Irreplaceable But Not Indispensable by Andy McDonald

This week I am very fortunate to begin a three-month sabbatical (my vacation plus two months).  I thought it would be a good idea to say something about this time away and not just disappear. During this time I will be traveling some, performing our son’s wedding, catching up on reading, and doing some writing and thinking.

To be honest, it is a little scary to just drop out and refocus, reflect, renew. I remember coming back to our church after my first sabbatical nine years ago.  There were people I met who had become part of our church, but I wasn’t part of their picture of our church—they had no idea who I was! It’s amazing how fast things can change. 

And then it can be a bit scary thinking about everything going so well while I’m away that there’s no need to return!  Or, if things mess up while I’m missing from duty, what would that say about having built a strong team?

It was at this point in my thinking about the sabbatical that I recognized I was a bit too focused on me. After all, this is God’s church – not mine. 

In a blog about his sabbatical, Mark Buchanan wrote about this same kind of struggle and how he finally said to himself, “Self, you are not irreplaceable.  And self, or Spirit, or some such, answered back: No, you are irreplaceable. You’re just not indispensable.”

What a great insight.  We are all irreplaceable.  We are all divine originals.  But we aren’t indispensable.  At some point, we all go the way of those before us.  We die, and the world keeps turning.  The churches we serve, the families we support, and the organizations we organize roll on along, and others fill our shoes.  There is something comforting in knowing it all continues.

I hope you like the reality that you and I are irreplaceable.  I love originality, and every one of you are irreplaceable—that makes me smile.  And now I also smile that none of us are indispensible.  I like the reality that those things that are good and valuable, things like family, community, and church, won’t collapse or disappear because we are gone.  

When I return to the office on November 12, I believe great things will have been done in the three months I’ve been away as our great church staff will demonstrate clearly—we are all irreplaceable but none of us is indispensible!!

Andy McDonald