Sean, thanks so much for this thoughtful piece! It's got a tone of hope; it's got helpful ideas; and it's so right on! I'm pretty doubtful that congregations into passionate and judgmental differences can be pulled back from the brink by exercises like this... but I want to hope. And I dare to hope and pray that tools like this can help individuals who are open to the Spirit to find a path of reconciliation. May God bless you and the CRC!
Thanks Bonnie. Nothing easy about standing up for justice in the church, is there? And God forbid that we should try to have Christlike conversations about difficult issues. I'm stunned, frankly, that such a fire storm was ignited that your post had to be taken down. Stunned and sad. I SO want to believe we can be better than this. I pray for you and your team and for the CRC. Don't be weary in well doing, sister!
Thank you, my sister. My heart can't even bear what you HAVE to bear every day. May God give you strength and safety and grace to endure! And may God give us justice.
Lisa, I'm delighted to discover this piece and this program. Didn't know of it, or you! I worked for crwrc/WR for a couple of decades and have been a member of Grace CRC in GR for longer than you've been around. I'm always troubled by the homelessness I see on the streets in particular around my church. The challenge is overwhelming and each life, each story, so special and so complicated. Spaces to be safe, affirmed, loved, listened to... to find community... are so needed. I love what you're doing and your thoughtful reflections on it. Do you have a blog? Are you writing a book? Could there be a gathering of Jesus' people to learn together, reflect, share, and develop ideas to bring back home to initiate fresh ministries with homeless people? What about making a space on the CRC Network for this topic? Message me on fb if you want to. Thanks! Keep serving and keep writing. k
I’m finding Harry B to be a helpful voice here. Discerning fruitfulness.... slippery slope on the way to forgetting that it’s God who give the increase. And yet... I think there’s an awful lot we can do to do discern well, and it’s important that we do so. I think it’s about doing our best for Jesus, and it’s about good stewardship of the resources we’re in charge of, and it’s also good for my own mental health!
In a nutshell I too think it’s about thinking carefully about the planning process, nothing really new here, it’s just that we tend not to do it rigorously in the church setting. But we should. Carefully, prayerfully, we assess the environment, our resources, needs and opportunities. Etc. This is a prayerful discernment process, done by leadership, but always done in community. And then the next steps are the old familiar ones too... vision, mission, goals and objectives, and key indicators of success. And assessment of progress along the way so we can learn and improve. This organizational stuff is important for Jesus’ body too, not just for secular organizations. What’s key to the process when it’s done in the ecclesiastical setting is that it be done in a way that is embedded in a communal discernment process, with prayer and dialog enriching the insights and decisions at every step. And then real accountability is possible, as together we talk about whether we are achieving the intended outcomes, and if not why not, and what are we learning and what needs to be fixed. Frankly, I’m feeling a bit embarrassed to be going over all this old stuff here. But here I am, an old retired guy, and convinced that this stuff can be valuable for following Jesus faithfully. This enables us to be stewards of our resources, builders of community, and robust in our thinking about how to do it better for Jesus.
Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart. Yes is sometimes dense, and sometimes wordy, but what an incredible book on sanctification and how we receive it as a gift AND how we respond with intentionality and discipline.
I couldn't help but respond! Back in 1971 I discovered Berry. Oh my goodness. When my daughter was being born in '71 I read A Place On Earth to my wife while she was in labor. then just a few months later, trying to adjust to our move from log cabin to the city, I discovered Long Legged House. Incredibly significant for me at that moment. Thirty-eight years later we lost our daughter to cancer, and I read Nick's Lament for a Son. So, so important to my wife and me. I wish you well with your reading and your blogging! (I have tried Rohr in several iterations, but find him usually too new-agey for me, though on occasion very helpful.
Thank you, Syd! Fear - the pit of fear that lives inside of me. It casts out love, or tries to. And fuels my racial junk. You help express how deeply rooted my race junk is. and how important is the repentance that's on the way to love and joy and peace.
This is a very helpful piece. I wish I had read it weeks ago! Thanks. I certainly resonate with the idea that the campaign is creating stress in me! Being more aware of that helps; I had never heard of the research about being affected by the negatives of leaders. I guess it makes sense that if we can be inspired by leaders, we can also be "de-spired". May I really have the mind of Christ in coming days and months.... and years.
Posted in: Post-Synod: 3 Ways to Love While We Disagree
Sean, thanks so much for this thoughtful piece! It's got a tone of hope; it's got helpful ideas; and it's so right on! I'm pretty doubtful that congregations into passionate and judgmental differences can be pulled back from the brink by exercises like this... but I want to hope. And I dare to hope and pray that tools like this can help individuals who are open to the Spirit to find a path of reconciliation. May God bless you and the CRC!
