Experience Matters

Last night, the UConn Huskies won their 4th National Title since 1999 making the most dominate men’s basketball program during that time with the most titles.  Who did they beat?  The Kentucky Wildcats.  What made Kentucky special is that they were the 1st team since the 1992 Michigan Wolverines (aka the Fab Five) to have a starting lineup of all Freshmen.  ALL FRESHMEN!  Great accomplishment for both teams!

So what’s the takeaway here?  And how does National titles apply to ministry, Tom?

The takeaway is experience matters.  All year long we kept on hearing how amazing this group of freshmen were for Kentucky and that they were all going to go pro after the season.  Don’t get me wrong, they were great and the talent level with them was huge.  But in the end, the experience of an older UConn team propelled them to the championship.

In the same way, experience in ministry matters.  How?

• More humble.  When ministers are younger, there is a good amount of arrogance involved.  We all believe we have the right and perfect way to do things and we tend to be overconfident in our own abilities.  I’ve seen it numerous times as I felt that exact same way.  But, as you get older, you realized (hopefully) that it’s not all about you. It is all about God and you are so dependent on Him and how He builds the church, not you.
• Avoid the the “rookie mistakes”.  As I just mentioned, when ministers are younger, they are more arrogant and self-reliant, thinking they can do everything.  In addition to the arrogance comes a lack of experiences that causes mistakes to be made.  When you have more experience and have been in the “trenches” for a while, you’ve learned your lessons and know how to deal with situations better.
• More Trust.  With experience and a reputation comes trust that you know what it takes to get the job done.  As freshmen in ministry, you are unproven.  You haven’t experienced much so your reputation with the people you are ministering to is not there.  Over time, and as you prove yourself, trust is established.

Three simple things that UConn’s victory (and march to the title) showed me last night.  What did it show you?

TAKE A MINUTE and share what you learned last night about the differences between youth and experience so we can all learn and benefit.