God's mission and our transformation

"Don't focus on whether you are dying. Focus on God's mission and your transformation."

Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains.

It seems inevitable that any institution would rather talk endlessly about change or even instruct change when that change will not, in fact, carry any personal cost to those charged with driving and defining the future course of the organisation. And so statistics are quoted, dire predictions are shared and, when those predictions are realised, folk can rest in the knowledge that they were right.

What is much more difficult and way more costly is to BE the change that we need to be. To submit and be challenged by personal transformation in order to effect organisational change. Indeed it may even be that our personal transformation is not enough to change the institution. But that does not mean that we should avoid it. 

When God called Moses out of his self imposed exile to go and lead God's people out of Egypt, Moses recognised all too well how ill-equipped he was for the task but, in humility, he responded to the call of God. And all through the years in the wilderness, time and again, Moses was forced to return to that place of inadequacy and ineffectiveness, that place where only reliance on God allowed God's purpose to be fulfilled. The Moses we see glimpsing the Promised Land, a land he knew he would not enter, is a man who was prepared to submit to incredible personal transformation, the kind of transformation he could never have imagined. Other leaders emerged along the way and were mentored by Moses as he modelled for them the transforming power of God.

As we navigate our way through this wilderness season in the church today, our task as leaders is not to provide answers but to model transformation through which God equips us for the journey, calling us into God's mission today. At the very least, that requires humility and dependence on God. It requires us not to lead with answers but to lead with questions, the kind of questions that seek to discern God's will and purpose for our lives and that enable and empower others to discern God's will and purpose for their lives. God's preferred and promised future is writ large in Scripture. God's peacable kingdom has been outlined by priests and prophets through the ages. That kingdom will be realised when we respond to the challenge to be transformed as we participate in the mission of God.

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Noticing signs of the Kingdom

Sherwood Greenlaw Parish Church

I have noticed that …

people are smiling more
and talking more in our church. 
Some people are praying more,
others are caring more,
and some are thinking more. 
 
I have noticed that people are willing to give things a try,
and experience something new. 
people want to get involved,
and we now have a number of babies and young families
coming regularly to church on a Sunday morning. 
and more parents
have supported the Remembrance Day
and the Uniformed organization services. 
 
I have noticed people being kind,
and saying thank you
for what other church folk have done for them. 
not many folk fall asleep during the sermon,
and people in our community
recognise some of the things we are doing as a church
to be good and healthy and wholesome.
 
I have noticed new people joining our choir,
And the fun that the Time out Group have at the manse.
people are being generous
with their time, talent and money.
People are asking questions,
And probing for a deeper understanding about God.
 
I have noticed, faithful men and woman,
who come week in and week out to worship,
and bring something of themselves to Sherwood Greenlaw,
and offer themselves for the work of the Kingdom of God.

I have noticed, growth and optimism in people,

and a real willingness to take on board
new opportunities as they arise,
that expand the Kingdom of God in this place.
 
All this suggests to me that God is not dead here.
That something of his Spirit is afoot in what we do,
A little spark of the Spirit
that seeks to kindle a deeper fire for God and this Kingdom work.

 

 

Rev John Murning, of Sherwood Greenlaw Parish Church in Paisley, reflects on their journey through Path of Renewal:

Local Partnership

Rev Julia Meason

Another Path of Renewal Congregation shares their story:

Shapinsay Parish Church is located on an island of about 300 folk.

In the summer we have a cafe which is open every day but in winter months there is no natural gathering space for people. We noticed that lack of opportunity and decided to enter into partnership with the Shapinsay Development Trust who have a new building, far better located than the church is. They give us the building free of charge, we provide homebakes, teas, coffees and some activity for the children.

 

It is very successful. We certainly tapped into a need - people come along, enjoy one another’s company, we build relationships. As an aside we raise money for local charities (people like to give a donation for what they’re getting).

Our learning is that it is possible to build something new on a small island that is successful when we identify a true need in the community.

We have had our sabotage when we were accused of taking trade away from the local cafe - which we are not since it’s not open when we operate! We intentionally chose to operate in winter months only in order not to compete. It upset us quite a bit until we realised it had nothing to do with us - it was part of a bigger issue with somebody else and we were used as an argument.

I think all of us realised also how much we were hoping the coffee afternoons would bring people to faith and church. This didn’t happen and our loss is this deep disappointment.

There are good things happening though - folks are more than happy to volunteer to bake and host, whether they’ve got a church connection or not. Some began taking ownership of the place too - recently a family who have been very faithful at coming along, started sweeping floors and tidying up afterwards. They joined us for the beach clean up we organised in our community. I feel they’re beginning to feel like they are one of us, that they belong. And that is a truly great thing.

 

Fair warning!

John 16:1-4a

“I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.

It is only after having first brought about a change and then subsequently enduring the resultant sabotage that the leader can feel truly successful. Ed Friedman - A Failure of Nerve.

Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains, reminds us of these words of Ed Friedman, that sabotage is a normal part of leadership.

Sabotage often comes, not from inherently bad people, but from those close to us. It may come from those who feel that things aren't changing quickly enough, who have become discouraged and impatient along the way. It may arise out of good intentions. It may come from those who know us best and want to move things on and feel that, out of love and friendship, they are uniquely placed to do just that.

Sabotage is not something to be avoided but, rather, something to navigate. Surviving sabotage is a necessary part of leadership that promotes resilience and may even help leaders to clarify the journey. It enables healthy conversations that help people journey forward together with a clearer focus and renewed energy and stability.

Sabotage is to be taken seriously but not feared as we continue to lead people toward the hopeful future that God envisages and as we continue to discern and engage in the Mission of God today.