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Don’t “take the wimpy way out.”

When I was little I had an ingrown toenail.  My dad took me to a doctor who offered two options — 1. Remove a portion of my toenail, or 2. “Take the wimpy way out,” (his exact words) and basically just try to medicate it with hopes of healing.

The pressure was on, so I chose option one.  I didn’t want to be a wimp.

Too many churches and ministries “take the wimpy way out” when they over-think new ideas, choose the safer (lamer) option, or shoot ideas down before they have a chance to impact their communities.

Eric and I presented an idea to client a couple of years ago.  It basically had no costs associated with it, but had the potential to catch on like a wildfire while meeting a huge need.  However, the idea was shot down because the client feared they “didn’t have the infrastructure to support the initiative if it took off.”

Seriously?  Isn’t that a good problem to have?

Why Wait?

When God tells you to do something, do something.

I knew the right thing to do with my ingrown toenail, but I actually thought hard about option two.  It’s easy to procrastinate.

In a fast world, with fast technology, and “breaking news as it happens,” churches can’t afford to wait.  By the time you stew on an idea, worry about what other churches will think, or wait on a committee to approve the idea, it will probably be obsolete.

Remember two things:

1. Don’t be afraid to fail. You’re not going to have a winner every time.  Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times, but hit 714 home runs.
2. It’s OK for your ideas to evolve with iterations. You’ll get feedback as folks start interacting as well as little things you’ll see for areas of improvement.

YuleLog4aCause.org Results

As a followup to a post from two weeks ago, the idea for YuleLog4aCause.org was developed a week before we were to launch the Christmas website for The Chapel.  There was the thought that “it would be a great idea for next year,” but we decided to go for it. Everything came together within that week including buy-in from senior leadership, the website, and yard signs printed by A.G.E. Graphics.  (I’m very fortunate to work with folks who support my “crazy” ideas.)

Immediately after launch we thought of all sorts of improvements for next year, but that is the nature of going for it.  Sometimes it takes jumping in to reveal the small details you hadn’t thought of previously.

Here are the final results (though not super astounding, lives have been impacted, and goals are being set for next year).

• Grand total of: $667.00 (.25 per absolute visitor click)
• $135.00 was donated through the online giving tool.
• 3,100 Total visitors from 47 states and 10 countries.
• 150 coats dropped off during Christmas Eve services.

What’s your approach?

By no means does this approach work in every situation, in your church or ministry — I would never suggest that.  However, I  really think this way of thinking does work in 90% of ideas that come to mind for web initiatives.

Please comment below.