Sabbatical key learnings ...
Curating
This is a word still new to me - curating. I spent the past two days digging into this reality. Attending the Fellowship of Christian Athletes banquet in Wausau on November 1 was very informative for me on the need for curating. The training I am receiving from Vibrant Faith is focused specifically on the importance and the means to curate.
Curating is examining and carefully selecting resources and events to offer and promote that are helpful, factual and reliable, and are tried, proven, and seasoned over time. We now have immediate access to everything – plus:
I am impressed with this Vibrant Faith University that I am reading, studying, and engaging together with a cohort of twenty people from across the United States. Our course right now is focusing on how to select, offer, and promote resources and events that are helpful, reliable, and proven for growing faith.
But more than helpful with all the access and all the information in this 21st Century it connects us with that which is life-giving, life-impactful, and leads to unending and unfathomable eternal life. More than reliable truth and information, it brings us into a living relationship with a living God. And more than proven, it drills down into tradition that has been around since the beginning of time and which still listens and speaks to us today.
Which brings me back to the speaker on Tuesday evening, David Wheaton, and his book which I purchased, University of Destruction. His speech was inspiring and good and his book for young adults transitioning to college life was – mostly good. “Mostly good” is the problem. He expands his list of what Christians ought to believe and what the Bible says and he narrows his list of who correctly teaches this list.
The challenge in this 21st Century with access to everything is to discern what is truly Biblical and Christian and following Jesus and what is really good but then slips into someone inserting their own personal opinions, desires, and prejudices.
Curating focuses on the richness of tradition that has been around a long time, that is in constant dialog with other traditions, is engaged widely, broadly, and very importantly also globally, and is tried, proven, and grounded in connecting us with Jesus. In the access to everything world of this 21st Century curating is an essential task of the church today in forming faith in Jesus and Jesus only.
Curating is examining and carefully selecting resources and events to offer and promote that are helpful, factual and reliable, and are tried, proven, and seasoned over time. We now have immediate access to everything – plus:
- Today personal opinion and personal experience are increasingly over emphasized and at the same time, learned wisdom and proven reality are increasingly de-emphasized.
- In response to the myriad of truth claims great emphasis is given to why each group’s truth claim is correct and others wrong.
I am impressed with this Vibrant Faith University that I am reading, studying, and engaging together with a cohort of twenty people from across the United States. Our course right now is focusing on how to select, offer, and promote resources and events that are helpful, reliable, and proven for growing faith.
But more than helpful with all the access and all the information in this 21st Century it connects us with that which is life-giving, life-impactful, and leads to unending and unfathomable eternal life. More than reliable truth and information, it brings us into a living relationship with a living God. And more than proven, it drills down into tradition that has been around since the beginning of time and which still listens and speaks to us today.
Which brings me back to the speaker on Tuesday evening, David Wheaton, and his book which I purchased, University of Destruction. His speech was inspiring and good and his book for young adults transitioning to college life was – mostly good. “Mostly good” is the problem. He expands his list of what Christians ought to believe and what the Bible says and he narrows his list of who correctly teaches this list.
The challenge in this 21st Century with access to everything is to discern what is truly Biblical and Christian and following Jesus and what is really good but then slips into someone inserting their own personal opinions, desires, and prejudices.
Curating focuses on the richness of tradition that has been around a long time, that is in constant dialog with other traditions, is engaged widely, broadly, and very importantly also globally, and is tried, proven, and grounded in connecting us with Jesus. In the access to everything world of this 21st Century curating is an essential task of the church today in forming faith in Jesus and Jesus only.
November 1, All Saints Day
What a fitting day to begin the second phase of my sabbatical! For a thousand plus years this day has been marked to remember those who have died who have greatly influenced, mentored, and taught us. I stand on the shoulders of countless saints who have formed and guided me. And, my goal in this second phase of my sabbatical is to learn how to network many generations together to be "saints" for each other.
Today was a super day to begin:
What a fitting day to begin the second phase of my sabbatical! For a thousand plus years this day has been marked to remember those who have died who have greatly influenced, mentored, and taught us. I stand on the shoulders of countless saints who have formed and guided me. And, my goal in this second phase of my sabbatical is to learn how to network many generations together to be "saints" for each other.
Today was a super day to begin:
- Beautiful weather! I had a chance to do an eight-mile run, hike, walk. Amazing beauty!
- Fascinating people! There are twenty of us in this Vibrant Faith University cohort from Vancouver, Washington to Connecticut. All are involved and interested in expanding their congregation's effectiveness in forming faith. Today was the second scheduled three-hour live-streamed class.
- Interesting and significant learning! I also started catching up on work I missed before today with reading and watching video. The focus is "Faith Formation in the 21st Century" and using John Roberto's book Reimagining Faith Formation foir the 21st Century. There is great possibilities and church and faith are alive and well!
- Now - time to go to another key faith forming experience - a fundraising dinner for Fellowship of Christian Athletes.