Shaping The Space » peripheral http://www.shapingthespace.net Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:03:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc en hourly 1 The Church can change the culture of cities http://www.shapingthespace.net/2009/08/the-church-can-change-the-culture-of-cities/ http://www.shapingthespace.net/2009/08/the-church-can-change-the-culture-of-cities/#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:31:22 +0000 David http://www.shapingthespace.net/2009/08/the-church-can-change-the-culture-of-cities/ We live in a time of unprecedented change. The sci-fi writer and futurist Arthur C. Clark noted that, “Only a century ago the poles were utterly unknown, much of Africa was still as mysterious as in the time of King Solomon, and no human being had descended 100 feet into the sea or risen more than a mile into the air.” Today, the knowledge in the world is doubling every two years — and the rate is itself increasing. Amazing new and emerging technologies, such as nanorobotics, biotech and gene technologies, offer unprecedented opportunities for progress on many fronts.

Of course, every technology has a potential down-side, and we must be wary of how far we travel down the road of hi-tech, and how fast. On the whole, though, we live in exciting – if sometimes worrying – times. Yet the future of human communities, cities and nations is not determined simply by technological advance. Neither will it be simply the product of what risk analysts call ‘low probability – high consequence’ events (such as earthquakes or tsunamis).  The future of cities and communities is determined by human responses to events.

Human choices will shape the future, deciding among other things how technologies should be utilized and how we should interface with our natural environment. However, human choices don’t appear in a vacuum; they are products of our values, aspirations and fears. Because we are social beings, our values are heavily influenced by the cultures – the norms of behaviour and worldviews – of the various groups to which we belong. These cultures are shaped to a significant degree by the actions (or, inaction) of leaders.

Whether in the spheres of business, politics, economics, media, academia, religion or community organizations, leaders don’t just build structures, they are architects of culture. It’s the strength of a community’s culture that determines how that community will respond to the major challenges and questions it will face. Leaders can reshape the future of entire communities and cities, by creating positive, proactive cultures within their spheres of influence. In fact, this is the core of the leadership call: to move organisations – and through them entire communities – forward in a positive direction.

The major role of leadership is to equip people to shape the future proactively – for themselves and for the world.

If the next decade, with its fast moving technological advances and natural and ethical challenges, is to see the world become a better place for most, if not all, of its inhabitants, leaders of all stripes will need to take that role seriously and engage the future with hope and courage. If its leaders think and act in the right way, the church has the opportunity to become a landmark for communities in constant change.

We have the opportunity – indeed, the responsibility – to develop strategies that will move entire communities forward in a positive and godly direction. By building strategic, future-engaging cultures of hope in our churches, we can shape the direction of communities and entire cities.

The author of this article, Mal Fletcher, heads up Next Wave International, a communications group which is training companies, major community organizations, charities and churches to engage the future and move society forward in a positive direction.

Source: Derek Brown – rediscoveringthekingdom.info via Australian Prayer Network

Posted via web from Shaping The (Posterous) Space

]]> http://www.shapingthespace.net/2009/08/the-church-can-change-the-culture-of-cities/feed/ 0 Periphery http://www.shapingthespace.net/2009/01/periphery/ http://www.shapingthespace.net/2009/01/periphery/#comments Tue, 20 Jan 2009 20:49:00 +0000 David http://www.shapingthespace.net/2009/01/periphery/ On Sunday night we visited ShireLive, which was great. Their opening video sequence reminded me (again) of something which has really helped shape some of my thought process recently.

For the last few years at Hillsong Conference, there has been a very effective video shown before each major session which has made a lasting impression on me. The visuals have changed each year, but the soundtrack has remained the same – and I often think about how successfully I and my church are living up to this statement:

“The church is not peripheral to the world, the world is peripheral to the church”

A statement of fact, but how well does my life line up with that? Or my church? Or my denomination? Can I say that my life reflects the reality that I am “the head and not the tail”.

To be honest, while I know it’s fact – sometimes I don’t think I’m anywhere near close enough given the amount of influence I have in my church, work and social life. And that’s more than a little bit scary. I’m not consumed by it – I think it’s a healthy fear :-)

How about you? What does this statement mean for you ?

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