The trap of convenience
Convenience is such an attractive thing as a leader. It is aligned with the, “Let’s make things easier and faster in life,” mentality. Don't be fooled convenience has its traps. Let's identify 3 of the biggest traps.
Convenience doesn't equal efficiency. One of the greatest lies of our current culture is short time spent can equal better productivity. Take food for example. For me, food is an immediate comfort. Where is the best place to find immediate comfort,,,,Fast Food. Everyone can watch enough youtube videos to know, food is fuel and also crucial when it comes to the variables we control for producing a healthy long life. The time we save in fast food is nothing compared to the time we lose on a long healthy full life physically.#fitnessjourney. What conveniences are you chasing after that really aren’t leading to efficiency. Delegating tasks without the time of support? Cutting corners that others bump into?
Convenience can surrender conviction. Sam Chand author of Leadership Pain says, ““The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on.” To become a better leader doing whats easy in the moment never turns out well. It always becomes harder and harder. Convenience leads us to choose what’s easy in the moment at the expense of doing the right thing. Convenience can lead to the old snowball effect. It keeps getting bigger and bigger as it goes down hill. That is what convenience can do. Its easier to let it roll down a hill then to stop it or push it back up. The problem is convenience can lead to a negative momentum and a crash at the bottom. I remember when I was in one of those busy seasons and noticed a team mate constantly cutting corners and doing the bare minimum. I wasn’t too busy to notice but I was to “busy” to address it. I let my conviction of doing things well surrender to the convenience of what was easy. Long story short I had to let that team mate go after, the way I see it, I let 5 families go right before frustrated with that team mate because I allowed this teammate to cut corners and not care well. I wasn't a good leader and 5 families may never set foot in the doors of a church again and this teammate felt caught off guard and is bitter towards me because I did what was convenient. It was at the point I had to face the giant snowball that would have been easier to pick up way earlier on . I’d much rather see someone leave because of my conviction then my convenience leading to failure.
Convenience hinders distance for the sake of speed. A few months ago I was talking to Cross Culture Church Men’s Director Chris Skalicky and he brought up how important the process of farming is in leadership. That some things can’t be sped up and when they are they die or fail. The true agricultural cycle is the annual cycle of activities related to the growth and harvest of a crop (Plant.) These activities include loosening the soil, seeding, special watering, moving plants when they grow bigger, and harvesting, among others. They have to be done at the right time, in the right place at the right speed. It can’t be forced. Geoff Surratt an overseer at CCC reminded me while at dinner a few weeks ago, that my role as a pastor was less about pastoring a church for fast numerical growth and more about going far through pastoring our city as a whole. That is how the Kingdom is brought to earth. This principle applies to parenting when trying to teach or accomplish something with our children. It can never be about quickly finishing the task, but the relationship between you and your children going far because of how you taught and the connection that was made for future teaching opportunities. I coach baseball for my boys and it always amazes me how even I get upset over a 5 year old not getting a hit. I have learned that me acting right should always trump the kid getting a hit. Questions like am I encouraging them, creating a safe environment for kids to learn and helping them achieve becoming better than they were before are more important then tomahawk hits. Convenient short term success never lasts but acting right, at the right time and in the right place does.
Overcoming the traps of convenience includes taking time to do it right upfront, sticking to your convictions and going far. This week choose the latter. It may not be easy but you won’t be trapped. Jesus set us free and elevated us into the pace of eternity through the inconvenience(understatement) of the cross. Good things take time. Barry Cameron always tells me, “Keep showing up. Keep doing what’s right. Watch what God does!”
See you Sunday,
Michael Winakur