Definer Questions

There have been a few people in my life who have asked me "definer questions." That's my made-up term for questions that cut through all the complexities of an issue and lay the real issue bare in clear, simple terms. Some of these definer questions have lead to successful major life decisions.

There are presently two related definer questions that I am mulling over these days, targeted specifically to the research that we've been doing on discipleship (in large part from Jimmy's efforts).

The first definer question comes out of a study I did with a couple of students over the last year. I figured two young men at the beginning of their lives as adults would benefit greatly from Paul's words to Timothy, who was also facing a world as "the young guy." For each passage of the text, we discussed structure and meaning, but then I always brought it around to the same question each week: What does this mean for being a fully committed follower of Jesus?

Invariably, there would be an awkward silence. We just finished talking about the passage and thought we had a handle on it. But then after this question popped out, all of us realized that we hadn't really mined the depths of the passage. We would look at the passage again and again, and begin to appreciate the layers of the text. Eventually, we'd begin to offer answers to the question - answers that made us uncomfortable because of the cost necessitated by discipleship. But what rich discomfort it was!

The second definer question is more focused on how to evaluate and improve our ministries here at Grace. There are many good things we can do in church ministry - far too many to do all of them. There are things that we've always done - many of which we should continue doing, but others perhaps not. (For example, we didn't do a carnival this summer because it was not the best use of our energy this year.) That question is: Is this the best way to cultivate complete followers of Jesus?

This question helps us keep our focus on our priorities and not put our effort into any number of good things that keep us from the great things. There are a lot of good ways to disciple others, but we want to do the best things we can to cultivate complete followers.

We just had a discussion among some of the leaders about a particular opportunity. So I posed this second question. What transpired was great dialog with quite a spread of opinions, but the differences don't scare me. The dialog was the kind of authentic discussion that we must have for us to keep on mission, with everyone contributing truly pertinent thoughts specific to our church's highest priorities. We may have missed some important ideas if we didn't have a definer question. A definer question gave us a means to navigate a tough issue and to make some decisions now as well as fuel further discussions later. It gave us clarity for the process of evaluating this and other issues.

What are one or two "definer questions" for your life's mission?

My habits are so habitual

We've been studying and teaching about discipleship and a missional mindset over these last several weeks, with the goal of getting our minds right on these ideas before even attempting to do anything specific about it. It is our expectation that right actions will come from right thinking, and right habits will come from right actions.

This great theory, however, doesn't prevent me from my wrong habits that come from wrong actions that come from wrong thinking.

While moving Lynne's folks this week, my brother-in-law (Steve) and I did a McDonald's run for breakfast, since the kitchen had already been completely packed. (Although I consider fast food a bad habit in its own right, that's not where my story is going.) I had a very simple order - one eggwhite muffin combo, one #1 combo, and three #2 combos, all with coffee. To her credit, the gal working the counter was extremely creative in finding ways to fulfill the order by all methods except the correct one.

I confirmed three separate times that they were all combos with coffee. And yet, I had to stop her from filling sodas and to pour coffee instead, then from 3 coffees to 5, then from 3 hash browns to 5. The floor manager noted she had rung up the order incorrectly, which she shrugged off wordlessly. After all of that, I still never got my #1 combo. If I had wanted two eggwhite combos, I'm quite sure I would have said something other than "one eggwhite combo and one #1 combo." Never did she acknowledge an error, apologize, smile, or even try to change her original, determined plan.

Here's where my wrong thinking led to my habitually wrong action: My concern for this person, who God loves and who bears His image, was fleeting at best. In my habit, she existed only to feed me quickly, pleasantly, and without error. When she failed to exist in that manner, my main concern was getting the greasy, high-caloric, high-fat, oversalted breakfast (and coffee!!) that I was on a "mission" to get.

But my real mission is supposed to be to cultivate complete followers of Jesus (Matt 28:16-20). My real mission never really came to mind because of my habits, which came from my actions, which came from my thinking.

I want a new set of habits so that my first thought for people I encounter is to wonder how I can cultivate, even a little. How can I "loosen the lid"? By habit, I'm still more of a consumer than a cultivator. But ... my thinking is beginning to change (aided by a little indigestion, which reminded me of right priorities - bleh).