Think Again!

Chapter 16: Maximizing God’s ROI: Cultivate Your Imagination • 145

forever. So they are afraid to hear the truth: they cannot hold on to their share of the pie forever. Preservation is a fading empire that cannot handle the truth about its slow demise. So people will attempt to drag you down, discourage you, or get you to stop cultivating your imagination. Every imaginative- Nehemiah has his preservationist-Sanballat, someone who does nothing but distract you from your vision (Neh. 4.1-9). They will tell you how raggedy your stuff is; how unprofessional, unsophisticated, or backward. They do so not to provide innovative ideas, but to preserve their share of the pie. Over the years, several experts from the academic world have told us that The Urban Ministry Institute’s sixteen-module Capstone Curriculum is sub-standard. They have said that they could make it better by adding their own curriculum to what we have already produced. We call this the “seventeenth module syndrome.” Those who represent this syndrome pay no attention to the fact that Capstone has effectively trained thousands more leaders than they themselves have trained. So we choose to ignore the critics who hold to preservation, and partner with those who demonstrate imagination. Imagination Attracts Dependence When you cultivate imagination, watch out for unhealthy dependence. Because you are an imaginative, fruitful person, others will ask you to carry their load. They will ask you to do things they should do for themselves. Genuine empowerment will not come through pity. You must believe in people enough to let them struggle. You can help, but you can’t resolve everything for everyone. Many ministries and individuals ask us to make exceptions to our protocols because of their “unique situation.” We politely refuse because when we do work for people who can do it