Measurements of "Success"

Bill Easum, in a conference presentation this morning said that the church "beyond the box" will be more interested in "transforming the city" than "building a church."

That got me thinking about the kind of tools we will be using in our beyond the box churches to measure "success." Maybe tools like:

1) lower crime rates? 2) decreased homelessness? 3) reduced poverty? 4) higher literacy? 5) lower unemployment? 6) little clusters of believers in every apartment complex and neighborhood?

I can only imagine how exciting it would be to be a part of a community whose overall "health" was increasing purely as a consequence of the church being the church. But it would take two MAJORLY huge commitments on the part of the "beyond" leaders:

First, they would really need to love the Lord their God with all of their hearts and souls and strengths and minds...and

Second, they would really need to love their neighbors as themselves.

Give up our dreams of  parsonages and pensions? Let go of clerical collars and sterling silver collection baskets? Let our beds be the park benches with the reprobates and our securities rest in Christ alone?

This would be nothing less than radical...revolutionary, even.

Silence is Vocal, if we listen well...

Our group (seminary small group) chose to work on Solitude (Silence), Meditation and Fasting as the disciplines to focus on over the next few weeks. In addition to memorizing Ecclesiastes 5:2, I am also tucking these Native American proverbs into the back of my brain:

"Even your silence holds a sort of prayer." Apache

"Eating little and speaking little can hurt no [wo] man." Hopi

(The Soul would have No Rainbow if the Eyes had No Tears by Guy A. Zona)

Symbols

It's time. My seminary experience has begun.

To mark this new season, I spent the summer thinking and praying, deliberating and dialoging with Sean about some physical symbols i could employ to set apart this spiritual journey. I re-read the passage in Numbers about the nazirite vow. I finally chose three things that would matter to me:

1. No intoxicants (well, unless i end up in the hospital and need to be sedated before they slice me open...)

2. No meat (because there aren't that many dead bodies hanging around anymore...)

3. Cut off my hair (because my hair is long to begin with and it wouldn't mean as much to me if i just let it keep on growing...)

For me, there can be something sacred in symbols. Not magic, but sacred. I think (mostly) my "heart" wanted my body to share in the experience of expectancy.

Communities of Practice

I've been reading and thinking about ways to utilize the new "cohort" educational learning model and corporate "communities of practice" model in the church. iComm is working to establish Communities of Practice around the "Character of the Church" and "The development and testing of facilitation strategies for use in non-traditional leadership development initiative and conventional theological education." (that second one's a mouth full...) (see November 2002  iComm Bulletin). But wouldn't it be possible to make use of this concept on a smaller scale: in the spiritual formation and discipleship programs of individual churches?

Taken from Richard McDermott's article "Knowing in Community: 10 Critical Success Factors in Building Communities of Practice," wouldn't these work for building a system for learning in the church as well? 

1. Focus on knowledge important to both the business [church] and the people.
2. Find a well-respected community member to act as coordinator.
3. Make sure people have time and encouragement to participate.
4. Build on a core value of the organization [church].
5. Involve thought leaders.
6. Create forums for thinking.
7. Maintain personal contact among community members.
8. Develope an active, passionate core group.
9. Make it easy to connect, contribute to and access the community.
10. Create real dialogue about cutting edge issues in community forums.

Information can often lead to transformation: "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Romans 12:2

JAMMIN' JAVA

IF I OWNED MY OWN COFFEE HOUSE I WOULD...

Lydia, a fellow member of Cohort 802 (my learning group at school) is doing her research project on coffee houses. As a musician, she envisions the possibility of owning her own coffee house one day. So, to help her collect data on what would make a coffee house really great, I thought, "Why not ask 'the people' ?"

So, "people," how would you finish this sentence: "If I owned my own coffee house I would..."

Responses: 

"If I owned my own coffee house I would provide art supplies - water colors, pencils, markers - at every table and blank drawing paper to sketch or paint on and then encourage people to allow the music to act as a catalyst for spontaneous poetry, paintings, and renderings."

"If I owned my own coffee house I would have one night a week for word weavers and story tellers."