Welcome to the Moving Stupids

By Peggy Haymes, Pinnacle Associate

Recently I was in a meeting with a couple of colleagues who are in the process of moving. I shared with them the best description I’ve ever heard of the process:

The moving stupids.

I cannot recall where I first encountered this term but it’s stayed with me. The moving stupids reflect the disorientation that comes with a move.

We don’t know where that place is….

The place where we leave our keys.

The place where we drop our mail.

The place where we store our coffee mugs.

Depending on how much of a move we make, we may not know the best way to work. We may have to stop and think about our route (or rely on GPS) to get to the grocery store and the gym. We have to do a lot of stopping and thinking. There’s not much just getting in the car and going.

After my conversation with my colleagues, I reflected on moving stupids. In some ways it reflects where we are in the church are right now. Perhaps we feel like we haven’t moved, but the culture has certainly moved around us.

Suddenly we don’t know where that place is…

We’ve moved from the place where Sunday morning was reserved for church and being a part of a church was expected in our culture. Where do we find our new place?

We’ve moved from a place where we could roll out whatever the hottest new ministry was and find it instantly embraced. Where do we find the new shape of our calling?

The treatment for the moving stupids is time and intentionality. Time, because writing new code for our brain takes time. Intentionality, because the best answers don’t always come at once. That first place you decided to leave your car keys may not turn out to be the best.

Moving can be an anxious time, and it’s tempting to do something/anything right away to calm that anxiety. As a church, as we stand on unfamiliar ground it can be tempting to rush to The Next Big Thing that Jim’s second cousin once removed’s church did with rousing success.

Intentionality is harder, but in the end it’s really the only path.

Being intentional calls us to look at our church, our culture, and our community with fresh eyes. Being intentional calls us to listen to the whispers of the Spirit and to pay attention to its nudges.

Being intentional means striking out, like Abram and Sara, to a land we do not yet know but confident that the God whom we serve travels with us and directs our paths.