Comments on “Inactions Regrets: Go jump off the cliff “Part 1

I just read an article by Mark Batterson, entitled “Inactions Regrets: Go jump off the cliff”. The basic theme, idea or topic of the article is summed up in the second paragraph when he says

at the end of our lives, we’ll regret opportunities missed
a lot more than mistakes made.

Ditto, great quote, that was powerful, I always remember things when I think of them as quotes. He gets a little more scientific and says

That conviction is backed up by the research of two Cornell sociologists,
Tom Gilovich and Vicki Medvec. According to their study, time is
a key factor in what we regret. Over the short-term, we tend to regret
our actions. But over the long-haul, we tend to regret inactions.
Their study found that over the course of an average week, action regrets outnumber inaction regrets 53% to 47%. But when people look at their lives as a whole,
inaction regrets outnumber action regrets 84% to 16%.

In theological terms, action regrets are sins of commission.
And they certainly cause a twinge of guilt. But it is the inaction regrets
or sins of omission that haunt us the rest of our lives.
We are left to wonder: what if?

This is the part where I get little itch on the skin.

One of our core values at National Community Church is
everything is an experiment. And that experimental approach to ministry
gives us the freedom to fail. We’re not afraid of making mistakes.
In fact, we’re afraid of not making mistakes because that

means we aren’t taking enough risks.

Every sermon series is a teaching experiment. Every outreach is an
evangelism experiment. Every small group is a discipleship experiment.

Even our vision of meeting in movie theaters at metro stops throughout the
metro DC area is an experiment in doing church in the middle of the marketplace.

Why does he use the word experiment? I know he trying to say, you should go out and do it, but yet at the same time it could give someone he sense of doing something whether God is in it or not. So that if it succeeds, then probably God was in it, but if it doesn’t, well…you can always try again. After all, better try and fail rather than not try at all. And oh, I forgot to say this…..that again depends on what success means. You know, these days success is based on a lot of externalities. As long as God said you do it, Just Do It (thanks to Nike).

I just don’t want to get to the end of my life and my ministry and wonder: What if?
I’d rather have some action regrets from falling flat on my face than
leave a trail of inaction regrets in my wake.

It’s a great article, will hopefully comment on the rest of it in the next few days.