I had a great little conversation with a person called Joy down at Warrnambool the Sunday before last. Apparently they have a WhatsApp group that plan their own worship and they are always looking for new ideas!
How could I resist?
So I joined the group and sent off a whacky idea – a fun, alternative way of doing a Bible reading. Don’t know if they’ll ever use it, but that’s OK.
The encouragement from members of the group got me thinking about the myriad of experiments I’ve had a go at over the years, setting up environments that tap into our inner being to inspire, encourage, stimulate thinking and promote spiritual transformation.
So I think I might see if I can gather some of this stuff together into one place over the next few months. But before I do, I want to offer something to encourage those who have encouraged me…
An Introduction to ‘A Collection of Stuff around the idea of Pieces Promoting Spiritual Nurture involving Open Participation‘.
Monday I’ve Got Friday On My Mind (The Easybeats.(1966) YouTube
- According to Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace report, two thirds of the Australian workforce is passively disengaged, while 13 per cent is actively disengaged – i.e., taking actions that directly harm the organisation and its goals.
Just one in five reported that they were engaged and thriving at work.
What hidden active and passive disengagement might be affecting the constituency of the churches?
- Imagine! More than 70% of millennials working in Government and Corporates would like to leave their work because they feel they can’t contribute with their own ideas or ways of doing things, but feel they have to hang in there for the pay cheque.
Churches are essentially volunteer organisations, with no financial incentive for engagement. So might we not expect more than 70% of millennials in our population to have left the churches already if they have not been actively engaged?
- On the other hand, fancy finding out there is a huge, seriously successful mega-corporation in the U.S. that has no bosses? Imagine that! And everybody reports being happy at work! And it works!
If, as in the world of work, corporates may be reorganised without bosses (controllers), what could the churches learn from this?
- Fancy coming across ‘Thank God it’s Monday’ splashed across the entrance to a block of ‘start-up’ suites in East London? What does this say to those who’ve taken the plunge to leave the security of the institutions to have the freedom to develop their own ideas?
I thought we were all looking forward to the freedom of Friday!
Something’s going on in the way we think about work these days. And it’s much more radical than whether people can work from home or not, or if they can turn off their phones when they get home.
And almost certainly, something’s going on in the way we are getting our spiritual nurture these days. And it’s much more radical than hugging a tree or joining a meditation or yoga group.