by Eddie Pipkin

I had a lot of work to do to clear overgrowth down by the lake.  There were months’ worth of vines, out-of-control ruellia simplex, and invasive wild taro.  And you can’t whack taro with a string trimmer, because it’s a juicy plant whose sap produces profound itching if it gets on your skin.  Clearing this vegetation must be done by hand.  Yet it would take days to remove the offending vegetation stem by stem, vine by vine with yard clippers.  No, the perfect tool for this task was hanging in its sheath of honor on my garage wall: The Machete!  There’s nothing quite like the perfect tool for the job.  In yard work and ministry, there’s satisfaction in utility and efficiency, applied with clarity of purpose and the confident enthusiasm of an idealized implement.

There’s something special about the long, tapered blade of a well-balanced machete for chopping some unruly overgrowth.

It’s a landscaping tool with an enduring history, a design refined over time, hardy and long lasting with a bare minimum of required maintenance.

You can spend a lot more on fancier yardscaping equipment, but you can’t replace the machete for doing what it does well with minimal expense and fuss.

This is often true for our favorite tools of ministry (and it gives us hope for the ministry tools we have not yet discovered).  One essential piece can be a game changer.  Sometimes this is a piece of gear or a piece of software, sometimes a different sort of technological tool or even a management tool or shift in philosophy, a newly essential habit or a revision of a critical process.  It can be different for different people, and it is dependent on context (what works in one place or in one cultural setting may be completely different than what works in another place or another cultural setting).  But the key here is that, using the machete as metaphor, it doesn’t have to be fancy or cutting edge to be highly effective.  It doesn’t have to be expensive.  It doesn’t have to be something elaborate or bespoke.  It just has to be the right ‘thing’ to meet the moment.

In terms of equipment, we have all had experiences of discovering something that fundamentally changed our work approach, be it our smartphone or a tablet, management software for planning or scheduling or budgeting, or an iconic youth ministry bus.  The right piece of equipment can dramatically free us from drudgery and make our day-to-day tasks more manageable.

Sometimes it’s a newly acquired or refurbished facility that unlocks the possibilities, a dedicated space to bring our dreams to life.  It can big or it can be small – the small things with the big impacts make for the best, most unexpected stories.  An Eagle Scout built us a firepit one spring out behind the church building, and it was remarkable how many ways we found to put that structure to use building community relationships.  A room dedicated to a specific group or purpose can energize such a gathering.

Smartphones and laptops have changed everyone’s work creativity and efficiency (although some of us are empowered by snazzy technology more than others – some of us are old school old souls).  The machete metaphor makes the point that gear doesn’t even have to be new off the shelf to have an impact – there’s really not much difference between a brand-new machete from the Home Depot and one you picked up for $3.00 at the yard sale down the street.  Your modestly game changing ministry addition can be something simple; it can be something that’s a hand-me-down: a well-placed bench; a donated refrigerator; a salvaged baby grand piano.  Don’t turn your nose up at something just because it’s not shiny and new or the latest edition.  I have a friend whose speaking and preaching was revolutionized by a well-placed gift of biblical commentaries.

[I’ve written before about the criteria to use when evaluating and selecting gear, and you can revisit those thoughts by clicking on this blog, called “Gear Me.”]

The machete metaphor doesn’t just work for physical things though.  It works equally as well for ideas!

Sometimes we can shift our organizational structure in seemingly simple ways that bring new energy and efficiencies to our ministry.

We can streamline overstuffed leadership structures.

We can simplify decision making timelines and processes.

Straightforward adjustments can have outsized impacts.

Similarly, we can restructure and repurpose meeting times and agendas.  If there’s one place where we can empower our teams and free time for them to do meaningful work, it’s taking a machete to our scheduled meetings and the processes that guide them.  There are plenty of resources out there about how to think about the time we spend in meetings together differently.  What are the aspects of these sessions that leave people feeling purposeful and having used their time accomplishing worthwhile tasks?  And what are the aspects that feel like time wasters?  One of those categories is primed for whacking!

I had a friend who recently was meditating upon the inability of team members to stay focused during planning meetings, and as we talked, he traced the issue back to their insistence on keeping their laptops and phones active as part of the meeting landscape.  The argument in favor of using these devices during the meeting was the efficiency of dealing with issues and communication in real time.  But the temptation to get distracted or get way too in the weeds in the details of an issue was overwhelming the benefits of this instantaneous high-tech connection.  Though he knew there would be push-back, he said, “Let’s try doing the planning meeting with phones and laptops off.”  (If people protest that they need to make notes, etc., you can do a version of this where everyone operates their devices in airplane mode, no Wi-Fi or cell connectivity.)  It was, of course, a painful adjustment initially.  But it paid dividends in the team dynamics in the planning session.  People were focused on what was happening in the room in a way they had not been before.

Sometimes the right, difference-making thing is a combination of idea and physical element.  We have seen churches suffering with a lack of direction in their hospitality offerings that have triggered a dramatic change by a adding physical hospitality station to their space.  This provides a headquarters, a clear go-to spot for the volunteers and for the visitors who are seeking to make a connection.  What was amorphous now has a clear framework.  Note that a physical element (for instance, a beautifully constructed hospitality station) does not guarantee an outcome.  It is a base of operations that is dependent upon motivated humans to bring it to life meaningfully.  If you pair the physical addition (the hospitality station) with a passionate hospitality head honcho, then amazing things happen as the two complement one another.

To loop back around to my own machete adventures down by the lake, on the day I had designated for invasive weed destruction, I also recruited a high school friend to help me out.  I said, “Here’s the deal.  I’m going to whack these vines and throw them up on the bank, and your job all day long is to bag them and haul them around to the front of the house.”  That teamwork plan was highly successful.  The two things paired together (the right tool and the right helper) made the difference.  And that’s a good ministry model.  Often to activate the right idea, the right piece of equipment, or the right managerial strategy shift, we need the perfect partner.  In such a scenario, major energy is released!

Ask the question, what is one simple thing we could change that might produce an outsized impact?  Then ask, who is the perfect person to implement this one simple thing?

What has worked for you as a machete-like element, object, or idea in the pursuit of your ministry?  What’s one idea or item that greatly impacted the way you get things done?  Something simple yet powerful that changed the way you do what you do?  Share your stories in the comments section below.