I got a new iPod this week.

Okay, there’s no such thing as a “new” iPod. A friend of mine had the device in a basket of stuff on a shelf in his hallway. It caught my eye and I asked with mild sarcasm, “What is this?” He turned his nose up at the 4th Generation iPod, with its faded white exterior.

I should mention that he has a serious distaste for Apple products. Obviously, even Apple haters were forced to use iPods at one time. Well, I guess they could have used a Zune. (Remember those?

So why would I want this iPod?

It’s not like I’m reminiscing back to my first digital music device. If I was, I’d be rocking a bright yellow Sony Walkman. I remember moving up to a Disc-man. It blew my mind!

Truly, I just thought this old iPod was cool. A lot of old Apple products have been catching my eye lately. Another friend recently gave me a Power Mac G5. I also got a great deal on an older Mac Mini a couple of weeks ago.

Is it really that different from someone buying up every used record player on the planet? Okay, maybe it’s very different then that. Does this mean I’m officially a nerd?

Nevertheless, after connecting this new old iPod to my MacBook, I was able to load up our entire music library. It was so fun! This oldie but goodie became a permanent fixture in our vehicle with 3633 songs cycle through our ears as we travel around the city.

This iPod reminds me of ministry leadership.

Too often we’re too quickly striving for the next program or process. (I’m a prime candidate.) Should we really move on to the next thing? Have we gleaned all the uses out of this tool or resource? Is it completely obsolete or does it still hold some value?

I’m not saying that we should be rocking the proverbial Walkman again. Yet, we should think twice before we scrap something completely. God calls us to be good stewards. Being a good steward does not mean acting miserly. Balance is the key.

Ask a few people on your team how they feel about a program or process, before removing it. Maybe it just needs to be tweaked or used in a different way? Don’t always jump to what’s new. New usually comes with a learning curve.

Your team might not be ready to embrace a learning curve at this time. Maybe they’re satisfied with the current model? Maybe the structure is really unifying the team? If that’s the case, you may want to rock the old iPod for a few more months. Maybe even for the next year?

Join the Conversation; Share Your Thoughts

When should we throw something away?
Should we always have the latest, greatest?
Where’s the balance between new and old?