New Orleans and Team Planning

Today was somewhat of a disappointing day. Although for several weeks our mission trip to New Orleans looked like it was in jeopardy today it became official. I spoke with the staff of mission lab and told them we would not be coming this summer. Darryl Lindsay, the director of Mission Lab was of course disappointed that we would not be coming. He remembers us from when were there in 2000. We were actually the first group ever to do a mission project through Mission Lab New Orleans. I'm also disappointed for the four students and four adults who did plan on going. They set that time aside as a week to give themselves to the people of New Orleans. But that is not my biggest disappointment. I guess my biggest disappointment is for the kids in New Orleans. I'm sure it's too late in the game for the mission lab staff to send another group our week. They'll have other groups working in St. Bernard during other weeks...but the week we were supposed to be there will just be a big whole. What happened? What went wrong?

That's where a little confession is in order. Over the past year I have slipped into a planning vacuum. I have said for years and continue to believe that planning is best done in teams. Great planning happens with the input of many people is involved. I have also ignored wise voices that have said, there is just too much going on this summer. So if I had planned with a team and listened to the wise voices that surround me than I would have realized along time ago this trip was not going to happen. It's hard to quit. Even on deadline day when the final number was eight I e-mailed Shandra and told her we'd 'make it happen'. But I quickly realized, we're not in the business of 'making things happen'. We're in the business of following Christ as He 'makes things happen'.

So there are a number of factors as to why we ultimately had to cancel the mission trip to New Orleans. Yes, people are busy and involved in a lot of different types of ministries this summer. Yes, people are laying off this year because New York was so expensive last year and yes we have a demographically young youth ministry that may not be quite ready for a mission trip the scope of which Mission Lab New Orleans would require. But none of those things should have taken us by surprise and none of them would have - had we planned with a team.
tags: New Orleans Leadership planning