More on 'why'

Interestingly (after yesterday's post) I came across this today:

The one question you should ask now.

More on 'why'

Interestingly (after yesterday's post) I came across this today:

The one question you should ask now.

Anticipation

Is Barack Obama's inauguration speech the most anticipated speech in history? Well, I certainly can’t remember anything quite like it.

Which raises another question – why is there so much anticipation?

A few thoughts from me:

• He’s an excellent orator, who seems to connect with people whenever he speaks;
• He conveys a sense of passion and belief in what he says;
• He inspires hope through the vision that he communicates; and
• Most of us are expecting him to change things – in a positive way.

Is it fair to place so much of our collective aspirations on one man? Probably not. But with exceptionally high approval ratings – and inevitable comparisons to his predecessor – Barack Obama has a large burden to carry.

Of course, there are many waiting for him to fail, or to fall, but I hope that he can maintain his clarity of vision, purpose and communication. I was heartened by Andrew Rawnsley writing in yesterday’s Observer:

“Better the audacity of hope than the timidity of cynicism.”

I’m looking forward to the speech tomorrow (which may be a bit sad!), but I’m also looking forward to see how Obama deals with the job. I hope he emerges from the presidency as fresh and as vibrant as he enters it.

Thriving on Chaos

I came across the quotation below in an article by Michael McKinney, writing about the current financial crisis. I think it has much wider application as well.

"effective visions are beacons and controls when all else are up for grabs... To turn the vision into a beacon, leaders at all levles must model behavior consistent with the vision at all times."

Tom Peters, Thriving on Chaos

Dreams and reality

I once was with somebody I liked very much -- an older person, when I was considerably younger than I am now. That person said, "Spend at least fifteen minutes a day weaving dreams. And if you weave a hundred, at least two of them will have a life." So continue with a dream and don't worry whether it can happen or not; weave it first. Many people have killed their dreams by figuring out whether they could do them or not before they dream them. So, if you're a first rate dreamer, dream it out - several of them - and then see what realities can come to make them happen, instead of saying, "Oh, my God. With this reality, what can I dream?

-Virginia Satir

I know that blogging aficionados don't approve of posts consisting of quotations - but I don't care! I came across this recently and thought it was great, so I'm sharing it with you.

I also think that there's an alternative way of ending it - 'with this dream, what reality can I create?'

A vision to inspire

I listened to a really good sermon today - by Nicky Gumbel of Holy Trinity Brompton. I hesitated about blogging about it, but given the title of my blog I thought it was kind of appropriate.

It's about 45 minutes long, and I found the second part to be really exciting and energising. It's the type of vision that we need for our churches today.

"I don't want you to be put off by the scale of this vision, in which you're involved."

If only ...

You can find the sermon here.

The memory of place #2

This first impression on entering the building was one of peace and tranquillity. As I began to take in what was before me, I recognised that the installation involved participation – if you so chose – through lighting a floating candle and placing it in the gently flowing water. The candles were then carried along towards the pillar of light (glass rods) at the other end of the church.

There was a sense of warmth and energy – not frantic energy, but something powerful – in this church building dating from the 13th century. There was also a feeling of welcome, largely due to the helpful yet unobtrusive staff. There was no pressure to participate, yet they were ready and willing to explain and assist. There was also no problem about taking photos and no need to hurry through.

What can we learn from this? There are all sorts of aspects that we could reflect on welcome, participation, submitting our small contributions to the power of the Spirit and trusting that we will flow in the right direction, maybe (for people like me) accepting the direction of flow. But for me the most memorable thing is that it was memorable – I can still recall the various aspects clearly and feel very positive as I write about it. And one more thing, having visited it on my own I was enthusiastic that the rest of my family should see it.

The publicity material for The Memory of Place says:

“… the site demands that the artist is sensitive to the church’s architectural qualities, spatial presence and historical identity.”

Maybe that’s also true for us as we attempt to shape the church in the 21st century.

The memory of place

During the summer (?) we were on holiday in York - good, relaxing break, mixed weather, met some friends, made some new temporary friends (embarrassing Dad thing that I do). And visited quite a few churches - well I did anyway.

