The Problem With “Good Ideas”
If you are a pastor or other type of church leader, you probably encounter people who offer “good ideas” about ministry. It usually goes something like: “Hey pastor, wouldn’t it be great if we started…”
Now sometimes those ideas turn into amazing ministries and programs. They help to ignite a vision that gives the congregation new energy to make a difference in their community.
But most often it is just a good idea.
What I mean by that is that people come up with an idea that is good in theory. That could be something like tutoring high school students or doing free renovations for widows. Those are good ideas.
The problem is that the person who brings it up is not volunteering to lead it and they have not found others in the congregation who are interested in participating. They may not even have found an expressed need by their target group.
When the pastor struggles to find volunteers to enact their good idea or when the people they are trying to minister to are not interested, they get frustrated.
It is not enough to have a good idea.
My philosophy of ministry is to look at the intersection of the resources of the church, the expressed needs of the community and how it fits with the mission of the congregation.
For some, that spoils the spontaneity of taking a good idea and just running with it, hoping for the best. I can understand that, especially if you are really excited about your good idea.
But as a pastor, I want people to know that it is difficult to discern the right thing and the right timing and then to coordinate all the resources (people and money) to make it happen.
If you have a good idea, before you bring it to your pastor, ask these questions:
- What role am I willing to take in order to make this happen?
- Have I found other people in the congregation who share the same vision?
- What commitment will it require of the pastor? Will the pastor have to lead it or just approve it?
- Have you identified the people who are requiring the ministry and are they interested in receiving this ministry?
- How long have you been praying about this?
Doing this will Mae everyone’s life much easier the next time you get the good idea.
