Tools for Mishap

I got pulled over last night on the way home. I had a tail light out and the officer just gave me a warning…that was nice of him. So I picked up the light bulbs at the store, replaced them, but it wasn’t as simple as that. Getting to the old lights were a pain because I didn’t have the right tools. Not sure if the new ones work because when the sun is shining bright into your lights it’s hard to tell if they are in deed on. So I’ll have to wait until tonight. I don’t know why but sometimes the simplest of things (like changing a light bulb) can be more difficult that big projects. And I really think it comes down to whether or not we give ourselves the right amount of time to approach a project.
There have been so many times when the simple things have just blown up in my face. It’s because they can easily be taken for granted. That can happen on a weekend too. We’ll go into a weekend thinking it’s just your average student ministry weekend; therefore, everything should go according to plan and then chaos strikes. Batteries in your mic die, you mispronounce the easiest of names, a key piece of a game or activity was not purchased, the tech guy doesn’t show up…it can get overwhelming and it gets overwhelming because it was something simple that shouldn’t have happened.
What needs to be done is a checklist and an agenda. And that checklist and agenda has to be understood by the whole team, especially if the majority of your team is volunteers. A checklist reviews those things that should work and those things that are new. An agenda not only maps out the night but it holds everyone accountable to stick to a certain time frame. If you are constantly going over your allotted time it indicates that you are one not prepared or two that you haven’t thought out the segment. Agendas and checklist aren’t meant to be in stone but they are there to help you not overlook the simple things and find yourself frustrated because of some “Act of Satan”. I can’t guarantee weekend perfection but I know that when you walk into a situation (regular or not) with the right tools you can cut down on the mishaps or at least recover from them quickly.