Change

"God help us to change.

To change ourselves and to change our world.

To know the need of it. To deal with the pain of it.

To feel the joy of it. To undertake the journey without understanding the destination.

The art of gentle revolution. Amen"

At our staff meeting this week we spent a deal of time thinking and talking about CHANGE! It was masquerading as the reality of our financial future and the fact that events will overtake the status quo and mean consolidation, loss of roles, morphing into a new structure etc.

As I've thought about it since [my contribution is sadly always contradicted, made sensible or is actually on topic in my own head later on after time to think... I wish that clarity happened at the time].

In one way what we were really talking about was finding a way to help our whole institution deal with CHANGE.... vision, structures, missional congegations, wider resourcing, property rationalisation, learning, history and all our different perspectives!

One message which needs to get out is that not only has the world changed [the normal approach] but the church has also changed, it's already too late... people react:

1. As though we have a choice

2. Out of their own paradigm

3. As if any voice for change is heresy

4. Gravitating towards what power can be wielded

5. With Turf wars

6. Changing stuff that's irrelevant

etc etc

I started with the Michael Leunig prayer because coincidentally I had included it in a worship outline for an assignment just this week. Then I also read it in a post on a blog by Steve Taylor who will in fact be speaking at our UCA National Workers with Children, Youth & Families Inservice in South Australia this coming August.

I'm still pondering one key idea from our meeting about modelling the change. This will mean 'giving up' things ourselves. This could include:

1. Giving away some security

2. Pushing further with our staff and cross Board initiatives

3. Giving energy to our 1.5 and 2nd Gen young people

4. Being willing to engage in lateral and costly thinking

5. working across our interconciliar appraoch to broker new ways of working

For me I hope the work I'm doing and the things I'd like to see happen with Salt [Factory] might be a way to envision and be engaged in 'the new'. I think it's what the future development of 'congregations' could be like... I guess we'll see!!

Anyhow I'm babbling now with a big day on the schedule tomorrow so I will come back to this... how can we think missionally about the future structure of our institution and act for change within it... the cross we bear!!