Been Reed - Life and Theology. The musings of a young pastor.

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Time to cut bait

I’m not a fisherman, but I’ve been fishing. Which makes me an expert, right?

Sometimes there are times when you just need to cut bait and move on. Maybe you’ve snagged some driftwood. Maybe the fish isn’t worth it. Maybe your hook is stuck in the mud. And you could fight and fight and fight…but you’re not going to drag in the bottom of the lake. If you’re stuck, cut bait and move on.

Let it go

We often need to do this with our ideas, too…even the good ones. We get so personally invested in them that we hold on as if our lives are at stake. We need to know what’s worth fighting for, what ideas are so valuable that we will reel them in at all costs. And what ideas can be released.

There comes a time when holding on to that idea, that project, that program…that it begins to drag you into the water with it. Your idea has lost traction, the program isn’t accomplishing what you wanted it to, and the project is sapping all of your effort with very little result to show for it.

We need to remember that it’s okay to cut bait sometimes. Cutting bait means you’re done with that line. With that area of the pond. With that fish.

But it doesn’t mean that you’re done fishing.

What ‘good idea’ have you held on to for too long?

Is there one you can let go of today?

Is there a program that you can let sink?

Unity, 11s on the 1s

February 1, 2011 / Ben Reed / 0 Comments

If you’d like to catch up on this series, click HERE.

Unity

Let’s not divide and condemn concerning secondary matters. God loves unity.

Say less, listen more, 11s on the 1s

January 30, 2011 / Ben Reed / 1 Comment

If you’d like to catch up on this series of 11-word posts, click HERE.

Say less, listen more

Saying more is much easier than saying less. Start by listening.

Why I won’t follow you on Twitter

January 27, 2011 / Ben Reed / 13 Comments

I love Twitter and social media. But just like any other form of media, the pool gets diluted pretty quickly.

So I’ve come up with some of my own rules for why I won’t follow you back on Twitter. Don’t be offended. If we ever run into each other in person, we’d probably be friends. But my Twitter profile has standards much higher than I do.

Why I won’t follow you on Twitter:

Your picture:

has you resting your head on your clenched fist.
is of you wearing sunglasses.
if of you taking a picture of yourself, and we can see the camera.
you don’t have a picture because you haven’t taken the time to upload one.

Your profile:

includes “Internet expert”
includes “social media expert”
includes “Internet social media expert specialist”
includes any of the above words in any order

Your Auto-Direct Message

Your followers:

You have over 1,000 followers and only 2 updates
You have over 1,000 updates and only 2 followers
You follow 2,000 people and only 2 follow you back

Your updates:

You only update about your own stuff (website, blog, self-promotion, etc).
Any of your updates include: “I got thousands of followers using ______…you should try it!”
You never reply to anyone
You never update. Ever.
All you do is reply…to 10 people every update.

Have you ever consciously chosen not to follow somebody back on Twitter?

Why or why not?

Yours to tell

January 27, 2011 / Ben Reed / 3 Comments

image by Rob Gros

The beauty of your story isn’t that it’s

clean

pretty

tidy

extravagant

shocking

intriguing.

The beauty of your story is that it’s

messy

raw

confusing

chaotic

unfinished

unpolished.

**The beauty of your story may be that it’s**

normal

tame

boring

expected

small

lame.

The beauty of your story is that God

redeems

reconciles

magnifies

deepens

clarifies

forgives.

The beauty of your story is that

it’s yours.

It’s time to tell it.

Creating a culture vs shaping one

January 26, 2011 / Ben Reed / 7 Comments

Some people like to start from scratch, and create their own culture.

Others like to change an existing culture.

Church world

photo by Ales Cerin

Some people like to launch church plants.

Some people like to work within existing churches and change the culture.

Blog world

image by Scott Foster

Some people like to create a culture based on their unique wirings and giftings.

Others do research prior to launch, determine trends, and shape their writings around that.

Business world

photo by Augusto Avila Jr

Some people like to forge their own path and start a new business.

