From Rocks We Gain Insight

If you have never had the opportunity to view such an interest piece of history, I highly suggest “Galileo Was Right” episode 10 of From the Earth to the Moon. There were moments of history, obstacles of learning about a subject that was not even of interest to them, overcoming the lack of knowledge and thriving, and success of the mission. We viewed before us a mission that was full of a difficult subject of geology. The astronauts had no idea what they were getting into. As the episode goes on we see the light bulb of interest turn on as they started to understand how important it was that they get it right. They were going to be the eyes and ears for us here on earth and there was knowledge that needed to be found and understood by them.

These astronauts, described as passionate Renaissance men, worked hard to learn the language of geology as well as the actual science that they were studying. At first in the episode, we see boredom when it is being taught to them. It took a very passionate teacher to come and light the spark of interest in them that pushed them to be better. The teacher laid it out like this; “It is your job to decide the difference between roadkill and a meal.” When they made that decision, they became the storyteller for those of us on earth. When they accomplished the feat of learning to be storytellers, they learned how to look at the land differently. They were able to describe what they were seeing and how it mattered to those of us who were unable to see ourselves.

As leaders it is easy for us to tell the stories that we know and that we are good at. Sometimes it holds us in a box, and we are unable to see past what is right in front of us. Our congregations and communities are the rocks that these astronauts were inspecting. Each one of them is unique and has come from somewhere or something different. In order to see our communities the way that God has intended we should be studying them and looking at the uniqueness that they hold. We must stand at the highest peak and look out at the big picture in front of us. When we do that intentionally our people and our leadership will thrive. We should hold each “rock” as if it was the most genuine piece of rock ever discovered, just like the astronauts did when they discovered the one rock that they were looking for.

Have you looked at the community around you as a new landing site? I wonder what we would come up with now that we have these tools in our back pocket. Will it change the way we lead them? Could it give us more insight into the way it ticks? It’s possible. Our eyes must be open to this possibility.