“Either/or” is a lie. Yet it’s one of the most common lies that we tell ourselves. We think: “If I don’t do ‘A,’ then ‘B’ will happen. However, things are rarely that simplistic – there’s usually nothing stopping us from looking for a third option [or a fourth, fifth, or sixth]. Sometimes we simply fall into that thinking by trying to set up a mental “pros” and “cons” list. But sometimes the real cause of the thinking is to let us off the hook…
For example, if “Bill” is consistently late to your 6:30 worship rehearsal, you may think you have two options: cave in and put up with his tardiness, or kick him off the team. However, this sort of thinking ignores the most obvious first step – talk to Bill. It may be that it’s impossible for him to make it from work in time. The whole thing might be solved by simply moving rehearsal to 7pm, if that works for everyone else.
If you really think about it, I’m guessing you’ll be surprised how much of your life is ruled by the “false dichotomy fallacy.” It’s everywhere in the news, and it’s not that easy to break out of it since it’s constantly reinforced in much of our life. A good first step? Take your either/or situation and say: “What would I do if I couldn’t do either option?” Of shoot for a list of five or more possibilities, instead of two…
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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