Posted in: Giveaway Time! Just Say "Hi" and Be Entered to Win Best-Selling Book
Hi, Staci!
I sure do appreciate your work on the Network!
Posted in: A Reflection: Is This OK?
Thanks Bonnie. Nothing easy about standing up for justice in the church, is there? And God forbid that we should try to have Christlike conversations about difficult issues. I'm stunned, frankly, that such a fire storm was ignited that your post had to be taken down. Stunned and sad. I SO want to believe we can be better than this. I pray for you and your team and for the CRC. Don't be weary in well doing, sister!
Posted in: My Thoughts After Watching the Video of the Killing of George Floyd
Thank you, my sister. My heart can't even bear what you HAVE to bear every day. May God give you strength and safety and grace to endure! And may God give us justice.
Posted in: De-Colonizing Social Services: Aurora Commons, a Neighborhood Living Room
Lisa, I'm delighted to discover this piece and this program. Didn't know of it, or you! I worked for crwrc/WR for a couple of decades and have been a member of Grace CRC in GR for longer than you've been around. I'm always troubled by the homelessness I see on the streets in particular around my church. The challenge is overwhelming and each life, each story, so special and so complicated. Spaces to be safe, affirmed, loved, listened to... to find community... are so needed. I love what you're doing and your thoughtful reflections on it. Do you have a blog? Are you writing a book? Could there be a gathering of Jesus' people to learn together, reflect, share, and develop ideas to bring back home to initiate fresh ministries with homeless people? What about making a space on the CRC Network for this topic? Message me on fb if you want to. Thanks! Keep serving and keep writing.
k
Posted in: Living in the Land of Ambiguous Fruitfulness
I’m finding Harry B to be a helpful voice here. Discerning fruitfulness.... slippery slope on the way to forgetting that it’s God who give the increase. And yet... I think there’s an awful lot we can do to do discern well, and it’s important that we do so. I think it’s about doing our best for Jesus, and it’s about good stewardship of the resources we’re in charge of, and it’s also good for my own mental health!
In a nutshell I too think it’s about thinking carefully about the planning process, nothing really new here, it’s just that we tend not to do it rigorously in the church setting. But we should. Carefully, prayerfully, we assess the environment, our resources, needs and opportunities. Etc. This is a prayerful discernment process, done by leadership, but always done in community. And then the next steps are the old familiar ones too... vision, mission, goals and objectives, and key indicators of success. And assessment of progress along the way so we can learn and improve. This organizational stuff is important for Jesus’ body too, not just for secular organizations. What’s key to the process when it’s done in the ecclesiastical setting is that it be done in a way that is embedded in a communal discernment process, with prayer and dialog enriching the insights and decisions at every step. And then real accountability is possible, as together we talk about whether we are achieving the intended outcomes, and if not why not, and what are we learning and what needs to be fixed. Frankly, I’m feeling a bit embarrassed to be going over all this old stuff here. But here I am, an old retired guy, and convinced that this stuff can be valuable for following Jesus faithfully. This enables us to be stewards of our resources, builders of community, and robust in our thinking about how to do it better for Jesus.
Posted in: What Books Are You Reading in 2019?
Dallas Willard's Renovation of the Heart. Yes is sometimes dense, and sometimes wordy, but what an incredible book on sanctification and how we receive it as a gift AND how we respond with intentionality and discipline.
Posted in: What Books Are You Reading in 2019?
I couldn't help but respond! Back in 1971 I discovered Berry. Oh my goodness. When my daughter was being born in '71 I read A Place On Earth to my wife while she was in labor. then just a few months later, trying to adjust to our move from log cabin to the city, I discovered Long Legged House. Incredibly significant for me at that moment. Thirty-eight years later we lost our daughter to cancer, and I read Nick's Lament for a Son. So, so important to my wife and me. I wish you well with your reading and your blogging! (I have tried Rohr in several iterations, but find him usually too new-agey for me, though on occasion very helpful.
Posted in: Confessing My Sin in Trumpland
Thank you, Syd!
Fear - the pit of fear that lives inside of me. It casts out love, or tries to. And fuels my racial junk. You help express how deeply rooted my race junk is. and how important is the repentance that's on the way to love and joy and peace.
Posted in: Election Stress Disorder and the Mind of Christ
This is a very helpful piece. I wish I had read it weeks ago! Thanks. I certainly resonate with the idea that the campaign is creating stress in me! Being more aware of that helps; I had never heard of the research about being affected by the negatives of leaders. I guess it makes sense that if we can be inspired by leaders, we can also be "de-spired". May I really have the mind of Christ in coming days and months.... and years.