Always Saying Yes

I heard Mark Cuban say this during a recent episode of Shark Tank. In a show where entrepreneurs try to get funding from a panel of successful business leaders to jumpstart their company, Cuban, the well-known owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was trying to figure out why someone wanted to take their business in a certain direction.

The woman was pitching her product—a new style of training bikes for kids. Her company was growing and becoming the market leader in this category. When asked what she wanted to do next, she told the Sharks she wanted to create a new product—a regular bike. But that’s already a crowded market, and the Sharks couldn’t understand why she wanted to take her focus from what was working to develop something that was ordinary—and therefore facing fierce competition in a saturated market.

Her answer was simple. Vendors keep asking her when her company is going to launch something new.

That’s when Cuban chimed in letting her know she doesn’t have to do more just because someone asks. He added, “Entrepreneurs drown in opportunity.”

Many churches are in the same place as this entrepreneur. There might be some things that are working really well at a church, and yet there’s still this need to say yes to the things that aren’t successful. Someone comes with an idea that doesn’t really fit with the vision of the church, but it’s approved anyway. Some churches are willing to be mediocre at a lot of things instead of being great at a few.

I get it. It’s hard to say no and easy to say yes. But if you cast a vision for your church, respect it by staying true to it. That means saying yes to the right things and no the stuff that doesn’t fit. Just because someone presents you with an idea doesn’t mean it’s something you should pursue. Churches have to be good stewards of what they’ve been given. Don’t drown in opportunity by always saying yes.

Is this something you've witnessed in churches? How have you handled it?