Recently I watched a video clip of leadership expert and author, Jim Collins giving advice to young leaders and one of the things he said stuck out to me for many reasons: “What is your questions-to-statements ratio and can you double it?” And to that question, I ask another question: Are you a curious person or a complacent person? There really aren’t other options. We’re all somewhere on this sliding scale between curiosity and complacency.
Christians should be the most curious people the world has ever known. The God who created all things, rules all things, and sustains all things indwells us. We are a people who don’t grow stagnate. There is no room in our being for complacency because God is working on us, in us, and through us. It’s against our very nature to be complacent. And we should be most thankful for it.
Are You a Curious Person or a Complacent Person?
The Path of Discovery
Questions are the individual steps in the path of discovery. If we want to learn, we must ask questions. If we want to grow, we must ask questions.
Questions lead us to books, podcasts, articles, and, best of all, relationships.
Solutions to problems come from a string of curious questions.
Want to make a difference? Start with asking questions.
[shareable]Solutions to problems come from a string of curious questions. [/shareable]
Culture Making
Andy Crouch coined the term culture maker in his book, Culture Making.
Think about this:
What was missing, I’ve come to believe, were the two postures that are most characteristically biblical — the two postures that have been least explored by Christians in the last century. They are found at the very beginning of the human story, according to Genesis: like our first parents, we are to be creators and cultivators. Or to put it more poetically, we are artists and gardeners. … after the contemplation, the artist and the gardener both adopt a posture of purposeful work. They bring their creativity and effort to their calling. … They are acting in the image of One who spoke a world into being and stooped down to form creatures from the dust. They are creaturely creators, tending and shaping the world that original Creator made. – Andy Crouch
Creativity and cultivation begin with curiosity. If we can ask the right questions, we can create the right solutions – the ones that take into account the fact that products are limited and our needs are deeper than what we see on the surface. If we can ask the right questions, we’ll cultivate the right conversations.
Asking questions and pursuing their answers allow us to begin making a difference.
If we want to make a difference, but refuse to ask questions, the solutions we create to address the world’s problems will be incomplete and ineffective.
Complacent people think they have all the answers.
Curious people know they have the next question.
The people who will shape the future are the ones who ask the best questions.[shareable]Complacent people think they have all the answers. Curious people know they have the next question.[/shareable]
For Leaders
Questions give ownership.
Questions allow others to put their hat in the ring.
Curiosity is contagious and it shapes the culture of a group.
Leaders are leaders because they are the most curious and ask the most questions.
Ultimately…
Curiosity in the life of Christ followers will lead to 4 great places:
- God’s word – what does God say?
- Community – what do others say?
- Prayer – God, will you lead us?
- Action – gradatim ferociter
[shareable]Christians should be the most curious people the world has ever known.[/shareable]
Engage Culture With the Gospel
I’d love to go on this journey of following Jesus with you and help you engage culture with the gospel. So let’s be email friends. I’d love to send you a copy of my two free eBooks: Bible Hacks: Understanding the New Testament and Do Something: Cultural Crises and the Gospel. And I’d love to give you my free daily devotional: Journey to Knowing God. You’ll get all this (and updates with new content) when you subscribe to the blog.
