Before I go into the details of my service project (in a future blog), I thought it might be helpful to set the stage a bit by taking a moment to describe something with which I often struggle in the hopes that it might provide some perspective for any poor soul who finds my words to be of interest…
The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him… a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create—so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.
Pearl S. Buck, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize Winning Novelist
It’s been a few years since first hearing Andy Stanley’s Next Generation Leader on Audible (admittedly, at 3x speed), and though I will never claim to have a high retention rate on things like that, I will offer that I heard some things that have affected many decisions I’ve made since.
Two of these in particular, weighed on me quite heavily as I chose a service project for my Sabbatical…
The first is that ‘being busy is not the same as being productive’. We all know this to be true, but it is always a good thought to keep in the back pocket.
For me, choosing a service project was going to be tricky. I knew that there was a good chance that God might have me find humility in tasking me with something I might only view as minimally productive; sorting food or clothes, or painting/stacking/lifting/cleaning – whatever He saw fit. And, however painfully mundane it might be, I am probably due for a reality check and due to be put in my place…
Or… He may want me to see relief from my daily routine, and instead of being creative, He may just want me to observe and offer assistance wherever my heart led…
Or.. maybe I could stop trying to ‘guess’ and try my best to make myself ‘available’ to do His will as I could… (rinse and repeat)
But, the second – more influential thing that stuck with me has to do with his (Andy’s) thoughts on only doing what only you can do. Which he covered in the book I mentioned above. He also has a podcast and several other works on this topic – and even though it probably wasn’t the big takeaway for most people, and it was offered in the context of a leadership capacity which didn’t directly apply to the task at hand, it still really resonated with me.
My entire life is about creative service – or making things. Anyone who knows me knows that a great deal of my personal life is spent playing music, doing projects, shows, films and videos, etc., with little or no compensation – in service to others. In fact, many times, these things actually are at some cost me even beyond doing the work… So, finding something to do was not going to be a challenge at all…
My creative skill set; the tasks for which I am uniquely suited make the things I can do of particular interest to non-profit organizations who want to stand out from other organizations as they are competing for resources in an increasingly challenging fund-raising environment. So, whether I am performing on stage, running sound or lights for an event, filming a PSA or fund-raising video, serving on a board of directors or a committee, or writing a check, my unique familiarity with fund-raising in the local non-profit world presents with many rewards, and many challenges…
However, a very big challenge for me is that the things I do in service look just like the things I do for a living. And they both sometimes consume me…
And, I seem to thrive on this.
So, to move forward with some confidence, I needed to know if it was ‘okay’ to choose what I felt compelled to do. I wanted to help the organization with whom, in my current state in life, I can most directly identify with (Global Samaritan Resources). Further to that, could I help them in only the way only I could? I needed to know if giving so much, so deeply was indeed God’s will – and not my own…
Ultimately, I chose not to choose…
Call it cowardice or call it a leap of faith, but as the week I set aside for this portion of my Sabbatical approached, I discovered that my service project had already been laid out for me (and for Lisa as well) by a very dear friend of mine from within the organization whom I admire as a man and as a Christian, and trust to be of a true servant’s heart; never asking for more than he would give of himself. We were both about to meet some remarkable people who were doing important things both in this community – and internationally…