Finding our way again ncli 2014
- 1. finding our way again
- 3. finding our way again how we lost our way
- 4. institutionalism male hierarchy anti-Semitism syncretism with Greek thought deals with Roman politics embrace of violence Constantine’s cross obsession with certainty creedalism
- 5. we turned a way into a destination
- 6. truth correctness purity we thought we had arrived. maturity
- 8. a brief history of rediscovery
- 9. desert fathers & mothers St. Patrick & Celts St. Francis & Claire Reformation radical reformation social gospel black & liberation theology feminist & eco-theology theology of multitude
- 10. a generous orthodoxy Christianity worth believing generative Christianity emergence Christianity a new kind of Christianity Christianity for the rest of us new paradigm Christianity missional Christianity progressive Christianity the next Christians convergence Christianity Christianity rediscovered
- 11. postmodern post-colonial post-capitalist post-industrial post-christendom post-protestant post-denominational post-institutional post-eurocentric
- 13. finding our way again 3 dimensions
- 14. finding our way again 1. a way of community
- 15. practicing one-anotherness 1. a way of community
- 16. practicing leadership “among ...” 1. a way of community
- 17. practicing the courage to differ graciously ... 1. a way of community
- 18. what center holds us together? 1. a way of community
- 20. finding our way again 2. a way of spirituality
- 21. why gather? public worship as group spiritual formation 2. a way of spirituality
- 22. liturgy: the work(out) of the people bad liturgy: the checklist of the clergy
- 23. ritual: using bodily action to bond to meaning ritualism: action without meaning
- 24. ritual: using bodily action to bond to meaning ritualism: action without meaning what meaning? what stories? what larger narratives?
- 25. A table of elitism and exclusion ... reinforcing violent sacrifice? or a feast of grace and reconciliation ... recalling God’s self-giving?
- 26. promoting secrecy: spirituality “in the closet” 2. a way of spirituality
- 27. “guard your heart well, for from it flow the well-springs of life.” 2. a way of spirituality
- 29. finding our way again 3. a way of mission
- 30. community and spirituality: formation for mission being/belonging/becoming for doing 3. a way of mission
- 31. engaging disciples in the big 3: planet, poverty, peace 3. a way of mission
- 33. witness as with-ness 3. a way of mission
- 34. salvation: saving the world 3. a way of mission
- 36. After some time among the Masai, Donovan described, with some disillusionment, the version of Christianity he and other Western, Euro-American missionaries had imported into Africa: “an inward-turned, individual-salvation-oriented, un-adapted Christianity” (8). He became so disillusioned with this approach that he felt the need to move away from the term salvation altogether. One paragraph in his book especially intrigues me:
- 37. “Preach the gospel to all creation,” Christ said. Are we only now beginning to understand what he meant? I believe the unwritten melody that haunts this book ever so faintly, the new song waiting to be sung in place of the hymn of salvation, is simply the song of creation. To move away from the theology of salvation to the theology of creation may be the task of our time”
- 38. salvation - not evacuation plan from damned humanity salvation = transformation plan for damaged humanity, based on God’s saving love for all creation.
- 39. joining God in God’s saving love for all creation 3. a way of mission
- 40. finding our way again 1. a way of community 2. a way of spirituality 3. a way of mission
- 41. security finding our insurance governance ex-communication politics standardization authorization way again protection certification policy 1. a way of community 2. a way of spirituality 3. a way of mission
- 43. finding our way again two ways: life & death
- 44. finding our way again we have a long way to go!
- 47. finding our power again
- 48. what you focus on determines what you miss.
- 49. 49
- 50. 50
- 51. 51
- 52. 52
- 53. what are we focusing on? the power we have? the problems we have?
- 55. a pub in London
- 57. What’s missing today is a high-quality discourse on rethinking the design and evolution of the entire system from scratch. - Otto Scharmer
- 58. The quality of results produced by any system depends on the quality of awareness from which the people in the system operate. (Otto Scharmer)
- 59. ANXIOUS? ANGRY? JOYFUL? HOPEFUL? DEFENSIVE? The quality of results produced by any system depends on the quality of awareness from which the people in the system operate. (Otto Scharmer)
- 64. Letting Go Letting Come Letting Be
- 65. Marching to the old drumbeat
- 66. Marching to the old drumbeat frantic, desperate activity
- 67. Marching to the old drumbeat frantic, desperate activity pensive pacing Being still
- 68. finding our way again Marching to the old drumbeat frantic, desperate activity pensive pacing Being still
- 69. Are we open? Truly open?
- 70. finding our power again
- 72. pastor power
- 73. pastor power people power
- 74. pastor power people power pastor-people power refusing to be complicit in your own diminishment
- 75. parent power
- 76. parent power kid power
- 77. parent power kidpower family power enlisting parents to teach a new kind of Christian faith
- 78. music power why do the fundamentalists have all the good music?
