52 Hiker Mistakes by Backpacker … and by Worship Leaders

Bad choices, poor planning, and simply not paying attention. The article listed 52. And I have probably done 50 of them. True, many were in the early stages of my hiking journey, but some have happened very recently.

Most of these mistakes are common sense errors.

• Handling the water reservoir wrong … so it will leak, freeze, too little, too much, etc.
• Poor planning … don’t know the hike and her demands, ignore the weather forecast and signs – weather.com can be wrong, no bug deterrent, not using a map, too little food, etc.
• Laziness … poor packing, not staying together, not double checking position, cutting switchbacks, pitching tent in a puddle or poor placement under a dead tree or not staking your tent, dumb food storage.
• Poor equipment … hiking in heavy cotton, too layered, not layered, no lighter (or two), no waterproof bags, inadequate sleeping bag, shoes too small, etc.
• Unwise decisions … touching poison ivy, getting off trail and not paying attention, climbing up with no return path, not setting a turn back time and/or getting caught in the dark, going beyond comfort zone (way beyond), hiking in wet socks (when avoidable), over-dependence on a cell phone, not telling anyone where you are going, etc.

Now, I get it. Sometimes it happens. But let me do a little twist and see if these same mistakes apply to worship planning.

• Handling water reservoir wrong … Jesus is the living water and we can take Him for granted, expect too little from Him so we try it all on our own, expect too much so we get lazy in our planning.
• Poor planning … we wing it, we keep,doing the same thing (thus getting the same outcome and wonder why), we don’t pay attention to what our people are going through and ignore the signs (like not praying or realizing a national event, say a shooting, impacts our members in so many ways), and we don’t have everything ready when service starts. Poor planning.
• Laziness … expecting others to handle everything, no follow up, not punching ourselves in becoming a better choir, praise team, or worship leaders, don’t invest in prayer or studying when preparing a message, etc.
• Poor equipment … bad projector, crackly sound from microphone, dangerous chairs, and children’s equipment, play area that is faulty, broken, and worn out.
• Unwise decisions … passing over prayer time, going way over time (especially if limited by radio or video allotment), giving people leadership positions without vetting or proper accountability, over-dependence on technology, planning around pleasing people and not glorifying God, etc.

I think you get it. I realize many readers are not involved in worship planning, but for those that are (like myself), I hope this challenges and encourages us. Mistakes should not define us. They should teach us. It does me.

Hiking … and worship planning … are both areas I’ve made mistakes. But I will not give up, I will look up and get back to the heart of worship. It’s all about Him.

See the Backpacker article here.