This morning I passed by one of the bulletin boards at our church and realized that there are pictures of formerly-fat me from about the year 2003. My first thought was…
Why are we so stuck in the past around here?
Then it hit me. Sometimes we who fancy ourselves as leaders talk proudly and loudly about our future-orientation. About how if only we could convince our people that they need to get out of the past. About how we’re going to make the jump “one century at a time.”
Could it be that our people are stuck in the past because we who fancy ourselves as leaders have been so busy stuck in the future that we’re not leading them to accomplish anything in the present? Could it be that they’re not really enamored of the past for the sake of the past? Could it be that they’re not really resisting change because they’re too comfortable? Could it possibly be that they are stuck in a time when something great (or at least near-great) was actually happening? Could it be that our focus on the future may be robbing us of some amazing opportunities in the here and now?
If you’re stuck, it doesn’t matter whether you call the bog “the past” or “the future.” You’re stuck. And you need to do whatever it takes to get unstuck. Or else the past – pre-bog – will be all you have to live on or live for.
