In the last few years I have been blessed to travel to new places, to see new people and cultures. One thing this has taught me is something that I hear my pastor and team say often: “There is always another level.” We say this after reading a book, seeing a movie about a company or even traveling to a country together and experiencing what is common in their culture but new to us. There is also another level in life and ministry.
This reminds me of the Scripture of the woman at the well. She meets Jesus in a place that she knew but he made it new and different for her. Jesus also explained new things to her in this place that opened her eyes more than they had ever been before. We know this because the woman left her water jar—the whole reason she came to well—and went to tell those she knew about a man who told her everything with the famous words “come and see.”
Why was this so important? what was she exposed to? I believe we all need to be exposed to new things often in order for us to grow and become better.
Exposure to new things gives you a couple benefits:
1. Exposure to new things allows you to learn different things. When you’re exposed to a new level it changes the way you think about what is possible to learn. Every time I am exposed to a new book or a new idea it then pushes me to look for more. I can no longer look for learning in the same places, but I have to get new books by this author or other authors in different fields. It forces me to seek out knowledge in different ways.
2. Exposure to new things also encourages you to lead differently. Being exposed to great things from great leaders inspires your leadership and challenges you to lead in new ways. The more I am exposed to different types of leaders and teams the more I’m encouraged to see my team and those I serve with in a different way. It also pushes me to see how I can serve my team members more effectively. In short, I can’t expose myself to new styles of leadership and then not try to practice or enhance my leadership style.
The question is how are you exposing yourself to the next level? In what ways do you push yourself to grow and move forward? What benefits would you add?