The Sustainist

Have Much But Not Too Much

"The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little."

This was the advice that Paul, the most influential missionary, whose writings formed a major part of the Christian Scripture, gave to the first Christian community in Corinth some 2000 years ago. 

Obviously, for 2,000 years human beings have not changed much when it comes to giving.  Paul apparently was dealing with hesitation and fear fostered by the reigning spirituality of scarcity.  Paul wrote, “I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.” And then he quoted from Hebrew Scripture the line I opened this blog with.   He was referring to the story of Israelites in the wilderness where God gave them manna (bread) from heaven and they were to collect what they needed and no more. (Exodus 16: 15b-18)

The assumption behind this advice was that the way resources were distributed was not fair or balanced.   And the solution to restoring the fair balance was for those who had a lot to give to those in need.  Notice that Paul immediately addressed their fear by saying  “so that their abundance may be for your need” in return.  That is, if you give, you get back.

This reciprocal idea about giving is sustainist thinking.  The act of giving activates the circulation of resources, as opposite to holding onto what we have, which stops the flow of resources.  If we stop thinking about giving as a one-time linear process but a circulatory one, we begin to notice how things starts to move and flow in the blessing and gracious directions.  And in good time, we receive again.  What we receive might not be exactly what we gave but the gifts would be enriching, nonetheless. A sustainist community would actively seek to realize the vision, "the one who has much does not have too much, and the one who has little does not have too little."  

For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:9)

An update on the experiment of giving from last week’s blog:  In one week, 26 friends donated and we raised $1,435.  I want to thanks those of you who have given.  However, to reach our goal for the Kaleidoscope Institute, we need a lot more folks to give in the coming weeks.  So keep the blessings flowing by giving yourself.  If you have contributed already, appeal to others who had been KI-blessed to become part of the flow of blessings

Reflection Questions for Proper 8 (Year B) 2 Samuel 1:1. 17-27    What did you learn from David about enemy, victory and war? Psalm 130   What does it mean for your soul to wait for the Lord? 2 Corinthians 8:7-15   How do you apply, “The one who had much did not have too much and the who had little did not have too little,” in your life and your community? Mark 5:21-43   What did you learn from this story about God’s grace and healing power?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 16-20 Kaleidoscope Summer Institute:  Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin, Holy Currencies and Community Transformation St. Paul’s Cathedral Center, Los Angeles, CA August 13-17 Holy Currencies: Creating Sustainable Missional Ministries Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org

Calming the Storm

Twice a year, around January and July, the Kaleidoscope Institute (KI), a not-for-profit organization of which I am the executive director, has to deal with cash-flow issues because we do not have regularized contributions.  We received contributions from groups and organizations often at the end of the workshops and consulting period, and sometimes the timing of money coming in does not coincide with the time we have to pay our bills.  Sure enough, it is the middle of June, and the storm of anxiety over money is starting to blow.  This anxiety gets in the way of my ability to create more sustainist resources. During these anxious times, I sometimes lose faith in what I teach – that we live in abundance and that there is always enough.   At times like this, I need to find a way to calm this storm. 

I need your help to raise $25,000 this month for KI.  This will eliminate future anxiety over cash flow and allow KI to expand our blessings.  You may ask, “How are we going to do that?” Here is the plan, we are asking you to give between $10 and $50 now.   If we get 1,000 persons like you to give an average of $25, we meet our goal.  You can do the math.

I invite you to be part of this “experiment” to restore my faith – the currency of relationship can exchange into other blessings, including money, along with truth, wellness and leaderships.  First, I invite you to recall and affirm the blessings you have received through KI.  Some of you came to our training Institutes in Los Angeles, Seattle, Connecticut and Texas, some of you came to KI events sponsored by your denominations or congregations, some of you read The Sustainist blog regularly, and some of you connect with KI through our newsletter, “The Grace Margin”.  How have these connections with KI empowered and transformed you and your ministries?

