Catalyst Track: English Lessons // Day One

This track comes from English Lessons: The Crooked Path of Growing Toward Faith, by Andrea Lucado.

 

Sometimes I think this world is a long and spread out Tower of Babel. You don’t have to move to England in order to feel like a foreigner. It might feel like no one speaks your language in your own home, school, or workplace.

 

The most familiar things in life can cause us to feel the loneliest at times. And loneliness is the absolute worst. But it can be effective at changing us for the better, forcing the layers off and allowing us to do brave things, appreciate relationships, and find friendships with people we didn’t think we could befriend.

 

Submitting to Babel allowed me to feel connected to those around me.

 

In this 3-day track, Andrea invites people into her personal journey of embarking into the unknown, and in doing so, discovering a great need for others in the process, a need for the Church.

 

As a leader, you probably often find yourself in unknown spaces. And that can be a lonely place sometimes. But does it always have to be? Can you find your needed strength and courage in others to do what you are called to do?

 

Are you ready to find out? 

---

DAY 1 – An Uncharted Journey

 

I like to think of the uncharted journey as a trail of stones. The stone you stand on right now, today, has a stone in front of it and behind. The stone in front is blurry and covered by thick brush. The stone behind is smooth and shiny, and the step to it is clear.

 

Over and over again as we grow, we have this choice to step onto the stone in front or step back onto the one behind. The way forward is into the unknown. The way back is home, where you came from. And the way back is an entirely feasible option. You can always, always go back. No one will stop you. It is not sinful. It is not wrong to go back.

 

Because you can, doesn’t mean you should. But so often we do. So often we take the road back, the road more traveled. I wonder if Robert Frost ever found himself not on a “diverging” road in the wood, but rather, on a straight road, where he looked forward and then back, wondering which direction to go.

 

We return to what is known for all the sensible reasons we tell ourselves when really we are only returning because we know what's there. And going someplace you know is so much more comfortable and sensible than going someplace you don't. And I'll say it again; it is not wrong to go back.

 

But let me ask you this, how much faith and trust is required of you when you go home versus when you step into something unknown? Whose knowledge and strength must you depend upon?

 

REFLECT:

 

Think of something unknown you feel compelled to step into – maybe a new role in your leadership, trying out a new idea, or even interacting with new people. How do you feel about stepping into this unknown?

 

1. I feel pretty confident & am doing it!
2. I am nervous but am slowly taking steps
3. I feel too unsure to begin
4. I hate the unknown – I try not to think about it