A recent image made me smile. It showed a shepherd holding what looked like an Agile planning board. Instead of software features, the backlog contained things like:
- Graze greener pasture
- Find water
- Avoid wolves
The sprint board listed tasks such as:
- Move as a team
- Follow the leader
One sheep wore a sticky note that read:
“I prefer waterfall.”
Another complained:
“Too many meetings.”
Another simply asked:
“Where’s my grass?”
It was funny. But the more I looked at it, the more I realized it wasn’t just poking fun at Agile. It was quietly describing us.
Sheep Don’t Like Change
Sheep prefer familiar paths. If there is grass today, they would rather stay than move. Yet every shepherd knows something the sheep do not.
Today’s pasture will eventually run out.
The flock must keep moving. Not because the shepherd enjoys change. But because the shepherd sees what lies ahead. Isn’t that often how God leads us?
Sometimes we are comfortable. Then suddenly our workplace restructures.
New technology appears. AI changes the way we work. Job descriptions evolve.
Our first reaction is often:
“Can’t we just do things the way we’ve always done them?”
Perhaps we are more like the sheep with the sticky note than we’d like to admit.
“I prefer waterfall.”
Agile Is Not About Constant Change
One misunderstanding about Agile is that it celebrates change for its own sake.
It doesn’t. The Agile Manifesto values responding to change over following a rigid plan.
Notice the wording. It doesn’t reject planning. It recognizes that reality changes.
The destination remains. The route may need adjusting. That’s remarkably similar to walking with God. God’s purpose never changes. But He often changes our path.
Abraham never expected Egypt.
Joseph never expected prison.
Moses never expected forty years in Midian.
Paul never expected Macedonia after planning to go elsewhere.
Their mission remained God’s.
Their route kept changing.
The Good Shepherd Is Always Inspecting and Adapting
Every Agile team regularly pauses to ask:
- What’s working?
- What’s not?
- What should we change?
Spiritually, isn’t that what God continually invites us to do?
Scripture repeatedly calls believers to examine their hearts.
Not because God needs information. Because we need transformation.
Sometimes we cling to methods that once worked but are no longer what God is asking of us.
Sometimes we mistake familiarity for faithfulness.
The Shepherd gently moves the flock because He sees dangers and opportunities we cannot.
Building Bridges
A recent Straits Times article described how organizations increasingly seek people who can speak both the language of business and the language of technology.
People who can walk into an executive meeting one moment and build software the next.
Reading that article reminded me that every bridge begins with understanding both sides.
Perhaps that is what God has been teaching me over the past few weeks.
First came Gideon’s fleece. Then my Project Management course. Then GovTech’s shift toward product thinking.
Now this article about people who bridge business and technology. Perhaps these aren’t isolated lessons. Perhaps God is quietly teaching me to become a bridge. Not simply between business and technology. But between ideas and people. Between planning and action. Between faith and work.
Agile Begins With Listening
One of Agile’s core practices is listening. Teams listen to users. Developers listen to feedback. Product Owners listen to changing needs. The best Agile teams don’t stubbornly insist they already know all the answers.
They remain teachable. James writes:
“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19)
That sounds surprisingly Agile. Godly wisdom has never been rigid. It listens. It learns. It responds faithfully.
Following the Shepherd
The image ends with one sheep asking,
“Where’s my grass?”
I laughed.
Then I realized I’ve asked God similar questions.
Where’s the certainty? Where’s the roadmap? Where’s the future?
The sheep only sees today’s pasture.
The shepherd sees tomorrow’s.
Perhaps following Christ has always been the ultimate Agile journey.
Not because God is constantly changing His mind.
But because He invites us to trust Him one step at a time.
The flock doesn’t need to know the entire route.
It only needs to stay close to the Shepherd.
Becoming Before Arriving
The Straits Times article focused on the kind of workers organizations want.
The Agile image reminded me of the kind of followers God desires.
People who remain curious. People who keep learning. People who adapt without compromising truth. People who trust the Shepherd even when the next pasture isn’t visible.
Technology will continue to evolve. Project management will mature. Product management will change. Artificial intelligence will reshape industries.
But one thing remains unchanged. The voice of the Good Shepherd.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
John 10:27
Perhaps becoming “agile” isn’t merely about delivering software faster.
Perhaps, spiritually speaking, it is about cultivating a heart that is responsive to God’s leading—anchored in His unchanging character, yet willing to follow Him wherever He leads.
All about Lina Lifestyle 