As you recall the blessings you received, we invite you to continue these blessings by supporting KI monetarily in a small way, around $25, so we can continue our ministry of transformational blessings.  If you need more convincing, here are some statistics that might help.  This last year alone, KI has offered our resources to:

• 5 seminaries
• 7 Episcopal Dioceses
• 8 United Methodist Conferences
• Other denominational work includes Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Church of Canada, American Baptist, Church of the Brethren, Unitary Universalist, and Salvation Army.

Through these organizational connections in that last 12 months, KI’s transformational work has touched church leaders from over 600 churches!  By the way, we are developing new programs for at-risk youth, expanding our language ministries in Spanish, and creating an entrepreneur approach to missional ministries this coming year.  Any additional funds we raise will go to accelerate the creation of these new blessings.

Giving is easy.  Just go to our website now (http://www.kscopeinstitute.org/) and click “DONATE” and follow the instructions.  Calm my storm and restore my faith.  I hope to report the result of this experiment through this blog and my Facebook posts.  So give and stay connected to find out the result of this invitation to continue the flow of blessings.

From God’s abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another. (John 1:16)

Reflection Questions for Proper 7 (Year B) 1 Samuel 17:1-49    What did you learn from this story about leadership? Psalm 9:9-20   How does God help you in time of trouble? 2 Corinthians 6:1-13   How does it mean to open your heart? Mark 4:35-41   What does it mean to have faith?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 16-20 Kaleidoscope Summer Institute:  Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin, Holy Currencies and Community Transformation St. Paul’s Cathedral Center, Los Angeles, CA August 13-17 Holy Currencies: Creating Sustainable Missional Ministries Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org

Mustard Seed

A month ago, Bob Kelley, a board member, and Lucky Lynch, an Associate of the Kaleidoscope Institute met to explore ways to market our new program: Holy Currencies.  When three creative people started talking, ideas flowed freely.  When I mentioned “life skills” for young people as a way to share this model of sustainability with a different population than our usual clients, the conversation became more enthusiastic and intense.  At the end of the meeting, we decided to put more energy into pursuing this idea.

In my travels working with many church leaders, I started talking to them about creating a Life Skill Circle ministry for senior high school students, especially for churches located near a high school.  The responses were all positive.  In fact, at least 5 church leaders offered their churches as test sites for this project.  They said, “This is the kind of program we are looking for.”  In these conversations, the structure of the program began to take shape. 

I also talked about this idea with a few people who have financial resources and again, the responses were all positive; one person actually said, “What’s the next step?  Maybe I can invest in this project.”

Last week, Bob and I talked again in preparation for the Kaleidoscope Institute board meeting.  Bob had asked a team in his business to start the work of creating a curriculum for this project.  The rough draft of the basic life skills that the team came up includes:

1. Interactive Diverse Viewpoint Discussion Skills
2. Sensitivity To Social Interaction Styles
3. Asking Questions to Learn & Understand
4. Basic Group Facilitation Skills
5. Basic Teaching Skills
6. Business & Home Economics 
7. Holy Currencies For A Missional Ministry Project
8. Surveys & Statistical Inference
9. Event Design & Planning
10. Developing, Managing & Creating A Report  on A Holy Currencies Missional Community Project

As I shared the responses I have been getting from church leaders with Bob, the project vision became clearer. We would train 2 church volunteers to facilitate a group of 8 students to form a Life Skill Circle, which would meet weekly for 3 hours.  The curriculum would be 2-years long beginning in January for 10^th Graders and end in December of their senior year.  During the last semester, the Circle will develop, plan and implement a sustainable missional project.

We will be presenting this whole vision to the Board this week and explore funding opportunities to bring together a design team to create the curriculum, building the relationships with church test sites and to launch the project in January 2013.  So if any of my readers would like to be part of this exciting development by giving initial financial support and offering your expertise, let me know.

