still had some quality left…)
Meanwhile, the deluded who think people owe
them the chance to serve MIGHT be able to get the opportunity because people
are too desperate or too nice to turn them down. More likely, however, they
will be rejected. Since they didn’t really put in proper work, their rejection
didn’t really cost them that much.
But to put in serious work and then face
the possibility of rejection, on the other hand, is the worst of both worlds.
Some people have all kinds of spiritual sounding rationalizations for not
stepping up to offer their help. They make it sound like the only way they
would do something is if God were to speak to them in an audible voice, a “Thus
saith the LORD: Serve! Approacheth thou thy church worship pastor, and sayeth
unto him…”
Yes, I am not that “spiritual”. I do offer
my help at times, and I have been rejected at times. Guess what? It hurt my ego
a little bit, but it didn’t kill me. And in exchange for taking such risks, for
being vulnerable to rejection, I have been able to serve God and his people in
a wide variety of situations and circumstances. And those experiences have been
enriching and valuable!
So if you want to get more done…
… I would strongly urge you to take on this
attitude. Prepare. Train. Seriously. But if the need arises before you think
you are totally ready, talk to your leadership and offer your help. And learn
to deal with rejection.
But personally, I don’t think you will face
that as often as you fear, as long as you seriously prepare yourself. I’ve
always believed that the Body of Christ has a severe lack of people actually
playing their part. Most of the Body of Christ is waiting for others to serve
them or for themselves to be zapped into being inspired to serve. And the fear
of rejection will stop many of them dead in their tracks.
So if you prepare, put in the work and dare
to step up, you are already miles ahead of many people in church. Think about
it for a while. Is there anything you believe God wants you to work on this
season, in preparation for serving him effectively in the next? Get started.
And when the time comes, grit your teeth,
swallow your pride and step up. Go for it!
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