On Pioneering

The need for freedom AND support

As we pursue the ministry God has given us, we will function as pioneers. We’ll be out there trying new things, engaging new places and peoples, and living and leading on the edge.

There are three categories to consider here:

1. If you are a pioneer, how can you lead yourself well? “The paradox seems to be, as Socrates demonstrated long ago, that the truly free individual is free only to the extent of his own self-mastery. While those who will not govern themselves are condemned to find masters to govern them.”¹

2. If you are in relationships with other pioneers, how can you support them as best as possible? As a fellow believer, you should seek to support them, whether you have an organizational requirement to do so or not. You should support them because it is what they need. (Galatians 6:2,10)

3. Speaking of organizations, what type of structures will help pioneers be supported so they can sustain their pioneering work? I think there is a sweet spot with a minimal trellis that helps kingdom workers flourish but doesn’t bog them down.

Let me put those same concepts another way:

1. If we, as pioneers, are pursuing what God has called us to without thinking critically about how to stay supported and encouraged in our work, we leave our own long-term sustainability as kingdom workers in serious doubt.

2. If we, as friends of pioneers, don’t think critically about how to help them sustain over the long haul, we limit our ability to help them reach all that God has designed them to do.

3. If we, as organizational leaders, don’t think critically about the wave we’re riding with this concept, we will either restrict our workers, or (just as bad in the long wrong) we will leave them completely unsupported and floundering in the pioneering work they are pursuing.

I’ve wrestled with the ideas here before as an undefined fog in my mind. But then, the business book “Reset” by Dan Heath helped give them shape, like a building emerging from the fog as you drive closer to it. Heath shares insights on giving people autonomy in their work. He tells about a survey of his readers where he asked them about jobs they held where they felt the most satisfied. He discovered that while people prefer autonomy, they don’t want to be 100% on their own. People reported their best jobs were when they had the freedom to work, but also had a safety net of coaching, accountability, and support to fall back into. In short, they needed freedom with support.

These are the things I’ve been chewing on for several months. In order to get my thoughts out into the wild for interaction, I’m launching a new series of Substack posts with the label “On Pioneering.” To help me process my thoughts, a good friend is going to interview me about the articles. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll even put out a few books together on these ideas.²

Thanks for reading or listening. And most importantly, thanks if you choose to engage in the conversation. You can do that best through Substack’s comments feature. Your feedback and conversations will make these ideas sharper. If you bring your best insights, I promise to keep stoking the fire.

You can follow On Pioneering in these places:

Substack Articles: https://pheaney.substack.com/t/on-pioneering

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Podcast on Spotify:

140 Character Summary

Pioneers need support as they pursue God’s calling to make disciples among the lost. How can we best support their freedom?

One Minute (100-word) summary

In catalytic and frontier Kingdom work, it is important for pioneers to have freedom to work. They need to pursue the lost, make disciples, plant churches, and raise leaders under the Holy Spirit’s guidance and according to Biblical principles, but also without burdensome oversight or bureaucracy. One ingredient often missing in this effort is supporting (or serving) the autonomy that we want to see. It’s a dance: How do we release people to make disciples while also supporting them whenever they need it? I’m diving into best practices in Scripture, ministry, and business to see what I can discover.

1. Pressfield, S. (2023). The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles. Sanage Publishing House. p73

2. Using “pioneer” and “pioneering” in ministry conversations is not new. Even though others have used the word before, it still felt like the best way to communicate what I’m talking about. Two resources immediately come to mind: the book Pioneering Movements by Steve Addison and the podcast/website Pastor to Pioneer.