Monday, November 15, 2004
Brewin, K. (2004) The Complex Christ. SPCK
One can always tell that an institution is in trouble when infighting starts and those at the top begin to lose sight of the outside world, focusing all their energies on internal wrangling; seemingly determined to pull the house down around them rather than lose face. Pp3
In all emergent systems we see that the cycle of sensing, learning, adapting and changing is one that is going on constantly. It is not parachuted in every four years for a bigshake-up, but permeates the whole organism and is continually effecting changes quietly in the background. Many who have written about the application of this form of change to organizations have referred to the tradition in Japanese Industry of Kaizen, which emphasizes a process of continuous small-scale improvement. There are no grand meetings where the board members decree how the company is going change. Rather, each member of the company and each within it is encouraged to continually reflect on any small ways in which they could improve their work or work place - and the cumulative effect of these tiny incrementalchanges over time is large-scale transformation. Pp81
"…the principle of using gifts as a way of starting conversations about faith is one that Christ rejected, and we should too. Not that we should close all soup-kitchens; it is just that they must not be used as a means to a different end. but as an end in themselves." pp.120
"It is my belief that the Emergent Church will be, as Christ himself was, a force for re-evaluating dirt boundaries, and as a result of these re-evaluations, become a place of refuge for those who have previously been labelled as 'dirty'. pp137
Need to acknowledge that there is part of Judas in easch of us. For we are all Judas when we try to co-opt Christ into our own agenda. We are all Judas when we try to force Christ's hand. We are all Judas when we try to box Christ up for ourselves and control other people's access to him. We are all Judas when we pretend that Christ is located in one place or one person and that all who come to God must come in a particular way in a particular style. And we are all Judas when we try to compel Christ into revolution. Pp 162
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In all emergent systems we see that the cycle of sensing, learning, adapting and changing is one that is going on constantly. It is not parachuted in every four years for a bigshake-up, but permeates the whole organism and is continually effecting changes quietly in the background. Many who have written about the application of this form of change to organizations have referred to the tradition in Japanese Industry of Kaizen, which emphasizes a process of continuous small-scale improvement. There are no grand meetings where the board members decree how the company is going change. Rather, each member of the company and each within it is encouraged to continually reflect on any small ways in which they could improve their work or work place - and the cumulative effect of these tiny incrementalchanges over time is large-scale transformation. Pp81
"…the principle of using gifts as a way of starting conversations about faith is one that Christ rejected, and we should too. Not that we should close all soup-kitchens; it is just that they must not be used as a means to a different end. but as an end in themselves." pp.120
"It is my belief that the Emergent Church will be, as Christ himself was, a force for re-evaluating dirt boundaries, and as a result of these re-evaluations, become a place of refuge for those who have previously been labelled as 'dirty'. pp137
Need to acknowledge that there is part of Judas in easch of us. For we are all Judas when we try to co-opt Christ into our own agenda. We are all Judas when we try to force Christ's hand. We are all Judas when we try to box Christ up for ourselves and control other people's access to him. We are all Judas when we pretend that Christ is located in one place or one person and that all who come to God must come in a particular way in a particular style. And we are all Judas when we try to compel Christ into revolution. Pp 162
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