- 79. sermon power story power setting yourself on fire setting the world on fire
- 80. youth power rediscovering Christianity as an empowered youth movement
- 81. diversity power what will it take to face America’s original sin?
- 82. faith power becoming cynical about our cynicism
- 84. resurrection power Spirit power embodiment-of-Christ Christ-in-you power death isn’t the worst thing that could happen
- 92. finding our power again
- 95. finding our momentum again
- 96. Three possible futures: Continuing contraction Extremist resurgence Pregnancy
- 97. Three possible futures: Continuing contraction - Shrinking numbers - Wrinkling members - Low retention - Low evangelization - Constrained leadership - Secure finances
- 98. Three possible futures: Extremist resurgence - Immigration fears - Western domination - Terrorism fears/revenge - Playing to bases - New alliances (global, ecumenical)
- 99. Three possible futures: Pregnancy - Theological reformation - Missional reorientation - Post-national, post-partisan identity/ethos - Spiritual-social movement (Peace, planet, poverty) - New alliances (global, ecumenical convergences)
- 101. we need a theology of institutions, movements. and Communities
- 102. Communities Families, individuals, and organizations linked to a common environment, collaborating for the common good.
- 103. Institutions: Organizations which conserve the gains made by past social movements.
- 104. Social Movements Organizations which make proposals or demands to current institutions to make progress towards new gains.
- 105. Both movements and institutions... Organize for their purpose Need one another Are frustrated with one another Benefit or harm communities
- 106. Without movements ... Institutions stagnate ... Without institutions ... Movements evaporate ...
- 107. Some movements successfully inject their values into the institutions they challenge Other movements create their own institutions, or pass away
- 108. Vital movements call people to passionate, sacrificial personal commitment Sustainable institutions create loyalty across generations through evocative rituals & traditions
- 110. critical communities movement visionaries movement organizers movements
- 111. Parker Palmer’s 4 stages of social change 1. Divided no more 2. Communities of congruence 3. Going public 4. Alternative Rewards
- 112. From Greg Leffel Faith Seeking Action: Mission and Social Movements
- 113. Movements unite people to create or resist change. Through them, individuals seek a common voice to challenge, social, political, economic and cultural powers; movements, in fact, multiply the power of individual action through their unique form of collective, non-institutional power. (47-48) Social movements are non-institutionally organized human collectives, that put meaningful ideas in play in public settings, that actively confront existing powers through the strength of their numbers and the influence of their ideas, and that grow in size and power by inspiring others to act, in order to create or resist change (48) A movement is “a segmented, usually polycephalus cellular organization composed of unites networked by various personal, structural, and ideological ties. (50)
- 114. It takes collective, non-institutional (or prophetic) power to bring change to institutions. You can’t change the center/inside/priestly without proposals and pressure from the margins/outside/prophetic.
- 115. Movements are diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational (51) - They say what’s wrong - They say what’s needed - They motivate and mobilize for concerted action.
- 116. Movements are context dependent. In certain periods, fundamental contradictions in a society’s core understanding of itself create the possibility of widespread and socially disruptive change. (52) Movements exploit opportunity: 1. An active interest among elites in changing the political structure 2. Conflicts or corruption within elites 3. Events that weaken established social control (war, disaster, economic collapse)
- 117. Leffel’s 6 Characteristics of Vibrant Social Movements
- 118. 1. Opportunity Structure (Context Awareness) Current restraining realities ... in tension with ... emerging opportunities.
- 119. Opportunities: - Problems needing to be solved - Elites who hold power, resist change or promote negative change - Fissures, Problems among elites that make the status quo vulnerable - Values of the movement in conflict with values of elites - Potential advocates and allies in academic, civil society, arts, church, government, business, science, etc.
- 120. 2. Rhetorical Framing/Conceptual Architecture Movement leaders have to make a conceptual and verbal case for their movement by answering questions like these: How do we redefine reality? How do we disrupt or change current realities? How do we name our grievances? Articulate our positive vision for the way forward? How do we motivate and sustain dissatisfaction with the status quo, and affection for our shared vision? How do we justify our aims in terms of 5 lines of moral argument (Jonathan Haidt): justice, compassion, tradition, loyalty, and purity? How is the movement liberating? (liberal) How is the movement conserving? (conservative)
- 121. 3. Protest (messaging) strategy Raising awareness, attracting growing numbers of participants Campaigns, tactics, deployments, making demands, public relations, sustaining conflict, forcing a crisis, managing internal tensions, managing stigmatization, showing results, maintaining momentum, not overreacting, defining acceptable level of disruption, - Gaining attention - demonstrations, sit-ins, teach-ins, etc. - Building Networks of Participants and Allies - Wisely Identifying and Engaging Opponents Movements must be convergent (creating broad, vigorous alliances) and insurgent (confronting real problems upheld by elites and the systems that privilege them).
