Living out of our Imagination

The sad truth is that most people spend more time planning their summer vacation than they do planning the rest of their life.  That’s poor stewardship of right-brain imagination.  Goal setting is good stewardship.  Instead of letting things happen, goals help us make things happen.  Instead of living by default, goals help us live by design.  Instead of living out of memory, goals help us live out of imagination.  -- Mark Batterson in The Circle Maker

I am a nerd.  I joyfully accept the label.  I love to play with computers, I am a Star Trek fan, I alphabetize my spice rack (who doesn't?), and I make lists.

I am creative and imaginative.  I accept that label with trepidation, although I believe it to be true, and believe that my creativity is a gift from God.

Each morning, I make a list of what I need to accomplish that day.  Each Monday, I make a list of what I would like to accomplish that week.  Each month, I have a list of goals.  If, at the end of the day, or of the week, or of the month, I haven't check off my lists, life goes on.  I don't see my lists as a trap, but as a way to keep my mind organized.  I like it, although I do understand that my system would never work for everyone.

I have been asked to be the Media/Tech person for an upcoming Women's Walk to Emmaus.  I've never done that before, but I'm looking forward to it.  I was sitting in Panera a few days ago (it was a day off), and I was enjoying my morning, making lists and worksheets to prepare for the first team meeting.  A friend walked up and asked what I was doing.  "Organizing my brain for the upcoming walk."

Out of this intentionality (an offshoot of my nerdiness) will spring creativity.   It will prepare me to spontaneously respond to crises and issues as they arise.

Do we approach church life with this same intention?  Do we take this kind of time to plan ministry?  Do we live in the past, doing what we have done before, living out of memory, or do we set goals so that we can live out of imagination?