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A journaling prompt from the weekend… Here are a few ways I’d like to grow.
Learn To Be Less Edgy
As a follower of christ, how I want to grow as a person should always come second to my desire to become more like Him. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately as I’ve read and journaled through Philippians. I can get really in my head and probably too analytical with the way I think about things, even if I’m just reading Scripture devotionally. I feel called to share that kind of thinking through online ministry. But as I’ve read through Philippians and journaled about the practical nature of Paul’s advice and expectations, I sometimes wonder if I could be a little less edgy with my content.
Most "creator" advice tells me that I should "niche down" and get extremely specific with my "content."
"Don’t venture out of the niche!"
But maybe that’s not the best advice for someone in this type of ministry. Maybe I can create content that makes you think deeply about why things are the way they are but also encourages you with a better Way. I don’t have to choose evangelism or discipleship. It can be both, and everything doesn’t have to be so edgy. If I can’t ever come up with something to say that isn’t so edgy, maybe that’s something I need to take note of internally and change.
I want to grow in how I balance encouragement with discernment.
Essentialism
In his book, Essentialism, Greg Mckeown writes:
Essentialism is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done… It’s about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential.
I read that book a few years ago but the message didn’t stick with me that well. I still find myself getting hung up on things that aren’t essential to what I’m called to do and sometimes neglect the things that are essential.
I want to grow by becoming more of an essentialist and less of a generalist.
Cultivating Creativity
Finally, I want to grow by cultivating my creativity and get out of my comfort zone. In my essay about ministry online, I wrote about the need for Christians to develop a presence on every online platform. I talked about the prevalence of video content compared to written content and gave myself a bit of an out because “I’m comfortable with writing platforms” and someone else can be called to do video since I’m not so comfortable with that.
I’ve since come to the realization that this mindset limits my ministry and my own creativity. I’m wildly uncomfortable speaking on video, but learning to make it happen would really get me out of my comfort zone. But maybe that’s something I need to experiment with so that I can grow personally and creatively.