1995 – 1999 The Y2Ks

Like many people, the Y2Ks invested thousands upon thousands of dollars preparing for the turn of the century. Oh, it is easy to look back and critique the many who were worried about the millennium coming. Many of us questioned the concerns of many during the press’s year long emotion ridden reporting that the “sky was falling.” I joked with the Y2Ks that if it all fell apart on January 1 then I would retreat to their new farm, new well, new farm animals, new milling equipment, etc. until the crisis was over. In the end, we just filled up a bathtub with water and went to the Seed’s New Year Extravaganza.

It is easy to get caught up in the “next great disaster” or to always see “trouble or conspiracy on the horizon”. The Y2Ks have always appeared to be these type of people but it has always been hard for me to classify them as conspiracy theorists because it sounds so negative and I know they love their Savior. However, in situation after situation, from daily growth decisions at the church to the handling of personal decisions to Y2K it always seemed that even an apparent and obvious answer was never enough for them. They always knew there was something more. They were always digging for the next thing. They were always stirring the pot or looking at the pot to see if it was stirring. The end of most of these discussions was “though there is no proof or evidence, we simply still feel and know that something isn’t right here.”

They left the church and came back before I was pastor because they knew something was wrong. They left again during my time in the pastorate and have tried everything from small to large churches and even tried starting one of their own. It troubles me that they cannot find peace, trust and a home base. I hate that for them.

Time has passed. Most of their worries, prediction of trouble and concerns never manifested. In many cases, they were simply wrong in spite of the obvious facts. However, in a few cases, the Y2Ks intuition has played out. “Were they right all along or is it coincidence? Were they wise all along? What else should we have seen?” I found myself asking. No – I knew they were wrong, in fact on so many issues where they did not know the facts but rather were hunting a conspiracy.

Then I began to see the trend, in each of the situations that manifested into a problem – we could not answer their questions with surety and certainty. In the situations – where they could not “let it go” but kept questioning and seeing a conspiracy or cover up – they did not have enough information. In the situations in which they were clearly wrong – they could not let go easily because of the previous two statements.

When I can’t give an answer knowing that it is sure and certain – I must get a better answer or confidence because when “faith turns to hope, all is lost.” As a leader, I must be sure of the people and facts that I lead others to follow and trust – sure and certain. An unanswerable challenge to either might be a hint that trouble is coming. I must trust the followers to be able to handle the truth and not worry about the ramifications of the truth so much. A covering – even with good intent for the followers – of the error robs those in error of facing the music and robs the followers of the trust of the leaders.

The Y2Ks should have been more gracious, more trusting, more peaceful and less looking for a conspiracy but perhaps some more information would have helped them.