Being Effective = What?

Being effective and productive is something I’ve always taken great pride in. I work hard, I’m efficient, and I get the job done in a timely manner.  Upon arriving to Rome however, the efficiency I felt I possessed in the States ceased to exist.  I was suddenly thrown into a culture that didn’t value the same type of productivity that I valued.  Not only was I thrown into one culture that I didn’t understand, I was actually thrown into multiple cultures that I didn’t understand. At Rome Baptist Church there are about 40 different countries represented on any particular Sunday and each with their own idea of efficiency and effectiveness.  And to top it all off the country that I just started living in took the whole month off for vacation closing shops and restaurants that would normally be opened and causing public transportation to run on odd schedules or not at all.

So what does efficiency and productivity look like across different cultures? Even in different parts of the States, people have different definitions about what is or isn’t efficient. How is there possibly a universal definition of efficiency and effectiveness that spans across all cultures? At first I was baffled by this thought and realized I could work as hard as I possibly could to understand and relate to each culture individually and still not understand what people meant or what they expected from me.  How in the world am I suppose to be able to make an impact here at this church with only one year to learn all of these different cultures?

The other day, I started reading 2 Peter and as ironic as it sounds, this is what is says starting at verse three:

 2 Peter 1:3-9 says: “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted us to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

For this reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”

“For if  these qualities are yours and increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” A universal, cross-cultural definition. My pride wanted to tell me that I’m so good at accomplishing tasks and getting the job done.  But here in Rome, I’m not, because my focus has been in the wrong place.  I’m slowly and sometimes painfully, changing my definition of effectiveness and efficiency.  Peter has reminded me that there are greater things to invest in other than a check list or certain accomplishments.  This definition of effectiveness covers every culture, background, and perspective.  If you claim Jesus as your Lord then there is no excuse for you to not adopt this definition as well. It is a daily prayer of mine not to become frustrated with the people I work with or the culture I live in, but it is worth the misunderstandings and miscommunications if the gospel is shared with those who haven’t heard it and current believers are pushed to a deeper relationship with God. Whatever your job, situation, or life circumstance right now, I would encourage you to remember the larger goal of our lives and be willing to change your definition of effectiveness and efficiency.