the end of the world
(part four)
(("dear coach's corner"))


"...i wouldn't bother with these questions if i didn't sense some spiritual connection. we may not be the same, but it's not like we're from different planets."

and so, we continue along manipulating different variations on a theme.

that's the funny part of it all, right? the part that we all know is true. it's not like we're from different planets. humanity is complex, sure. we all have our differing experiences of nurture even if we believe we are, fundamentally, sprung from the same nature. differing levels of education. differing opinions. differing interests. differing investment in the war between good and evil. differing motivations. differing favorite flavors of limeade. but, it's not not like we're from different planets.

"we both love this game we can hardly fucking stand it."

replace "game" with church or god or heavenly orb and therein lies our common denominator. our jumping off point. in a local church environment, this is where every meeting should begin. every worship service. every relationship.

"listen, dude. i think the eagles (the band) suck."

"i think you wear that shirt way too often."

"i think your kid is out of control."

"at least i wear a shirt."

"what does that even mean?"

"i think you are here too much. don't you have a life?"

"i think you aren't here enough. don't you care about this place?"

"you good?"

"yeah. you got it out of your system?"

"yeah. you still love god?"

"yep. you?"

"yep. let's move on."

"ready...break."

and then you just get down to it. you center yourself around the common denominator and you work from there. too often we are or have been getting caught up in the details. back when blog-gate broke out nice and proper, some one made a big deal about me putting quotation marks around the devil when i was talking about details. all the quotes referred to were the thousands of little things that our church and "the church" had allowed to shift our focus away from our common denominator. that some one took it personally and made it about them just proved the point.

if we aren't looking for a solution, it's pretty freaking easy not to find one.

and listen, i get it. it's way easier to not look for a solution than to actively work towards one. you can yell, scream and blog all day about wanting something better, but it's a moot point if you aren't willing to put legs to the ideas.

"it takes a village to raise a child. a flag to raze the children."

indeed. twins will be baptised in our church this coming sunday. and the present congregation will vow to help "raise" them right alongside their parents. in the coming weeks, a new director of children's ministries will likely be hired. this person will board a ship whose flag still does not have a defining symbol waving for all to see. there is opportunity there.

both occasions, along with the baptism of several weeks ago have the opportunity to be seen, somewhere down the road, as symbolic. symbolic of what will need to be determined. and soon. but if it is, boy, is there potential there.

potential to do good things. potential to inspire. potential to rally around the common denominator and excite instead of letting the details bog us down.

hey. how did the disciples council meeting go sunday afternoon?

exactly.