Stop Trying! - Dr. Gerry Lewis

Yoda: “Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say? You must unlearn what you have learned.”

Luke Skywalker: “Alright, I’ll give it a try.”

Yoda: “No! Try not! Do or do not. There is no try.”

One of my recent reads is, The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. Two concepts captured my attention. I’m still processing, but here’s your backstage pass to some of it.

One concept is the “Habit loop” – the cycle of cue, routine, and reward that results in the formation of habits. The second concept is “Keystone habits” that create a chain reaction; changing and rearranging your other habits as you integrate the habit into your life. According to Duhigg, Keystone habits “influence how we work, eat, play, live, spend, and communicate”, and they “start a process that, over time, transforms everything.”

In 2015, my ministry network, Harvest Baptist Association, went through an Association Unique process (based on the book Church Unique, by Will Mancini) where we identified a new vision pathway that includes Mission, Values, Strategies, Measures, and Vision. This year we have moved into implementation.

When I started reading The Power of Habit, I wondered, “What kinds of habits would make this pathway more likely? What are the keystone habits that need to be in place for success?”

So, I started making a list. Understanding that things like integrity, excellence, prayerfulness, and Biblical fidelity are necessary, but too general, I wondered what kinds of specific responses to certain cues would create the atmosphere where our vision could thrive. In other words, what do I really, really want to happen with every encounter we have?

There is much work and processing left to do, but here is my first draft on keystone habits.

Healthy choices – We will get more healthy spiritually, physically, emotionally.
Optimism – We will see the glass as half-full and refillable.
Conversation – We will talk with each other. Lecture and monologues are banned.
Risk – We will fear passivity more than we fear failure.
Generosity – We will not hoard resources.
Trust – We will trust people until they give us a reason not to, rather than making them earn it first.
Curiosity – We will ask more questions than we give answers and seek to learn something from every situation.
Respect – We will treat every person with respect no matter how they react.
Blessing – We will bless every person with whom we come in contact. Encounters with us will be the highlight of their day.
Value – We will add value to every situation and relationship.
Ownership – We are accountable to God and to each other for our responses. We will not make excuses.
Alignment – We will constantly evaluate and realign our actions and responses in light of our vision.
Transparency – We will be open to scrutiny, feedback, and dialogue. We will neither hide the truth nor hide behind it.
Assistance – We don’t do ministry for people or churches. We assist their ministry.