Some where in the human body is this switch that indicates if you aren’t pouring tons of resources in the form of buildings and money into something to reach a large number of people that you can’t have an impact that changes the world. I am not quite sure why that is. Ask any child and they will tell you the most valuable resource you can offer them is your time. It is the single most finite resource we encounter day in and day out. Everyone has exactly the same amount of it. So how effective you are at using it and who/what you are spending it on determines the returns you get.
So why on earth am spending time saying this? Because when I was a pastor (yeah hard to believe right), I was frustrated that nearly all the leadership in the church (multiple churches) were focused on trying to get the perfect building or doing the best programs. They felt doing these things would increase attendance. Then with increased attendance they would have a greater impact to save souls and change the world.
I see a lot of people in the local creative/technology community doing this as well. They are obsessed with more events(programs) and with building their tribe in the name of reaching more people. The problem is if you have an audience of 1000 you can have only minor impact by what you say and what you do, but when you have a authentic and transparent relationship with a small few you have the ability to significantly impact their view of the world. If you can light the fire and passion in just a handful of people and they in turn do the same in the future. The impact is far greater than if you address the masses.
Of course, nothing is ever easy. It doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be events or central organizations that reach larger numbers of people. Doing so does have value and is important. I’m just reminding myself that even if you can only touch the course of a single person’s life you have made a significant dent in altering the world. Remember it’s about people and how you interact with them. Nothing feels better than having someone tell you when that the time you invested in them made a difference. Are you making a difference in someone elses life today?
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Props for looking at things with some perspective.
To me, the view you espouse here runs somewhat counter to the earlier post(s?) about growing/expanding reach into more of the “creative class”. I honestly view that effort as somewhat pointless, for the same reasons you’ve identified here: Rather than focusing on “growing the reach” and “including more people” I think it’d be more valuable to focus on just doing really awesome stuff, and the “reach” will take care of itself as a result.
Did you curse as much back when you were a pastor?
I think it helps if there’s something in it for the person who helps others besides a good feeling, gratitude, and social capital. How about solving a problem?
People (including myself) complain about people doing a certain thing not being in their area. I’m going to ask them (including myself) two questions:
1) If they moved to a place that had people who were doing X, would these people hang out with them?
Maybe they’re not really as interested in X as they claim to be, or they’re using not having people who are also interested in X around as an excuse. I am guilty of this.
2) Are they really trying to get people interested in doing X?
Of course they might not have time, and if so, I understand. But perhaps if they looked for people who are interested in something different, but related (e. g. JRuby for Ruby), offering one-on-one or small-group help might help get people interested in X.
I think that it’s important that we realize the size of the creative class because it means when united we have a voice to make a real impact. Here I am saying that trying to address the largest audience all at once, isn’t the greatest way to make change, but rather impacting people in a way that encourages them to impact people. No I did not swear much or at all when I was representing various churches.
Aside from the touching, your endeavors and example have helped create the projects I work on today in Central Phoenix. My sincere hope is to facilitate people producing work that they can be proud of and educating others to do the same.
The word ‘community’ is thrown around a lot with the connotation that connectedness is the goal. Knowing who your peers and compatriots are is only the first step. Finding the ways that you can work together and make differences in your lives is the next one.
The non-poetic way to say it is that I hope we can come together to teach a few; to teach a hundred; to teach thousands; that we are responsible for the world we live in and the others who inhabit it.
I think it comes down to your beliefs. You have to be doing something in which you truly believe. Your passion for the work to be done will translate and spread as a result.
We should focus on doing things right and communicating the importance of why we do what we do. In this way, we offer opportunities for others to understand where we’re coming from and maybe light the fire for them to help us. To have growth and numbers as the main concern is counter productive. We have to be the changes we want to see in our communities.