It’s true. The Dixie Chicks make me cry.
At least the song, Cowboy Take Me Away does. This song is like a shared understanding between me and Jesus. When I heard it again recently (like after 10 years) I knew he had a message in it for me.
The lyrics have inspired me to embrace the restless side of myself, the creative, distracted, impulsive side that I often keep hidden. I mean, she is not exactly “leadership material.”
This song reminds me that leadership, and pioneering, and planting movements that transform lives and culture and the Church are very messy.
We can’t break new ground without getting our hands dirty.
We will sweat and smell and probably cuss a little.
The lyric that most resonates, as you probably guessed is this: “I wanna touch the earth; I wanna break it in my hands. I wanna grow something wild & unruly.”
“I wanna touch the earth; I wanna break it in my hands. I wanna grow something wild & unruly.”
the dixie chicks
Think about this. Doesn’t this sum up your own heart for ministry and transformation? How can we touch the earth if we are afraid of getting dirty? Answer: we can’t.
Breaking up the ground God us calling us to cultivate will challenge us. And it will change us!
It won’t be neat and tidy and follow a nice little formula.
It will be unexpected, like nothing we could have imagined. It will stretch us and grow us and yes, TRANSFORM US in the process.
This is the part that throws many people off. They want to show up as the expert, the one who has their sh$t together, the celebrity influencer. But that’s not what God is doing. He is looking for those willing to look foolish, ready to break tradition and the rules and every leadership model and definition you can think of.
After a sesson with my writing coach recently, I wrote this in my journal: “Aren’t you cute, believing you are the ONE person who will write a book–a transformational, paradigm-shifting, freedom-bringing book–without going through MASSIVE transformation in the process.”
Cute? Delusional might be a better word.
We are delusional to think we can just show up with our polished business model and three-step formula and start seeing lives changed. That we can stand at the front of the room sharing our vision when we’ve never stood knee-deep in the mud with the people we are called to help.
Pioneering is hard work. It’s lonely work. And it’s messy work.
But it’s also exciting and exhilarating and creative and FUN work.
At least is can be, if we are willing to dig in and make a mess of things, regardless of what others’ will think or what it will do to our reputation. It’s time to lead differently. We can touch the earth, we can break it in our hands, we can grow something wild & unruly.
Stop worrying about how you look, who likes what you say, who gets you, and start embracing the process. Get dirty. Have fun. Try new things. Go to new places with new people.
Only as we break up the old, dry crusty places will we make room for something new and powerful and raw and beautiful.
I believe in you!
Sue