In thinking about my
Mavs and their impending offseason planning, I've been thinking a lot about one's "prime". The Mavs are in trouble because their best player only has a couple of "prime" years left, and the rest of the team is made up of role players or guys who are past their prime. In athletics, a person's best performances often come in their mid to late twenties and occasionally into their early thirties. This age bracket allows for an athlete's skills to mature and then acknowledges a physical decline that happens as a their reflexes and recovery time slows. There is a real balance to be found between physical ability (which peaks in mid to late twenties) and maturing skills (which can increase well into one's fifties. Prime is the optimum balance where physical ability hasn't dropped off too much and skills have greatly improved. For the Mavs to be competitive, it's is vital that they have 2-3 players who are in their prime, while filling in the rest of the roster with some mature veterans and some younger players with decent potential.
This sports-prime has contributed to my picture of my own prime; and I'm afraid in an era where young sports celebrities are so visible on so many platforms, my generation of leaders may have a miscued idea of what our non-athletic prime may be.
I turned 30 a couple of months ago, and suddenly had a keen sense of my ministry mortality. Entering my 12th year of ministry, I have consciously been honing my leadership skills throughout this time. I have done the equivalent of ministry cross-training in an effort to be ready to lead in my prime, from what I think is my sweet-spot, and have always been under the impression that now is my time. Yet, as I take a realistic view in the mirror, I realize (more now than ever) how young I am in ministry. Though I have spent the past 12 years growing my ministry competencies (which with humility and intentionality, should continue to grow for decades to come), I haven't put as much effort into my character development. And unlike sports, my character-ability is of greater importance to being in my prime than my physical-ability. I must confess, the man in the mirror is young. He has a lot of character development ahead of him before he enters his prime. I'm not there yet.
It might seem that it would be depressing to realize this now, but it's actually quite liberating. My personal ambition and zealousness is taking a backseat to God's work in me. Rick Warren recently tweeted, "I want to change my circumstances. God wants to change me." This quote is floating in my conscience daily, as I pursue ministry goals. I have some great experiences to draw on now as I continue to grow and mature, and I will seek to be faithful to what God has put in front of me. As for my prime, I'm not in it; it's ahead, and if I can seek Godly character as strongly as I've sought ministry competency, I may end up being useful to God at some point in the future. That's exciting!
