"Jesus is not a zombie. Alright. I shouldn't have to tell you that."
Special Agent Seeley Booth, Bones
My oldest daughter is addicted to the television show Bones. Wait, addicted may not be the right word. Perhaps obsessed is a better description - in need of a twelve-step program obsessed. Being a good parent I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about before I staged an intervention, so I sat in on an episode from the first season on DVD. The main character, Dr. Temperance Brennan, is an atheist. Her partner, FBI Special Agent Booth is a devout Roman Catholic. When the pair investigate a murder in New Orleans, a crime that appears to involve the use of voodoo, the topic of zombies comes up. Brennan, somewhat suspicious of Booth's religious faith, remarks that because he rose from the dead Jesus must be a zombie. Booth is upset by her observation and quickly objects, claiming that Jesus is not a zombie and that Brennen should know better.
What struck me about this scene is the way that Booth reacts. He is not just upset that his partner would claim that Jesus might be part of the flesh-eating undead, but also that he would even have to correct her. Everyone knows that Jesus is not a zombie, including Brennan! Right? Somethings are just self-evident, beyond the need for explanation, part of common knowledge. Right? When we passionately believe in something it can be jarring to discover that other people don't share our convictions. Or, worse yet, they don't even understand why we care in the first place.
I have been working with non-profits for two decades and I have seen hundreds of organizations run by thousands of people that exist to make the world a better place. The hungry are fed, the homeless given shelter, the abused protected, the environment cared for, the illiterate taught to read, the list goes on and on. There is an overabundance of passion and dedication in the people who work in non-profits. And like Agent Booth, they are often flabbergasted to discover that other people do not understand why they do what they do. What seems so clear to those who care is lost on those who don't.
For those of us who work with non-profits there is an important lessons to be learned (yes, I know, the idea that television could teach us something is a bit of a stretch, but stay with me here). Whether we like it or not we are going to have to tell people, over and over, why our organization does what it does. I am not talking about what is commonly called "branding" where we seek to create a sense of identity for our organization in the minds of the public. Rather, I mean that we have to convey our passion, our reason for being, why the world would be impoverished if our non-profit did exist. We cannot assume that everyone or anyone knows why these issues are so important. It is our task to tell them as many times as it takes until everyone understands.
I will even go one step further and argue that successful non-profits are the ones that not only know they have to convey to the world their passion and compassion, but they embrace the task. They are not offend, like Agent Booth, that someone would question the obvious. These organizations and their members understand that each time they encounter a person who does not share their enthusiasm an opportunity is present to make a new convert to the cause. Each person who gets excited about their mission means they are one step closer to making real, lasting, sustainable change.
Is your organization dedicated to sharing its vision with the world? Do your people welcome the skeptic? If so, I salute you and encourage you to keep up the good work. If not, what might be holding you back?
©2011 Roger Burns-Watson, All Rights Reserved
No comments:
Post a Comment