- 122. 4. Mobilization Structures & Strategies - Authority and Decision-Making Structures - Transparency/Confidentiality, Communication Plans - Leadership development, Relational Development, Conflict Management Plans - Coalition development - Resource, Technology, Finance Mobilization and Management - Evangelism, recruitment, induction - Renewal and Increase of commitment - Awareness of levels of commitment (core, activists, supporters, listeners, opposition, indirect impact, unaware
- 123. 5. Movement Culture “Movements are about changing a society’s lifeway; a movement itself becomes an experimental field where a new way of life can be, to some degree, experienced and where the movement’s ideals, values and common vision are put to the test.” (61)
- 124. 5. Movement culture - Emotional vibe (fun, serious, angry, playful, heady, gutsy, etc.) - Feel of spaces, physical and digital - Songs, slogans - Virtues, values, moral ethos - Dress, Graphics, - Nicknames, terminology - Emotion, motivation, motion
- 125. 6. Participant Biography How does involvement benefit - or harm - participants? How does the movement promote emotional and social sustainability ... avoiding burnout, squabbles, etc. How does it contribute to personal formation: - character - attitudes - knowledge - recovery from trauma - relationships - renewal What do participants gain from being involved?
- 126. 1. Opportunity Structure 2. Rhetorical framing 3. Protest (messaging) strategy 4. Mobilization strategy 5. Movement culture 6. Participant Biography
- 127. Jesus says the kingdom of God is like gardening (an organic movement) not warfare (institutional action): It spreads through seeds ... sown into systems to grow. The seeds of the message. The seeds of people who personally embody the message. The seeds of communities who socially embody the message.
- 128. Jesus seizes the opportunity structure provided by conflicted elites (Pharisees/Sadducees; Herodians/Zealots) and struggling masses (Galilee/Judea)
- 129. He provides rhetorical framing on hillsides, in houses, on retreats, in public teach-ins, in debates, through parables, through rituals and practices. He repeats key themes - commonwealth of God, life to the full, life of the ages, liberation - rooted in dynamic tension with tradition.
- 130. His protest (messaging) strategy includes public demonstrations (healings & miracles), teach-ins (sermon on mount), civil disobedience (turning tables), guerilla theatre (exorcisms), festivals (feasts & feedings), naming evil (woes), naming heroes (blessings).
- 131. He develops a mobilization strategy based on 3, 12, 70, and multitudes. He entrusts freely with responsibility and expresses high confidence in his agents (greater things shall you do ...)
- 132. Jesus and the 12 - Intense time of modeling, relationship building and vision sharing - Contagious passion - Periodic sending and returning - Final sending/Succession insured - Warnings of expected trials, failures, conflicts - “Polycephalic” structure - connection without control - Self-organizing units - Welcoming of new leaders (Paul) - Reproducible expansion - Both individual agency and group agency (Paul, Philip, Antioch) - Both planning and spontaneity
- 133. He associates his movement culture with love, joy, justice, risk, hope, creativity, courage, service, willingness to suffer, nonviolence.
- 134. He provides his disciples challenge, rest, retreat, encouragement, recovery after failures. They testify that their participant biographies have been forever changed for the better.
- 135. What spiritual movement is trying to be born among us today? What are its demands/proposals? What role might we play in its emergence? What convergences are necessary for this movement to begin moving?
- 136. 3-D Mainliners + Progressive/Post Evangelicals + Progressive Catholics + Peace Churches + Civil Rights Legacy Churches + Emergence/Convergence + Multi-faith collaborations
- 138. Movements inspire a passion for the possible.
- 139. Movements move with the Holy Spirit - - the Spirit of creation/creativity - the Spirit of evolution - the Spirit of Jesus
- 141. finding our momentum again
- 144. The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink ...
- 145. The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink ... buildings, budgets deficits, hierarchies plans, pensions
- 146. The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink ... buildings, budgets deficits, hierarchies doctrinal disputes power struggles desperate attempts plans, pensions
- 147. The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink ... buildings, budgets deficits, hierarchies doctrinal disputes power struggles desperate attempts fear playing it safe running for cover plans, pensions
- 148. The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink ... personal ambition political games trivial pursuits buildings, budgets deficits, hierarchies doctrinal disputes power struggles desperate attempts fear playing it safe running for cover plans, pensions
- 149. The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink ... hostility conflict anger personal ambition political games trivial pursuits buildings, budgets deficits, hierarchies doctrinal disputes power struggles desperate attempts fear playing it safe running for cover plans, pensions
- 150. The kingdom of God is not a matter of food and drink ... but of justice peace and joy in the Holy Spirit
- 151. finding our momentum again