Sometimes an idea begins like a mustard seed, small and almost invisible.  But with the right conditions and creativity, it can grow into “the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Invite members of your community to gather and explore new ideas for sustainable community: Invite participants to individually write down as many ideas as they can think of that can help create a sustainable community.  Remind them not to judge these ideas no matter how far-fetched they are. Form small groups and invite participants to share these ideas. Invite participants to find connections among these ideas and how some build on others to create new ideas. If an idea catches the energy of the group, stay with that idea for a while and invite participants to describe the vision with more details. As a large group, close the dialogue time by inviting participants to reflect and share:   As result of this dialogue, what am I called to do?

Reflection Questions for Proper 6 (Year B) 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13    What did you learn from this story about raising leaders? Psalm 20   What does it mean for you to call upon the Name of the God? 2 Corinthians 5:1-17   How can you be part of the new creation? Mark 4:26-34   What are the qualities of the realm of God?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 16-20 Kaleidoscope Summer Institute:  Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin, Holy Currencies and Community Transformation St. Paul’s Cathedral Center, Los Angeles, CA August 13-17 Holy Currencies: Creating Sustainable Missional Ministries Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org

Sustainist Tree

I was honored to be part of Brandon and Bharti’s wedding last Sunday.  This wonderful celebration took place under a giant fig tree that is over 100 years old.  When it was time for me to offer my remarks, I couldn’t help but be inspired by this magnificent tree.  Here is a summary of what I said:

There are many ways to appreciate a tree.  We can admire its strength, height and width and how it provides shade and shelter for us.  We can marvel at the extension of its root above the ground.  We can see that there were branches that had been broken off and yet the tree continues to grow with new branches next to it.  We can appreciate the many fruit it bears. 

But these are only the external things that we can see of a tree.  What makes up a tree that is over 100 years old involves many other things.  There is the earth through which the roots of the tree can hold the tree up above.  The earth works with the water and feeds the tree through its root system.  Then there is the air and the sun interacting with the leaves though the photosynthesis process giving us fresh air to breath.  A tree is not just a tree.  It has to interact and be supported by all of these other elements.  When a tree is established and strong, it can withstand many things and still stay strong.  If we have a drought, for example, this tree will survive because its roots reach very deep into the ground to find water down there.  If there is a big storm and many of its branches are broken off, it will survive and sprout new branches.  This tree is sustainable because of all the elements surrounding it, making it strong.

There are many ways to appreciate a wedding.  We can admire the beautiful couple and their friends in the wedding party.  We can see the beautiful flowers and decorations, wonderful food and the delicious wedding cake.  But what makes a strong marriage involves not just the love between two persons getting married.  It involves their families and their friends.  They are the ones who are like the earth, the water, the air and the sun that will nurture their relationship allowing their love for each other to grow deep roots keeping their marriage strong.

And when marriage needs to weather a storm – perhaps an emotional one or a physical one – the marriage will stay sustainable because of friends and family surrounding the couple.  

Responding to our call to create sustainable communities is like a marriage; we make a commitment to a sustainist way of living.  In order for our commitment to be nurtured and become strong, we need to discern our call with our family and friendship network.  How does our family and friendship network connect and support us?  What do we need to do to get our network involved in this call? 

Invite members of your community to gather and explore how their families and friends can be part of their discernment and commitment to their call to ministry: Invite participants to write down individually what they feel they are called to do to create a sustainable community. Invite them to write down names of family members and friends whom they think should be involved in supporting their call. Form small groups and invite participants to share ideas of how to get their family members and friends connected to their commitments. As a large group, close the dialogue time by inviting participants to reflect and share: As result of this dialogue, what am I called to do?

Reflection Questions for Proper 5 (Year B) 1 Samuel 8:4-20    What did you learn from this story about leadership? Psalm 138   What does this psalm teach you about power? 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1   What is eternal and what is temporary for you? Mark 3:20-35   What is the relationship between your call to ministry and your family?

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org

Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 16-20 Kaleidoscope Summer Institute:  Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin, Holy Currencies and Community Transformation St. Paul’s Cathedral Center, Los Angeles, CA August 13-17 Holy Currencies: Creating Sustainable Missional Ministries Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at:  www.kscopeinstitute.org