October 22ndFive Minutes on Friday #4
‘Everyone must concede that the kingdom of God comes not through logical concepts but through surprises.’ [Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt]
PURPOSE
In an interview, Richard Stearns, retired CEO, talks about his life in the business world. His first big success came being named CEO of Parker Brothers at age 33. But, two years later he was fired. Hired as the CEO of another company he was fired there also, after just two years. For the next nine months he contemplated his life and what his purpose was. He had been raised Catholic and he now remembered a question in the catechism that he had memorized as a young boy.
The question: ‘Why did God create me?’
Answer: ‘To know God, to love God, and to serve God in this world.’
When Stearns landed a new job he began each day with this prayer: ‘Lord, help me to know you, to love you, and to serve you in this place.’ A great prayer for all of us no matter what our position in life, working, studying, or retired.
CHURCH CONVERSATIONS
On Tuesday, we hosted a conversation with two other MC congregations in Saskatoon. The discussion was warm, free-wheeling, and very inspiring. At one point one of the people there said, in relation to thinking about ministry projects, ‘We just don’t know. It’s kind of a confusing time and we are trying to make our way through it.’ I take that to mean that in this new reality churches need to be nimble, imaginative, and improvisational as we journey forward.
The Harvard leadership guru, Ron Heifetz, has suggested that when all is well, very few decisions are required. You simply fall back on conventional authority structures and follow norms and procedures. It is only in a crisis that you need to make actual decisions, because by definition, a crisis is when the usual procedures have failed. The role of leadership in a time of crisis (profound change) is to assess what is essential, what can be discarded, and where and how to innovate. In Heifetz’s view, every authority structure in designed to address a set of problems that were once a crisis but are now routine.
There were some really good questions raised in our conversation and we plan to engage them further at a meeting in January 2022.
A NEW SONG?
This week our worship will reflect on Psalm 98, a psalm that focuses on our human response to God’s greatness and deeds: we engage in praise and music making! And the circle expands to include all of creation in this song of eager hope and expectation!
As we consider life post-COVID, what do we hope for? How will we seek God’s righteousness and reign as we enter into a new reality? What new song will we sing?
PRAYER
We are people who must sing to you,
for the sake of our very lives.
You are a God who must be sung by us,
for the sake of your majesty and honour.
And so we thank you,
for lyrics that push us past our reasons,
for melodies that break open our givens,
for cadences that locate us home,
beyond all our safe places,
for tones and tunes that open our lives
beyond control and our futures beyond despair.
We thank you for the long parade of mothers and fathers
who have sung you deep and true.
We thank you for the good company
of artists, poets, musicians, cantors, and instruments
that sing for us and with us, toward you.
We are witnesses to your mercy and splendour;
we will not keep silent…ever again. AMEN [Voices Together, 882]