Recently I wrote an essay on metacognition and expertise. One of the major points that came out of research for this essay is how important reflective practices are in learning, and how much more effective we can learn if we build on what we already know.
This got me thinking about various ministries that I am involved in, and how much I need to reflect on what happens each week in order to serve God better. I think it is something that does happen a lot in many churches (and other groups), but I still think that it is something that needs to happen more, asking questions like…
- How can we change what we did to make it better?
- Was there anything that worked really well?
- Was there anything that didn’t work?
So in my ministries, reflection is going to play a continuing role in me growing as a leader. So that I can understand groups, and how to serve God through teaching them (or interacting with them). I pray that others will continue to reflect on their ministries.
Related posts from calumhenderson.com:
I’m definitely with you on this one Callum, reflection is such an important discipline! I’d add to the (excellent) questions you’ve already got, “Why did/didn’t it work so well?” This way, a person’s reflection might progress as follows:
1. What didn’t work so well?
2. Why didn’t it work so well?
3. What could we change to make it better?
The “why” question is often the hardest to answer, but I daresay, the most critical to “successful” reflection. Keep these great posts coming!
Thanks for the comments Nath.
I think the questions you proposed are vital, especially as you said the why. Understanding the why is what makes us able to improve what we do.
Thanks again!