Tag: community

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The Most Important Five Percent

By Maddy Svoboda

The Work That Has No End

Postured Well

There is a saying from the Babylonian Talmud (everyone’s go to source for Instagrammable inspiration) that I have found helpful. In the Avot D’Rabbi Natan, you will find the words ‘do not fear the work that has no end’. It is a call to embrace the continuous and liminal nature of endless tasks in the same direction. 

Our theme as Tasmanian Baptists this year has been ‘Intergenerational’. Our hope and desire is to see all generations come together in vibrant faith and mutual discipleship (learning and sharing), worship and mission. Just in case you were wondering, this would fall smack bang into the category of ‘work that has no end’. 

At the beginning of this year, my wife Immi and I welcomed our fourth child and third son, Benjamin, into the world. It has been a whirlwind of elation, emotions and exhaustion, but as we were welcoming Benji into our family, there were articles coming out saying that our global community was welcoming a new generation: generation Beta.

Who knows what is going to come to fruition with this generation; they are coming into the world at the height of AI’s powers and into a chaotic maelstrom of cultural, economic and political forces but it hit home to me how much this work of being intergenerational has no end. 

It will require the best from us as we yield to Jesus so that when my newborn son turns 18 in 2043 (writing that sentence was not a fun one to write), we are postured well to equip him to abundant life and faith in Jesus. So how do we posture ourselves in that way? I shared some of my thoughts with the Baptist pastors at our muster in June, however, I feel that it is not just helpful for pastors and church leaders, but wisdom for us all wherever we are at on the journey of life.  

The Most Important Five Percent

The first thing is to discern, prioritise and invest in our most important five percent. In his book ‘Leading on Empty’, Wayne Cordiero has a theory that 95 percent of your life can either be done by someone else or you can train someone to do. There is only five percent of what you do that only you can do. No one can be trained and you wouldn’t want them to be; No one else is responsible for my intimacy with God. Nor can anyone can be a husband to Immi or a father to my kids. No one else can cultivate my friendships and family relationships, physical fitness, mental health or invest into the God given calling that is mine. 

I have heard the analogy that all the responsibilities you carry are juggling balls. Some balls are rubber; you drop them and they can bounce; they can survive. There are others that are crystal. You drop them, it will do damage. They will break. Drop them enough and they will be irreparable. These ones are the most important five percent. 

In a world that is increasingly turbulent and where people of all generations are wrestling with questions of identity, purpose, meaning, belonging and where is the good life found, if we have done the work of investing in our five percent, we can walk alongside people through those complex times and share out of the richness of a life well lived alongside Jesus.  

So, do you know what your most important five percent? What does good stewardship in those areas look like?

Maddy Svoboda

Rev. Maddy Svoboda is the pastor at Summerhill Baptist, and represents the Greater Launceston churches on the Tasmanian Baptists Mission Leadership Team.

The Work That Has No End

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Authentic Community, Deep Transformation

By Jenna Blackwell 

Authentic Community, Deep Transformation

Growing up in Community

I grew up in a church community that actually felt like a community – the young people weren’t just doted on, we were given a voice. Older people weren’t just wise, they spoke into the lives of younger ones with gentle intrigue, loving compassion, and wise discernment.  

Families didn’t just exist, they shared life together. Not always, not perfectly, but we were often welcomed into the homes of others. 

Earlier this year Stephen Baxter, Mission Director for TasBaptists suggested the following:
“Picture walking into a church where the energy is electric, where grandparents and teenagers serve side-by-side, where children’s laughter mingles with ancient hymns, and where every person knows they are part of something bigger than themselves.”1  

It wasn’t hard for me to picture, because that was my experience growing up. 

This experience lives fondly in my memory as being quite idyllic. And to a large degree, it was. The young people spent all Sunday together, by choice. But the truth is there is also deep pain… There were moments of abuses of power that led to a church split and significant emotional pain. Being a small town, we also experienced young people leaving for university, jobs and other commitments (and we sent them with love). 

Not for the Faint-Hearted

I would love to tell you that community is always idyllic. But the fact is, change happens, and people are imperfect. To live together well, we must learn to face the brokenness in ourselves and others with compassionate attention, respectful confession, and grace-filled forgiveness.  

This is not for the faint hearted. But the good news is this: such authentic community is what young people are craving, and the words, works and ways of Jesus are the best way to do this well. What an immense opportunity we have– to share Jesus as our hope for being truly seen, known and loved in the midst of this lonely and isolated society.  

However, we cannot truly learn to be in community with one another well until we do the deep work of acknowledging the self-protective mechanisms that have helped us cope with our wounds thus far. It is good that these exist. They have helped keep us safe thus far.

But they are not always helpful to take with us into the rest of life. Until we do this deep work, our self-protective mechanisms will raise their heads in ugly ways that jeopardise community relations and the transforming work of God.2

Transformed by Love

True freedom in Christ comes in allowing God to meet us in the depths of our wounds and bring glorious transformation through them. Often, God does not remove the wounds, but healing is found as we are liberated from the bondage of said wounds. For this to be so, we need to experience the transforming love of God in the very depths of our being. 

Research suggests that young people are looking for hope, open to spiritual conversations, and seek out belonging before believing. We have opportunities to be communities of hope, centred on the words, works and ways of Jesus. 

So, what’s your role in this? How is God inviting you to participate? Is there a younger person you could come alongside with gentle intrigue, loving compassion, and wise discernment? Or an older person you could ask to walk alongside you? Is there an area of your being that you need to invite God to meet you in, and experience deeper healing? 

Those who have experienced authentic community tend to know the deep transformation that is experienced, the beauty and richness of such relationships, and yet also the risks. The question is, does our hope in the ways, works and words of Jesus outweigh our fears?

I hope your answer is yes, and I hope you take a courageous next step – inviting God deeper into your wounds and reaching out for community. 

  1. See Future Church – Tasmanian Baptists by Stephen Baxter ↩︎
  2.  If you want to look more into this, here are two book suggestions:
    ‘Try Softer: A Fresh Approach to Move Us Out of Anxiety, Stress, and Survival Mode and Into a Life of Connection and Joy’, by Ruth Haley Barton | Koorong
    ‘Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry’, by Aundi Kolber | Koorong      ↩︎
Jenna Blackwell

Jenna Blackwell works part-time for Tasmanian Baptists and is responsible for Leadership Development and pastors part-time at City Baptist Church Launceston, as their formation pastor. She is also a Christian Coach, with a particular interest in spiritual and personal formation.

Authentic Community, Deep Transformation

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