I wrote these in Malaysia and never had a chance to post them – but hear me out, this is some of the stuff I found to be KEY to thriving on the race:
1. When they say drop your expectations, that means have no expectations.
except that you'll consistently have your expectations exceeded or not met, revealing that you still had expectations, revealing parts of your heart that you haven't yet surrendered to the Lord…you can expect that.
2. Don’t ask for details.
Your team leader is going to tell you what he or she knows when he or she knows it, your squad leaders are going to tell them in the same fashion.
If you still don’t know what your ministry is next month and you leave in 4 days, it’s likely your TL doesn’t know either – and he or she is probably more uneasy about that then you are. Don’t add to the pressure of their responsibility to get you there with your stuff on time, just go with the flow.
Adapt.
Your plans will change probably several times within a single hour. Go with it, don’t let it offend you, don’t pretend you have the right to know exactly how you’re getting where (because you do NOT have that right, I don't care that you're an "adult" or whatever else you're using as your reasoning for being entitled) – your leadership has 40-60 people to transport, let them do it and enjoy the freedom you have to camp out on the floor with your iPod and people-watch or indulge in great conversation with your squadmates – if you’re not being told something, it’s for a reason. Trust that. Trust them. Trust God. Relax.
3. Don’t give up on team time, and don’t grumble about it.
My first team spent (on accident) about 6 hours a day together our first month, by ourselves in one room. 2-3 hours a night would be feedback (which absolutely transformed me on my first team) and 2-3 hours in the morning we’d spend in prayer and worship asking the Lord to give us His eyes for the day and a fresh encounter with His Spirit.
Photo by Bri Danese
That much time together may be excessive, but that team was a solid family – and none of us were that much alike – we just learned to love each other, we learned to disagree, we learned to forgive, we learned to be honest, we learned to take off our masks and get authentic with one another. Spend time with your team – having a TEAM around you is the only constant thing you will have this year, and it is key to your race to have that team – it wont happen if you’re not pouring into it, though.
4. Get Naked.
Hear me: get vulnerable, take off the mask you wear when you say you're "fine," and invite your team into the real stuff on your heart and in your mind – and do so with the WHOLE team, don't have secrets, don't create a safe-zone with 2 of your teammates and leave the other 4 on the outside. We had a policy on my first team that if you talk to one person on the team about something, it's safe to assume the other 4 people on the team know about it, too. it kept us from creating division of any kind by preventing alliances within the team and kept us all on the same level with one another – it created the sweetest depth of unity and bred family and the Lord blessed it in huge ways. I was also on teams that didn't have that kind of open-door policy, and there was a lot of division within a single team because we weren't open with each other. it wasn't good, don't do it that way, just come to your team – tell them you're terrified, if you are – and share your heart and struggles and fears and victories with them – ALL of them.
5. ALSO, prioritize your alone time with God.
if you haven't had sweet, intimate time with God, it is likely that you're feeling the repercussions – take a day off of ministry and sit with Him, it IS that important to your emotional, spiritual, and physical wellbeing. Have quiet times regularly, dive into the Word, sit and soak and rest with Him – you HAVE to. that's not a suggestion, you need it.
6. Pray over new places as soon as you get there.
Photo by Christy Zbylut
Don’t nap and unpack and get settled, drop your stuff and pray over the room/house/apartment/whatever. You are bringing an extremely offensive presence into a very dark world – you’re bringing light. If you think you aren’t going to meet opposition both in the physical and spiritual realms, think again. You have the upper-hand, though. The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. Pray for covering and protection, sing praises to the Lord, fill the place with the love inside of each of you by unifying yourselves and declaring victory every place you go – you’ll be amazed at the atmosphere it creates to do this when you move to a new place.
7. Make a habit of praying with and praying for your team every single day.
Sometimes you will disagree on things, make sure you’re asking for the Lord’s eyes for each other. It is impossible to not be on someone’s side when you’re praying for them consistently. You may still disagree, but love will overpower that.
8. Get over yourself.
If someone is annoying the crap out of you, but what he or she is doing doesn’t directly oppose or dishonor the Lord…get over it. I fidget, some of my teammates squeal in horribly obnoxious voices, some of my teammates are super loud in the morning, some of my teammates wrestle on the floor above my bed at 12:30am.
I could let those little things build up until I’m offended by everything my teammates do. In fact, I have, it sucks, don’t do what I did – realize that being annoyed that your teammate(s) constantly talking with her mouth full is your problem and pray about it, even if it seems silly, but don’t take it out on him or her. They’re not doing anything to you, if you’re honest with yourself.
Don’t sweat the small stuff, stand together in the big stuff, and don’t stop fighting for team time.
A few more little things:
9. for the sake of community, give up your right to be "right."
If it's not of eternal significance, lose the argument for the sake of loving the person in front of you.
9b. Give up your right to be comfortable, trade it for clarifying confrontational things – if you're offended by someone, tell them without accusing them and give them an opportunity to clarify. VERY rarely on the WR will someone around you offend you intentionally, but satan will try to make you feel offended all the time. it's not real.
10. Do NOT walk away from a fight – giving up on unity in your team and on your squad is walking away from a fight, don't do it. fight for your family.
give up your right to be right, and believe your race family when they tell you what they meant.