Of course we went to the Minster and I enjoyed it more than my previous visit - somehow it felt more like a place of worship this time around. By contrast, went to a service at another church that we've been to before, and while the music and the 'up front bits' were good, there was no feeling of welcome - despite the church being packed. In fact, when the congregation was asked to say hello to the person next to them, no-one spoke to us. It wasn't that we were smelly or anything - they simply turned to the people that were sitting next to them, and who clearly sit next to them every week, and had a good old chinwag. Maybe we were causing offence by sitting in someone else's seat!

More positively, while the women in my life were shopping, I wandered off and visited some of the smaller churches dotted around the centre of York. (Actually I spent quite a lot of time doing this - because they spent quite a lot of time shopping!) This is where the link to my current thinking on church and vision - and increasingly worship - comes in. There are a number of church buildings in York that serve different purposes, and maybe they will offer a way to expand my thinking - almost acting as parables.

St Mary's Church is actually de-commissioned (is that the right word?), and is now used by York Museums Trust as a venue for art stuff. While we were in York, there was an installation called The memory of place by Keiko Mukaide. This will feature in future blogs - both as a narrative reflection, but also through the use of some of the photos that I took (starting with the one above).

10 two-letter words

The golfer Ben Hogan is attributed with this quotation - comprising 10 two-letter words:

"If it is to be, it is up to me."

So how does this relate to church vision?

Well, at housegroup on Tuesday night we were looking at the big question 'How far are we the church that God has called us to be in 2007?' During the discussion one of our group asked if we should really be answering a different question - 'How far are we the Christians that God has called us to be in 2007?'

This got me thinking. I don't think that Hogan's saying is the way to address the vision thing, but I do think that it brings me back to a point where I need to be reflective and consider my role in developing and shaping this thing called church.

Also in the absence of an agreed vision, I see it as part of my duty to think big thoughts, to express what I think God is saying to us - and then to listen to what others have to say. To be honest, the first two tasks are relatively straightforward - I struggle a bit with the listening part.

So I need to improve on this. I've found something that might help me on the way. It's a 'habitude' - I found it on Magpie Girl's blog. The idea being to make an effort over a period of time to transform a habit or an attitude - I like that! So here goes ...

Out of the mouths of fishwives

Driving down to visit my parents the other weekend, the fishwife turned to me and said something like: "You're really passionate about this, aren't you?' Maybe not too surprising until you're told that I was blethering about the public sector in Scotland - I'm not sure how many people would admit a passion for this. But I will!

In recent times I've realised that I'm more passionate about lots of things than I realised. You know, the kind of passion that displays itself as a burning desire for change/ improvement/ fulfilment ... And the more I reflect on my hobby horses, the more impassioned I become.

That's why I keep asking questions, looking for answers, needing to know the vision... and generally making a nuisance of myself.

I will keep going, and over the next few days I'm going to be developing some of the thoughts about church that are occupying me. (Reading this again, it sounds a bit like a statement of defiance - it's meant to be a statement of commitment!)

Just to get it started, I'm thinking that our church (and all churches?) should be a "church in the community, with a community in the church".

"You can be creative inside or outside of tradition. Outside of tradition, you create a new world. Inside of creation, you create a new way to do the old things much better."

Wynton Marsalis

Is it too greedy to want both?

That vision thing again!

Everywhere I look at the moment I find things that prompt me to think about this vision stuff. I post these as food for thought, without further comment from me.

"If you do not know yourself, it is difficult to judge what you should become.

If you do not know where you are, it is difficult to decide where to go and how.

If you do not know what you are really good at, it is tough to know what to do."

Chris Zook (Harvard Business Online)

"Might Jesus be speaking to many of us in the Western church today? Wedded to our traditions and prejudices, are we in danger of denying the untidy glory of Christ's church? Are we willing to embrace changes, new circumstances and 'fresh expressions'?

Helen Parry (LICC)

The vision thing

I'm looking forward to our new series of housegroups - starting this week. We're finally going to look at the vision and direction that our church should be taking. Since I've been 'banging on' about this for a while now, I hope that we have a good set of discussions but more importantly that we reach an agreed way forward - and then get on and do it.

"When there is a desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, many opinions; for opinion in good men is but knowledge in the making."

John Milton

Here's to "much arguing" and maybe some future blogs!