Three Questions

Three questions I’m asking about the things I’m working on: who is this for? Whose is this? Who is with me?

Who is this for? What is the imagined audience or user? The curriculum I wrote yesterday was for a Confirmation class. The podcast Matt and I are making is for adults who might come to a Sunday school class. Not only are the curriculum and the podcast different mediums, they have different audiences, and their built with the audience in mind. Neither of them can be for everyone, or else they work for no one.

Whose is this? Am I ultimately responsible for what happens with this? For the curriculum, yes. If I don’t write it the class won’t have it. But for the podcast and lots of other stuff, I’m not. I like that. I really like getting clear at the start: whose baby is it? It prevents people looking at each other accusingly and saying, “I thought you were doing that.”

Who is with me? For curriculum, I have a terrific team of leaders who help me teach it. They were recruited and they accepted. They’re enrolled. We’re a team. And beyond us, there is a committee overseeing our work and a board the committee reports to. The board is elected by the congregation, so, ultimately, they’re all with me. But getting clear about the team level feels critical, because these are the people who care the most and have committed to leave the stands for the playing field, and their caring is the fuel that drives the project.