Efficiency

Only 5 days until FREEDOM TOUR CLASSIC 2026.

Around here, that means boxes of T-shirts & jerseys, never-ending lists of things to do, and endless questions. It seems no matter how much we prepare, these last few days end up becoming something of a scramble.

As our team works to get ready, I find it’s easy to lose track of what we’re doing. Which is what yesterday’s quote was all about.

We need schedules and great processes. We hope people care about helping us put on an amazing event. But none of that is what we are about.

We are creating a community to surround a group of kids rescued from human trafficking. I chose that quote to remind myself that the people who join us are not commodities or products to be optimized.

Community isn’t always efficient, because people are individuals with their own needs and their own reasons for joining. Efficiency tends to exclude those at the margins, who often are the folks most in need of community.

I’m excited about Saturday for sort of an odd reason. For the first time, I won’t be able to ride my bike – recovery from elbow surgery. At first, I was disappointed, but then I realized I would have the entire morning to hang out and talk to people. I hope I’ll encounter a few of those folks on the margins, those who might normally hang back in the shadows. I look forward to time for some not-rushed conversations.

A few weeks ago, I described my vision of the day’s celebration as a big circle with the kids in the center. I said I imagined Jesus high-fiving people and hugging the kids.

I think I will share that image on Saturday.

Hopefully people won’t think I’m too crazy.

Where are you part of a community that struggles with the balance between efficiency and treating people as individuals?