Bright Washout

Some friends asked me to be on a review panel this week.  They lead an institute for people who are preparing to be missionaries and leaving the country within 6 months.  One of their team building tasks was to design a project for an existing outreach ministry of the church that was hosting their training.

The team had limited knowledge of the community.  They had limited exposure and information of the ministry, and limited connections to the people leading the effort (my wife and her friend).  

The participants in the experience did some quick research online, made a few calls, and explored some possibilities. 

What resulted was an out of the box opportunity for a new project.  It provided opportunities for people serve others by giving, by doing, by interacting.  It provided opportunities for families, individuals, and small groups.  It provided opportunities for both long term and one shot volunteer experiences.  It still needs some work – but the presentation sparked a potentially great outreach for the church to meet needs in its community.

Sometimes our own perceived “brightness” or expertise in an area washes out the color and richness of new ideas.  We fail to engage someone from the outside for new colorful thoughts.  We quickly discount others who don’t know anything about what we are trying to do or don’t know anything about a product, service, or task.  And we end up doing something similar – the same way – with a strangely identical result.  Just like an overexposed photo we became too bright to see the richness of new colors.

Need an idea?  Be bold and ask someone from different area or expertise for their thoughts - or task an unrelated team for a solution.  You just might find inspiration when it all comes into view.