Punctuation and Coldplay: two subjects that I highly enjoy while others groan. Leadership: one subject that others highly enjoy while I groan. This blog: three subjects divinely merged to push me further into this year of growth accompanied by both enjoyment and groans.
I have denied all but two leadership opportunities in my life, both of which were short-term. For a few months, I led worship at a small church. Years later, I led a weekly bible study. That sums up my oh-so-impressive leadership resume.
I prefer to be led, rather than to lead, because I can shift blame and responsibility. I can point to the problem, the source of the decision, and claim that I simply followed directions as told. I have less influence and, therefore, I experience less pressure and judgment.
However, during Month Four Debrief, I was asked to be a team leader for a group of five other girls. Gulp. The question I had been dreading the most.
The squad leaders gave me time to think and pray about the decision. I went to a coffee shop (how typical) and sat down with filled lungs emptying to a sigh and slumping shoulders.
I started to open my Bible, seeking spiritual words of wisdom, but I was interrupted by Coldplay’s song “Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall” on the speakers overhead. My eyes watered involuntarily because their music has that ridiculous effect on me. And then a lyric stuck out to me.
I’d rather be a comma than a full stop.
As strange as it sounds, that line was the only confirmation I needed to confidently choose to be a team leader.
Commas and full stops, or periods as they are called in the United States, have very different functions. Commas (,) indicate a pause, interval, division, or separation. Full stops (.) indicate completion, declaration, factual information, or a definitive ending.
In that moment, I chose to be a comma instead of a full stop. Instead of slamming my full stop fist on God’s offer to lead, I chose to continue to run toward His plans, even if I found them terrifying and intimidating.
As Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin said about releasing new records, “You get nervous when you go somewhere different. It’s like fear tangled up with excitement.”
My previous leadership experiences have been difficult, but they should not base all my future decisions. Chris Martin continues in the interview, “The central theme of the record is trying to turn bad things into good things somehow. And a lot of the record is fueled by a kind of fire which comes from turning that negativity into positivity.”
The Adventures in Missions’ jargon for this comma concept is “having a ‘Yes’ in your Spirit”. Just because I said the big Yes to going on The World Race doesn’t mean I could say No going forward. I had to say Yes to fundraising. I had to say Yes in faith when people did not agree with my decision. I had to say Yes to selling my possessions. I had to say Yes to quitting my job.
On the Race, the Yeses have continued. I had to say Yes to accepting feedback. I had to say Yes to sharing my things. I had to say Yes to opening up to my teammates. I had to say Yes to approaching bad smells. I had to say Yes to asking for and accepting forgiveness. And now I choose to say Yes to being in a position of leadership.
Thankfully, the girls I get to lead are amazing, strong, independent, and faith-filled. Before you roll your eyes, hang on for one more Coldplay quote: “The whole idea of this album has been to forget about any of those negative, outside forces. And that’s why a lot of the lyrics are about sticking together as a gang and sticking together with the people you love, in a dangerous and scary world.”
In Philippians 1:6 Paul says, “I am certain that God, who began a good work in you, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Someday, I will reach my full stop completion, but until then, I will continue in the comma of the good work God has begun in me.
Update: Our team is partnering with a church in Vidin, Bulgaria for the month of June! We will be working with the gypsy community, playing volleyball with locals, visiting kids at an orphanage, and hanging out with Ivon, a man with muscular dystrophy. We are so blessed by living in an apartment with quick Wi-Fi, a washing machine, and hot showers!
