Jon Swanson invited a ragtag crew of lovers and go-getters to participate in a community blog for Lent 2008. It is a beautiful mess and I’m honored to participate. I’ll be posting on Saturday’s through Easter.
First Post: hard to let go
As the lenten season approaches, my thoughts are shifting towards sustainability. Yet, I’m surrounded by a world burdened with the very opposite concern. I have found hope in a recent thread of personal interest and study called Value Network Analysis. The following post crested for me at the intersection of lent, a work situation, and my dissatisfaction with the status quo:
Maximization is not the same as optimzation. It is not a temporal or
differential property. Optimization is harmonious and fragile. There
IS a very diffiicult shift for people. 20st Century b-school and mgmt
always urged ‘maximize’ profits or ‘maximize’ production. All the
firms pursing those strategies are gone. It is just not sustainable.
Malignant cancer alway will get you in the end unless treated and
brought back from a maximal state.
[ via Value Networks |
Google Groups ]
Wondering how I can arrange for Optimization rather than Maximization…
It’s time to turn some dreams into reality…
I believe deeply in the power of story. It all goes back to one of my favorite conversations where Tim Costello asked Ivan Illich, “What is the most revolutionary way to change society? Violent revolution or is it gradual reform?” Illich gave a careful answer, “Neither. If you want to change a society, then you must tell an alternative story.” I cultivate a community of missional leaders on EmergingLeadersNetwork.org who are on streets and in the culture, trying to tell an alternative story about God’s relationship to creation through the selfless compassion of Jesus Christ.
The good news is, these people are on the fringes of the institutional church because they are in the center of the world. The bad news is, they regularly feel vulnerable and unsupported out on those fringes. Whenever we gather to tell our stories of hope, reconciliation and justice, we find the encouragement and support we need to press on. Unfortunately, there are many other people out there who have not been able to come to these gatherings, and many more who have not even had their missional imaginations affirmed. They perceive a new movement of the kingdom around them, but might be afraid to act on it, because to do so would meaning doing things they have not seen done before.
Their experience remind me of Peter. One day he has dream. A sheet is lowered from heaven containing many ‘unclean’ animals. God tells him to kill and eat. Peter reminds God that these animals are unclean, and that they should not be eaten. After enough prodding, Peter realizes He should trust God rather than dictating how things have ‘always been done around here’, and immediately, God brought along people to affirm this message that He was moving in new ways. Peter still had to spend some quality time in Jerusalem justifying his actions, but he was faithful, and began sharing the good news of salvation with the ‘wrong’ kind of people, in the ‘wrong’ kind of ways. By being faithful to his calling, and sharing the story of what God is already up to in the world, the church adapted and was broken open for all nations.
My dream is to gather and share the stories of how God is at work in the world and on the fringes of the church to inspire hope and encourage change. Specifically, I will visit the fringes and interview the communities who have responded to God’s call to do a new thing, and share their stories in various media formats through emergingleadersnetwork.org
Resources will include:
In addition to documenting the stories of these communities, I will build the network in these ways:
These resources and conversations will be developed and posted ‘along the way’, rather than being published all at once. They will be high quality, with great attention and intention given to usability and accessibility, but they will have a grassroots feel, rather than a polished professional feel. This is intentional. Ideally, members of ELN will feel encouraged and capable of posting their own content and share their own stories right along side the ones gathered in this project.
Needs:
This project has no inherent revenue source and will require a full-time commitment. Therefore, I am exploring funding options for equipment, software, travel, and personal compensation.
I participate in a meetup group called likemind, who gather to think and share. This month we are sharing our predictions for 2008. I think people are going to make a come-back.
I could be wrong, but I see 2008 being about the people. Tech for tech’s sake is going to struggle to stay viable. If it doesn’t help people connect, they’re gonna start ignoring it, and focus on the tools that help them interact with real people–not keep them away from real people.
Join us, and let us know what your predictions for 2008 are.
When I’m not at my day job, I develop online communities. (Maybe, someday, that *will* be my day job). So, I’m constantly thinking and reading about what it takes to form, and sustain, and encourage community.
This evening I had a very interesting ‘constructive interference‘ moment. I’m watching a lecture on “Starting Communities of Practice” and reading “The 12 Marks of a New Monasticism“.
Community has to be developed. It doesn’t just happen. Certainly there are moments when a lot of people are in the right place at the right time (see smart mobs and Improv Everywhere) but it could hardly be called community.
However, community needs to be catalyzed in shared experience. And I’m willing to bet that the strongest communities want others to share in that same catalyzing experience. They might still have an us-them mentality, but they are more focused on bringing ‘them’ in than keeping ‘them’ out.
- There are no rules (except these ones).
- Everything/anything is possible.
- There are no wrong answers or stupid suggestions – everyone’s ideas are valuable.
- You get out of today what you put in.
- Have fun!”
[ via The Rules… Or not so much ]
Reading these make me want to have a conversation. I am quickly realizing that, due to the nature of my new job, I spend way to much time buried in my own little world. I miss having Drew around. We worked well together, and I think fed off one another. Now, I’m just head down in my terminal bouncing ideas off my forehead.
According to that little lady, I am Thomas Thomas. I have been called Thomas Thomas before, but usually in a bad connotation:
“Where did you hear that?”
”From Thomas.”
“You mean, Thomas Thomas?”
”Yeah.”
Tonight it went a little differently. Her significant other, whom I met and hung out with a couple months ago, introduced me to her as “Thomas”. She replied,
“You mean, Thomas Thomas?”
I thought this was a bad thing, but apparently I actually had a positive impact on Nate. They both reassured me this was a good thing. Whew… (Is it wrong, that I’m relieved when I find out I haven’t screwed someone up?
Anyway, tonight we all hung out at O’Garas and talked about how to be a Christian in community with others in relation to struggling institutions, who can–at times–be less than supportive. The beautiful thing about it all, is that God continues to break through the structures and failures and hurts and show up. Regarless of how dissapointed we may be about the forms, or the leadership, or any of our own expectations. Not only that, but it is explicitly through these broken, struggling relationships that God continually chooses to work.
Gracious God, be with those separated from their families.
Gracious God, be with those struggling to find their place.
Gracious God, be with those learning to live in grace.
Gracious God, be with those who feel they have all the answers.
Gracious God, be with those who don’t even know the questions.
Gracious God, be with those who hate you and everyone who claims to know you.
Gracious God, be with those who love.
Today, Chris Brogan helped me learn a hard lesson:
Sarcasm is a powerful communication tool, possibly the most powerful.
Spending a lot of time in front of a computer is a waste of time. Coming up with something to say every day is such a waste. Making audio and video podcasts is tough, costs too much to do right, and who’s going to bother listening or watching anyway? Spending time on Facebook is stupid. It’s really just for college kids, and you’re creepy for being there. Why bother with Twitter? Like anyone wants to know what I ate for lunch yesterday. This is all a stupid fad, and we’re going to be laughing about it in a few years…
Chris is one of those bloggers whose posts are just the beginning — he’s as interested in the discussion in the comments as he is in sharing his thoughts (maybe even more so). That is to say, he always invokes a lot of comments. But this short sarcastic post, earned him the most comments in 1/2 hour on his blog.
I’m very happy for him, but I’m also troubled by the power of sarcasm. Especially since I’m trying to uncover the power of love. Maybe, to engage the culture more authentically, love will have to take a more sarcastic tone? Do people need a cynic to speak the truth, to evoke change, to challenge corruption?
