In his book, Simpy Brilliant, William C Taylor engages the work of Gregory Treverton on how national security services tackle their work. During the Cold War, analysts were trying to solve puzzles (such as, how many missiles do our enemies have?); today, they are faced with mysteries (about why people and states do what they do and about what they will do in the future).
Taylor notes Treverton's point that while "Puzzles can be solved with better information and sharper calculations, mysteries...can only be framed, not solved." He passes on the observation that "treating mysteries as puzzles can be dangerous and delusional - creating a false sense of confidence that crunching more information will clarify situations that can be understood only with more imagination." (p.29)
In ministry, it is tempting to treat the people we meet and the situations we face, both locally and more widely within the culture, as puzzles to be solved. But they aren't. They're mysteries. It isn't more information we need in order to minister helpfully; it's a biblically-informed imagination that foregrounds and relies upon the wisdom of God revealed in the gospel of his Son.
And such an imagination is not formed overnight; it is forged through deep, ongoing, suffering and utterly prayerful immersion in the Bible's story and the ways and wisdom of God disclosed in that narrative.
No wonder Paul asked, And who is equal to such a task? (2 Cor 2:16)
