tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post113937186122480777..comments2024-02-10T08:46:51.419-05:00Comments on Rude Armchair Theology: Believe it or not....Mike Croghanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18099387827886541138noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1139499650967740982006-02-09T10:40:00.000-05:002006-02-09T10:40:00.000-05:00That's interesting, Jayce. We've used that kind o...That's interesting, Jayce. We've used that kind of technique at work. My first thought, upon reading it, was, "How rare that seems to be: having 'some clear and commonly accepted goal'". Both at work and at church, it seems much more common to have a general idea of direction - or maybe several different ones. I think this has both good and bad aspects. On the plus side, "man plans; God laughs" and I think it's good in general to point your boat in what seems to be the right direction and then see where the Spirit (or the "Holy Gust") blows you. On the minus side, if you don't have a clear sense of mission, it can be very hard to make decisions, and much effort can be expended on endeavors that, ultimately, were at best tangential to what the group really thinks is important. (At worst, it can lead to the so-called "Abilene Paradox", where nobody in the group wanted to go down a particular course at all, but everybody kept quiet about it because they didn't want to disappoint the others.)<BR/><BR/>Hmm. That was a bit of a tangent. Back to work for me. :-)Mike Croghanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18099387827886541138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1139498557080047992006-02-09T10:22:00.000-05:002006-02-09T10:22:00.000-05:00Thanks, Dee! :-) You know, you're right about Je...Thanks, Dee! :-) You know, you're right about Jesus and good advice. Maybe there ought to be some organization or something dedicated to finding out more about what he said and did and putting it into practice.... ;-)Mike Croghanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18099387827886541138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1139498443561417342006-02-09T10:20:00.000-05:002006-02-09T10:20:00.000-05:00It's liberating to say what's on your mind because...It's liberating to say what's on your mind because it's the right thing to do.<BR/><BR/>On a completely different note, had you considered introducing techniques "iterative design meetings" in this business-like meeting at your church? I tried this at a meeting I'm going to (project related, not church related) and it seemed to work pretty well -- of course, it's stretching the limits of what it's good for by applying it to a church meeting, but it might be a starting point.<BR/><BR/>Just so we're talking about the same thing, "iterative design meetings" are for when you've got some clear and commonly accepted goal, but don't know all the steps to get to that goal. You just go around the room and each person talks about what they accomplished since last meeting, what they planned-to but didn't accomplish since last meeting, and what they plan to accomplish before the next meeting. It lets people know what everyone else is doing and gives them a chance to ask people for help.<BR/><BR/>It might not work in your church meetings, but it's another thing to try. That said, it sounded like the original problem might not be a problem at all.Jayce from Rochesterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05766605787783546357noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1139460006295583732006-02-08T23:40:00.000-05:002006-02-08T23:40:00.000-05:00I'm glad to hear your missions meeting went so wel...I'm glad to hear your missions meeting went so well! Sounds like some healthy stuff going on there. Isn't the power of a shared meal amazing? Seems like Jesus knew what he was doing when he told us to break bread together... Smart guy, that one.Deannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03680643785305045545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1139455619731478212006-02-08T22:26:00.000-05:002006-02-08T22:26:00.000-05:00Thanks, brothers! (sniff) :-)Thanks, brothers! (sniff) :-)Mike Croghanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18099387827886541138noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5403232.post-1139414320001908682006-02-08T10:58:00.000-05:002006-02-08T10:58:00.000-05:00that's a touching confessional, Mike... now I get ...that's a touching confessional, Mike... now I get to know the INNER Mike that I had hope to! And isn't it great to be in community without boundaries? I have really liked Paul Levesque's analogy of "orbits around MH"... we all pick the orbit that we want. There is no membership, only orbits that move closer to each other or a more comfortable distance from each other... nobody can rightly judge that orbit... it's YOUR orbit. And we're YOUR church if you feel that way!WMShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02728323420072862807noreply@blogger.com