Getting Rid of the Wizards in Your Oz

If the ministry you are in is like the magical land of Oz, what would be the Wizard or Wizards in your Oz?

Dorothy discovers that the Wizard has no power to send her home :(

You know, those things that you do in ministry that you've been doing for as long as you can remember?  Certain annual events, favorite songs that you just can't let go, maybe it's the color of the carpet or a personal conviction about hymn books? A piece of furniture, like a pulpit or a chair, that simply must be on the stage in order for greatness to happen? The process you go through when organizing a service or a production - you know what I mean, the process that you have gone through exactly, following each step just as you have for years and years... it's always worked, it always will?

THAT IS A WIZARD. The thing you place supreme importance on, measure your success by, that actually has no real power, and may be keeping you from your fullest, creative growth potential. The things that tie us to our past experiences but make it difficult to dream, envision, and develop new innovative ideas and methods.

Recently, we cleaned out our garage...there was absolutely no room to walk through it, filled with years of piled up junk that had seemed so important when I first relocated each one to this dusty residence ... "hey, i might need that thigh master one day!" "oh, no, not my Christmas card collection from 1986, that's when Aunt Marla had a baby!" "keep all the neon-bunny decorations, they might go back in style again.... someday!"

Some items are truly precious - the blanket my daughter came home from the hospital in, a lock of hair from my grandmother - but most of the stuff in there is a strange menagerie of mismatched junk, barely restrained behind the bars of their cages, begging to be set free (into the trash bin)....and it was as though I was seeing them all for the first time, through new eyes:  instead of being the amazing memory catchers that I had envisioned, they became lost under similar so-called "precious" things, forgotten for years and frosted with dust (and little brown pellets that I like to pretend are raisinettes! lol)

Though I knew these things had to go - that they were not worthy of the real estate they were inhabiting - I was finding it hard to evict them... it almost felt like kicking out memories, changing political parties, drinking Pepsi instead of Coke... it didn't feel right lol

But now that it is all on it's way to the dump, or for some lucky items on their way to the donation truck, I have such a feeling of peace and calm and lightness.... the power that the items had was just a smoke screen, the false Wizard in the Oz of my garage and every other little piece of history that didn't make the cut followed behind - POOF! POOF! Little powerful nothings, because all my memories, all my history with those that i love and events that mean the most to me... they live inside me and in the ones that I love.

And now, I am sitting in my empty garage, and making plans for it!  What can this space be used for? A recording studio? or a perfect spot for a ping pong table, couch, and dart board? a home gym? Amazing how creativity can flow when all the clutter is cleared away.

... when all the so-called Wizards, all the things that clutter our mind and space, are put in their place, we can truly grow away from them...and into bigger, richer, fuller dreams and achievements.

Past experience should be a spring board for future risks, not a safety trap or security net.  What is keeping you feeling safe? It may be keeping you restrained. What habit or process has become absolutely necessary to your ability to produce results? It may just be the thing that is keeping you from achieving amazing, awesome things in ministry.

Evicting Your Wizard:

1.  Recognize them.  Look at how you create and ask yourself: Are there any of my processes, habits, resources, even advisers/confidantes that have not changed in years? For example, I sent a monthly newsletter, as well as all birthday cards to each of my team members, via snail mail for many years and it made our teams unified and each member felt special. I also don't value the technological advantages of smart phones nearly as much as my peers, so I never upgraded my phone or took to texting as fast as everyone else.  A few years ago, I got a general feeling of detachment between myself and my teams and as I gave an honest look at my relational process, I was able to recognize that it had to change. I immediately took up email and networking site pages, tweeting 24/7 with my peeps, and I upgraded my phone as soon as I could... the difference was astounding and practically overnight!

2.  Evict them.  Knowledge is power, but it is also frustrating and debilitating when not acted upon. Your process needs to be edited and revised. The habits that you've recognized as being detrimental must be replaced with new ones, one step at a time.  Some relationships may have to be limited and new ones may need to be established.  There is a definite learning curve for this step. It is more difficult to relearn a new way of doing something than it is to learn something for the first time, so be patient with yourself, but keep moving away from the old and towards the new. Keep in mind: ministry is about loving people as Christ loves us. That sets us apart from the way the world creates and inspires. The world doesn't worry about the feelings or growth of the individual that it leaves behind as it morphs into newer fads, but we do care. Where people are concerned, make changes delicately and purposefully. Though relationships may have to change with some during this step of the process, no man gets left behind.

3.  Replace them.... tentatively. I say tentatively because the secret to creativity is CONSTANT CHANGE.  Creativity is like a swirl of oil in a pool of water, never constant for too long, always changing shape and direction. That means taking pains to ensure that we don't replace one Wizard with another. The new idea that fires up your worship service or Easter drama this season, will most likely NOT make the same impression two years from now. So, make room for new vision, new ideas, but don't give them a permanent place and don't get attached or sentimental, hold them with an open hand.

4.  Seek guidance.  Pray for wisdom and for the Creativity Christ. All of our talent and giftings come from Him and it is ultimately His will that we long to see made manifest in us.  When I sit down to write a sketch or play, the first book I open is His and before fingers hit the keyboard, I bow my head in silence, waiting for Him to speak.  Also, seek out others in your field who you see as "living the dream" - who you admire and who are doing successfully what you want to be doing...get coffee and conversation with individuals like this as often as possible.