A few weeks ago, I made a bit of a dumb mistake in my role as editor of Rick Warren’s Ministry Toolbox. I took a risk and tried to do something creative, and it didn’t land the way I’d intended. People noticed. I sent a note of apology to the team and wallowed in my feelings of failure a bit until I got this note from Pastor Rick…
Thanks, Brandon. This is your mistake for this week. Now go make a different one next week! It’s how we learn!
Few words have been as immediately healing and empowering. And it makes sense in light of Rick’s main article this week on Pastors.com entitled Why You Should Make At Least One Mistake Each Week. Rick says:
The secret to being innovative is not being afraid to fail. So, let me encourage you to take risks in your ministry. Don’t be afraid to try different methods or to think way out of the box…
Few great things have ever been accomplished without risk-taking, and we need to teach our leaders and members to take risks in their ministry for Christ. One reason this is so critical to your ministry is that it ties into faith-building. In other words, ‘risk-taking’ is an expression of faith, and a godly ‘risk-taker’ is being faithful in his service to God.
Will we believe God for big things? If the answer is ‘yes,’ then we automatically become godly ‘risk-takers’ — men and women who trust God and live by faith and not by sight. When we teach our people to take risks, we are teaching them to develop faith in God.
I’m a believer! I would have agreed with Pastor Rick in theory already, but I now agree out of my own experience. I hope to see Grace Hills’ staff taking risks and messing up. It really is how we stay fresh, discover effectiveness, and innovate in our leadership. And it lines up well with my understanding of grace, too.
Don’t try to mess up. But don’t try not to mess up either. Try something great and when you mess up, move on!
