Call me what you will, but I’m on my third time through the awesomeness that is Lost. I’m nearing the end of season 6 and the episode I watched this morning revealed what is call ‘the source.’ The source is what the protector of the island aka mother says is the source of life, death, and rebirth. The source is found in every human, but is concentrated at this one point.

My reflections didn’t lead me to think about the source in and of itself, but rather what my personal source is – where I receive my motivation and where I go when I need to be rejuvenated. The obvious answer to that question is things like water, food, sleep, etc.

But then I started to think about this from the perspective of ministry.I started asking myself questions like where does my motivation for teach and ministry come from? Where do I find my rejuvenation, where do I look for sustenance? And I would like to say the answer I came up with was prayer, God’s word, mentorship and professional development, but those weren’t the things that came to mind.

In fact, I couldn’t recognize any sources. I spent a lot of time thinking about it, and the more I thought about it the more I realized that I have become disconnected from the sources I was once connected to. The ties hadn’t been completely severed, but the connections are slim to say the least. I have all but abandoned the sources I’ve been commissioned to cultivate and protect.

If my source isn’t God and the guidance of God’s Spirit where am I leading our students? If my source isn’t healthy and passionate study of scripture, what am I teaching our middle schoolers? If I’m not focused on the teachings of Jesus and actively trying to become more like him, how can I lead others down that path?

If we’re not plugged into the right sources we can’t be effective leaders. If we’re not growing ourselves we can’t empower others to grow.

The source matters.

What’s yours?