I recently joined a youth ministry co-hort through the Youth Cartel. One of my homework assignments is to take Seth Godin’s Freelancer course from Udemy.com. For this series of videos, he has these sort of “worksheets” to do. This is my attempt to do them and have some honest transparency about them. And to keep myself accountable. So, here goes no. 1.

What do you want to do? (Not your job, but your work now, tomorrow, and in the future?)*

*If you’re having trouble answering this, you’re going to have trouble moving up, because you’ve abdicated your dream to whomever walks in the door next.

I want to be a successful artist and pastor. I mean successful in terms of being satisfied with what I am able to do but always pushing for more. I want to be a change-agent in the church. I want to continue to build programming and be the kind of person that people come to for advice. I want to speak at conferences and churches and engage with people on ideas that I have. I want to  build my own schedule and experiment on new things, but I also want regular office hours so I am reachable. I want to travel and spend time with my wife. I want to have control over my work and be able to collaborate on a regular basis with my peers around me. I want to remind people that they and the church can be better than they are now. I want to empower young people to be better and know that not only are they loved by God but they have the ability to do whatever they want, they just have to find  the right people and the barriers in front of them and overcome them.

What do you want to change, and how do you want to change them?

I want to change the church and the hearts and minds of the people in the pews to know that they are capable of more. I want to change the idea that a church has to look like only one thing. I want to change the stereotype of what a pastor is. I want to change the hesitation that churches feel when making a public statement of faith into an empowering opportunity. I want to change them through relationships and experiences and the gospel.

How much risk (from 1 [a little] to 10 [bet everything]), how much are you willing to put at stake to make the change you seek?

I’m going with a realistic 8. I can’t put everything at stake on my own. This has to be done with my wife. She’s part of this equation.

How much work are you willing to do to get there? Be specific about the tradeoffs.

I’m willing to do a lot. I’m willing to work a part-time job so that I can start building up other things. I’m not willing to move somewhere my wife and I don’t feel safe or supported, but I am willing to move.

Does this product matter enough for the risk and the effort you’re putting into it?

Hands down, YES. The church in the world matters. The people matter. It matters so much.

Is it possible – has anyone with your resources ever pulled off anything like this?

Yes and no. It’s possible, but it will take more than just me to get there. It will take collaboration and energy to change the church, you just have to believe that even the smallest things can create change.

One down. Lots more to go. Stay tuned.