2 years ago, my husband and I discovered Kayaking. Our favorite place to paddle is in the Intracoastal Waterway around Topsail Island, NC.  We have access to tributaries off of the “big” waterway and we knew we should be able to find entry to the waterway in either direction from our access point.  We easily found the entry in one direction, but it wasn’t so easy in the other direction.  We searched for over a year, paddling down every seemingly accessible opening in the marsh grass—we discovered many interesting areas—One, I call “oyster bay” the “Oysters resettled from a polluted area” as the sign states, are in such large constellations that if the water isn’t high there is no passage.  Other areas I have labeled “Snake canal” and “Alligator River”, areas where the marsh grass is open just wide enough for a small boat to pass.  Paddling through the smaller tributaries has taught me to be alert and to turn my boat quickly.  (Note--I have never seen an alligator and only once saw a snake, it was in the open area and going in the opposite direction of me.)  The higher the water, the deeper and wider the tributaries are.  One day the water was so high, that we ventured further down the alligator river, where we discovered a beautiful and large hidden lake.  Off from hidden lake are even more tributaries—and one, we soon discovered—led us to the “big waterway”!  The “big” waters are exciting, but not as smooth and easy to maneuver as the smaller tributaries.  As novice paddlers, we are lucky that we had several months of paddling experience in smooth and safer waters before we discovered the entry into the “big” water. We learned and grew from our exploring and our skill level developed through practice and experiences of getting stuck on sandbars and oyster constellations.  All that we learned while exploring helped to prepare us for paddling in the big waters. 

I am realizing that “paddling development” is like most any form of development—spiritual development, leadership development, emotional development, physical development, etc.  We need time to practice, grow and gain confidence before we jump into something more challenging.   

Sometimes, in church life, we expect ourselves and others to know the skills and have the experience before we have the opportunities to practice, develop and grow.  We must find ways to help congregational leaders gain confidence and experience in the life of the congregation rather than throwing them into the “big” waters without the opportunity to develop. 

Beth Kennett, August 2011