Monthly Archives: May 2016

Sounds a bit like a thriller about the mob!

As soon as we gather as more than one person, we must organize.   To see each other, to enjoy entertainment, to worship, to play sports, to do anything.  Any group of people becomes an organization.  The more people, the greater the organization. 

To distinguish the various stages of organization, we say things like “we are a movement”, “we have become fossilized”, and even, “our needs base is greater than our resource base.” 

Now, in both anthropology and other disciplines, we find that the least organization provides opportunity for the best per capita resourcing, the greatest amount of spare time and even the exercise of greater freedom.

A generation which watched the organization of the church take on phenomenal growth, also became disillusioned with the excesses of rules and the subsequent lack of creativity.  Centralizing does provide some efficiencies, but tends to create a standardization that stifles instead of encourages local initiatives and culture.

The fight of megachurch versus small group/church will grow greater as real estate prices increase, and as the celebrity culture confronts those who desire authenticity instead of sculpted images. 

Those who have soured on organized religion tend to feature the lack of connection, the misapplication of rules, and the need for closeness and support of a small group.  This is not just a millennial generation focus – this reaches from young to old. 

I accept that my religion, outside of my private devotion, will be organized religion.  Nevertheless, unorganized and sometimes disorganized connections with others in the church and community are enjoyed and encouraged. 

After serving in a church of over 500 people, a transition to this more flexible organization was difficult for me.  After moving to a small town and spending more than a decade in this type of setting, I still love organized activities, but I am more and more inclined to return to the very simple approach.  Love  your neighbour, hang out with them, and bring God into their lives simply and authentically.  Love God through Jesus Christ, and enjoy life!

An interesting conversation caught my attention recently.

We were trying to define the word “church”. 

Apparently King James, when he was establishing a translation of the Bible, required that the word “church” be used instead of “congregation.”  The reason:  congregation was too democratic.  While we see his effort to provide a standard translation as a unifying thing for the country, there may also have been a bias towards controlling the country through the office of the King.

Over the years, “church” has become a part of what many people revile:  organized religion.  In some cultures the word is pictorially represented by teaching – or cynically we would say indoctrination or brainwashing.  Membership is pictorially seen as related to business.

But the Bible seems to have a different approach to “church.”  I like the definition that was expressed:

When you are cut, we all bleed.

While I am not American, I do understand the unique foundations of their country.  Listening to their pledge of allegiance as a child, I understood that the rule of God was to be manifested in their way of life. 

I have since filled in a lot of my childish understanding. 

I am more than ever convinced that a civil society needs God.  Unity will be shattered where a despot or a democracy creates shifting absolutes and selfish approaches.  A benevolent God who cares for the people is the basis of the spirit of love that we exhibit to other citizens.  Law begins in God’s laws.

Then, the country lives in harmony as we determine our culture through shared laws that are determined for the people.  Tolerance is based in the good of God’s laws.  Rehabilitation is based in the intent of God’s laws.  Leadership is based in the service of God’s laws.

A flourishing country lives in the recognition that living under God is done by and through the citizenry.  Not through slavery of the citizenry but through willing participation.  Not through grudging compliance but through enthusiastic enjoyment.  Not through individual edicts but through God-shaped-community decisions.

I am a realist at heart with an optimistic bent.  I would love to live in such a country.  Religion exists to tell us that we are far from that country.  True religion exists to help us reach that country.

RCA Victor was quite a brand in its day.   There was the dog that stood beside the Victorla.  And the early use of an acronym for a product.  Add to that the excellence of the product, and you have a dynasty.  The recording arm of the company is still in production.  The “talking machines” have basically been abandoned.

In exploring our demo house, we found an old RCA Victor tube radio.  Not the large console type.  More the small kitchen counter type. 

Yesterday I cleaned the worst of the remnants of dirt from the cabinet of the radio.  As I ventured into the guts of the machine, everything looked intact.  The tubes were unbroken, the soldering still in place and the wiring all in one piece.

When everything was cleaned and polished, I plugged the radio in.  Nothing happened.  At least for the first few moments.  Then a hiss began.  I turned a knob or two.  All of a sudden the local radio station was clearly broadcasting through the speaker.

I forget that before solid state electronics, tubes took time to warm up.  The power we expect to provide immediate reactions takes a few moments to vibrate through the system.  Then you get a very clear signal.

I suppose our electronic age has conditioned us to only tolerate immediacy.  I wonder if a previous age had something better than us.  Time to reflect, to vibrate and recalibrate before we have to react.  Then our signals can be quite clear.