Why Not?

Jay Hostetler, November 2, 2015

I love the financial advisor commercial on TV where the kid continues to ask his dad “why not?” in relation to his dad’s working relationship with his broker. The “why not” question provokes feelings of something being incomplete, perhaps not thought through.

Management guru, Peter Drucker, talked about future leaders needing to ask more questions and not always having the easy answer. If you ever have a member of your organization ask “why not” it can be unbalancing. But the truth is that curiosity and questions can lead to great innovative practices!

Church routines are often practiced for decades without question. And some of these practices have created transformation, but it seems appropriate to ask questions to determine which practices are most effective. In order to reach more people, it is probable that new approaches should be attempted. How can questions be asked when we have laboriously built systems and programs on previously asked questions.

In fact, churches have been staffed in similar ways for decades. This practice alone could be a reason why change is so hard for the church. When facing better paradigms of building community and nurturing transformation, it seems that “why not?” questions could be helpful. Perhaps new or reinvented staff roles should be considered if you’re stuck. We love these conversations!

The church far and away has the most amazing opportunity to positively affect lives! Let’s courageously move into spaces where we ask a lot of questions to determine if our approach and staffing is on point.

Why not?