A Sweeping Metaphor for Leadership, Team Building, and Community Restoration

A Sweeping Metaphor for Leadership, Team Building, and Community Restoration

When a team member falls away, do you discard them or make the effort to restore them? This article explores profound lessons on leadership and community, inspired by the simple act of sweeping a courtyard

 
Sometimes, the most profound lessons come from the most mundane tasks. For almost two years, my family have been sweeping our church’s courtyards once a week, a simple chore that has taught me a few surprising things about leadership and community.
 
 
One Monday morning, the inevitable happened. My trusty broomstick started to fall apart. With every sweep, more and more of the “midribs”—those essential bristles that hold everything together—came loose and scattered across the ground. A broomstick is only as good as its midribs; they determine how well it sweeps and how long it lasts.
 
 
As I looked at those fallen midribs, I faced a choice. The easy option was to consider them trash, sweep them up, and toss them in the bin. But a different thought came to mind: as a good steward, should I instead pick them up one by one and try to reattach them?
 
 
If the broomstick were just a tool, the practical answer is obvious: replace it. But God showed me a different perspective.
 
 
What if the broomstick represented a department in a company or a church community—a group of people working together toward a common goal? And what if those midribs were employees or church members, each with their own unique role and contribution?
 
 
Suddenly, the question of what to do with the “fallen midribs” took on a whole new meaning. This simple act of sweeping became a powerful metaphor for restoration and team building.
 
 
As leaders, how do we respond to those who have become detached from the group? Maybe they’ve lost their way, are struggling to keep up, or have completely burned out. Do we simply discard them and move on? Or do we make the effort to gather them back, to restore them, and to reintegrate them into the whole?
 
 
Should we treat them as “wanderers” and look for them as a “lost sheep” (Matthew 18:12)? Or should they be treated like the “foolish virgins” (Matthew 25:1-10)?
 
 
What are your thoughts on this?
 
 
 
 

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