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Napa Valley on Leadership
by
Margaret Feinberg
The question we must ask ourselves is not, How big is the area God has called me to cultivate? Rather, How do I best cultivate the area God has given me?
Wherever you’re cultivating, nurturing, and creating, the hope is that you’ll thrive and bring in the harvest God has called you to— remembering that what works in Fresno won’t always work in Napa and what works in Napa won’t always work in Fresno. And that’s okay.
If you stay true to where God has called you and continue to trust the master vintner, he will yield an incredible harvest through you as you lead and shape culture.
LESSON TWO: EMBRACE A LONG-TERM PERSPECTIVE
Before I traveled to California, I didn’t realize just how much went into planting and cultivating a vineyard. I never considered the time required to prepare the soil. The first year a vintner plants shoots of vines rather than seeds because these yield the strongest vines. At the end of the first growing season, he cuts them back. A second year passes. He cuts them back again. Only after the third year does he see his first viable clusters of grapes. Serious vintners leave those clusters on the vines. For most vintners, it’s not until year four that they’ll bring in their first harvest.
For those growing grapes for winemaking, they’ll bottle their harvest, but won’t taste the fruit of their labors until year seven or eight. Most vineyards in Napa Valley won’t reach a breakeven point for their investment until year 15, 18, or beyond. Yet a well cared for vineyard will continue to produce a harvest for 40 years or more.
What I didn’t understand is that anyone can plant a crop, but someone who chooses to plant a vineyard must think long-term. They’re committed to the land. They know they have to keep an eye on the vine—pruning it season after season—to produce a fruitful harvest.
Even in ancient Israel, the land was a source of inheritance. Growing a vineyard was a way to transmit economic livelihood from parents to children to grandchildren. The produce of the land provided a source of stability for generations against low yield years. Though the investment was steep, the rewards were long-lasting.
In John 15, when Jesus says that he is the vine, we are the branches, and his father is the vinedresser, Jesus isn’t taking a short-term approach. He’s hinting at the long-term perspective that God has for you and I. Sometimes I look at my own life and wonder,
Why am I not more fruitful? And why does pruning have to hurt so much? Why does cultivating a healthy crop take so long?
Yet those questions circle around the here and now. God’s perspective is much different. Like a good vineyard owner, he knows how to bring about fruitfulness better than I ever will. And he is patient with me, more patient than I am with myself.
If God takes such a long-term perspective, we must embrace one too as we lead and innovate. I’m challenged by this reality every day. People sometimes ask me, “What’s your best book?” I’ll explain that my favorite book is the most recent—the one I just finished pouring my heart, my soul, my life into every page, handpicking every word. Yet my “best book” isn’t going to be written for another 30 or 40 years. Like all artistry, writing takes year to master, and though I’ve been honing my craft for more than a dozen years, I still have dozens of years of practice before I master the art of writing.
In
Outliers: The Story of Success
, Malcolm Gladwell estimates that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to truly master your chosen field. Either his number is low or I’m really slow (or both). I’d estimate the number is closer to 25,000 hours, maybe higher. Whether you’re a filmmaker, writer, teacher, business leader, manager, or pastor, mastering the art of what you do takes countless years. And if you’re really good, you’ll discover you can always learn more.
As we fulfill our callings to shape congregations, communities, and culture at large, we must recognize that like the vintner, fruitfulness will not come over night. The first harvest of our labors may not come for three or five years.
The breakeven point may be decades away. The opus harvest may not be for another thirty years. Yet are we willing to keep a long-term perspective, make the investment anyway, and stay true to what we’ve been called?
LESSON THREE: UNDERSTAND THE POWER OF ADVERSITY
One of the factors crucial to the development of the grape is access to light. That’s why pruning is so important: the act of pruning exposes the grapes to the light they need to grow. For some types of grapes, vintners will actually pinch the leaves off allowing the grapes to enjoy more aeration and sun and ripen quicker.
“If a vine is not pruned, the quality of the fruit goes way down,” one vintner said.
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