Procrastination

I heard from a peer of mine that "Procrastination is a symptom of perfectionism."  The idea behind this is that those who procrastinate have a gold nugget in their minds (an idea that has the potential of being truly great and valuable).  They recognize the potential of this idea's value and so hold off until they "have enough time" to truly develop it and perfect it to provide the most value for those who may benefit.  They procrastinate because they want to perfect their idea so that it is foolproof.

I confess this was my attitude in youth ministry.  I had a number of ideas and plans in my head, but never had enough time to truly plan them.  This is true for many people - where does all our time go? As I was reflecting on this question I started wondering perhaps the problem is us.  Perhaps our emphasis on perfection is prohibiting great things from happening.  Perhaps we're getting in the way by trying to perfect something that only God can perfect.

Eugene Peterson critiques the North American perception of "The Pastor" as "...people who 'get things done,' and 'make things happen'" (The Pastor, 2011, 5).  He rather proposes that a pastor is "...the person placed in the community to pay attention and call attention to 'what is going on right now' between men and women, with one another and with God..." (The Pastor, 2011, 5).

Taking this into the role of any ministry position, it makes sense that our goal shouldn't be to perfect our ideas so that they work, but to take the raw nugget and simply role with it.  As we jump into the unknown we are faced with the challenge of asking, "What aspect of the Kingdom can we see unfolding before us?" and drawing people's attention to it.  The idea or "plan" doesn't have to be perfect.  It simply needs to provide the arena in which we seek the Holy Spirit's movement in illuminating us to the reality of the Kingdom of God.

So enough with procrastination and perfectionism.  Rather, let us use our peripheries to pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is revealing around us.