Renaissance People…Tapping Our Potential

I am tired of saying, “I wish I could ______.”

Or, “I wish I had _______.”

Or even, “If only I would _______.”

Training for Ironman has taught me one thing; we have way more potential than we know!

For much of our lives, we have heard adages such as, “You are powerful beyond measure,” or “You have such great potential,” etc. Yet, I believe we rarely see people living into the words of encouragement.

Well not anymore. At least not for me.

I am a pastor, and I often tell my wife, students, friends, anyone who will listen really, that for me to be a great pastor I need to be a renaissance person. By that, I mean, a person who knows a great deal about subjects beyond their field of expertise. Likewise, this is a person who can do multiple things exceptionally well.

I am not called to exclusively pastor sports fans, movie buffs, or scientists. I think a pastor is called to care for and lead all people within their parish. And today our churches and the contexts in which they situate themselves are becoming more and more diverse.

So it’s time anyone hoping to build relationships beyond their sphere of influence brings more to her repertoire than the targeted information she inundated herself with while in the academy.

It’s time we begin being exceptional, not average!

It’s time we branch out, explore the world of knowledge now accessible to us by way of the technology at our fingertips. I’m ready to learn about culture, art, sports, food, science, theology, music, literature, woodworking, surfing, investment banking, issues about diversity and equality, history, furniture, photography, and on and on.

God has given us such a rich world. Limiting what we can know and do is like ordering chicken fingers and french fries at every meal. Sure, it is safe, it will fill us up, and we will like it.

But there is so much more to try!

How will we know whether we like escargot if we never try it?