Milestones

Close to a year behind schedule, I submitted my doctoral prospectus this morning, a milestone for sure. Calling it “a labor of love” doesn’t seem accurate. It’s hung heavily on me for 9 months as the last bit of work has been around formatting and editing, neither of which are my forte. As I have edited and edited over the last nine months, I realized that I could ideally edit it ad infinitum and never pull the trigger, which seemed odd to me. That’s not normally me. I’m normally the guy that leaps before looking.

So, what is going on? I realized that this project is a big chunk of “me,” that is to say that I’m putting my beliefs on ministry identity and calling out there for someone else to agree with or to disagree. I’m not certain that this is the core of what’s been going on, but it’s worth exploring.

It also begs the question for me, and probably for you as well, if there are other areas of life wherein I’m holding back out of self-preservation or self-protection. If you’re putting something off and can’t quite figure out why, the internet will diagnose you as ADHD, undiagnosed adult/male ADHD, dopamine-addicted, et. al. But I suggest digging deeper and letting the Holy Spirit speak into that area of your life. I wish I’d realized this about my doctoral project sooner.

A great book on this topic is Clay Scroggins’s book, “Leading in a World of Distraction.” Give it a read and let me know what you think!