Others would rather work to improve and expand an existing one.

I don’t think there’s a right or wrong answer here. What you prefer is based on how God has gifted and wired you. We need both.

And I’m thankful that we serve a God who does both…and neither at the same time, because He’s making all things new.

So what do you prefer?

Do you like to create a new culture or shape an existing one?

Would you rather save a sinking ship…or let it sink and build a new one?

Maybe it’s not worth it

January 25, 2011 / Ben Reed / 4 Comments

The more I delve into social media, the more questions I have.

Here’s what I’m wrestling with today:

Are all of my readers and commenters the same as yours?

If everybody’s drawing water from the same pool, and the pool’s not getting bigger, then we’ll eventually dry the thing up, won’t we?

If everybody is adding water to the same pool, but nobody is coming to take that water away, the pool becomes a cesspool. Nasty.

Are bloggers creating a cesspool of mind-dump…or a refreshing well of idea swap?

Sometimes, I wonder if the people that ReTweet my updates are the same ones that ReTweet yours. And whether the folks that comment on my blog are the same ones that comment on yours. If there are a few thousand people that read blogs, and promote them among themselves, but they never really get outside of that circle, then isn’t it like we’re just scratching each others’ backs? Spinning our wheels? Puffing up our own numbers so that we look good…to each other?

Maybe this is a form of effectiveness. Maybe we’re making an impact in the lives of this pool of social media-ites, and they’re impacting the lives of those they come in contact with on a regular basis. Maybe.

But maybe we’re ReTweeting and commenting so that somebody will ReTweet and comment on our stuff…so that our numbers will increase, so that we can draw a little more ‘water’ from the pool of bloggers. So maybe ReTweeting and commenting are just a form of self-service.

I love social media. I just want to continue to strive for effectiveness, reaching new readers, sharing ideas with folks who are putting them into action, and propelling people to take steps of faith.

Are blogs really making a difference in the world?

Is social media worth the effort?

The Old is Gone, 11s on the 1s

January 21, 2011 / Ben Reed / 5 Comments

Graphic by Matt Gruber

In a concerted effort to use fewer words and drive home a more powerful point, I’m writing 11-word posts. You can see other posts in this series HERE.

They don’t attempt to answer every question you may have. They aren’t going to change your life. But, hopefully they’ll make you think. And since they’re so short, you don’t have an excuse not to read them.

The Old is Gone

God’s love is much bigger than your past failures. Believe it.

The know-it-all

January 20, 2011 / Ben Reed / 16 Comments

A word to young leaders* everywhere:

You don’t have it all figured out.

If a 19 year old, single college student comes up to me and starts telling me how I, a husband and a father, need to care for my 2 year old son, it’s going to feel weird. Why?

Not because he’s young. Or because I don’t respect him. Or even because he doesn’t know who I am.

It’s because he’s not a husband or a father.

We young leaders need to make sure we don’t have all of the answers to every question and scenario that’s thrown our way. It’s wise to sometimes say, “I don’t know…because I’ve never done it like that.”

John Maxwell says that there are two great teachers in life: pain and experience.

And since we’ve had less experience than so many other leaders, let’s back off on knowing it all.

I’m not saying that we don’t have innovative, company and ministry-altering ideas. But we’ve got to respect the years of life and ministry that older leaders have on us. Writing them off, speaking down to them, treating them with little respect, and acting like we, the younger leader, know it all

is damaging to their reputation.
is damaging to their organization.
is damaging to our reputation if we are gaining at the expense of someone else.
completely discredits the value of experience.
cripples you by chaining you to your limited ideas and insights.

Maybe those in leadership above us, or who outrank us based on experience, are stuck in the we-can’t-do-it-that-way-because-we’ve-never-done-it-that-way mindset. But somehow, someway, we’ve got to find a way to learn from their years of experience.

In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”

(1 Peter 5:5)

* I include myself in the young leaders category, so this post is as much written to me as it is by me.