Sometimes we have to admit it won't work

Yesterday I had a fascinating chat with some good friends. About three years ago they set up a business. They had all the high hopes that starting a new venture entails. I was very impressed.

Over the last few weeks however they have done the sums worked out the hours and decided it wasn't worth continuing that particular line of business.

I've been in a similar place. A few years back my wife and I set up a very simple mail order business. We had a healthy turnover and were getting a good response. But when we did the calculations. we could see how we were actually going to develop it beyond a hobby.

Whilst it takes a lot of courage to start a business, it also takes as much, possibly more, to admit that all the investment, energy and emotion has been in vain. At least from a business point of view. Setting up a business that doesn't make it can bring other great benefits, but often not financial.

Sometimes I wonder if the Church is like that. We set up all sorts of programmes, services, initiatives and often can't find the courage to admit they haven't worked. Perhaps when we start a new venture we need to ensure that there is an evaluation built into the planning at a particular time when we can take a long hard rational look.

Just a thought for a Thursday morning in September.