In a consumable approach to life and work, you view your environment as a threat. You believe resources are scarce. You see yourself in competition with other people and organizations in your community. You do whatever you have to in order to get the resources you need for survival. You end up treating people – and the planet – like they're disposable because nothing, including your mission, matters more than money. This is the approach that has characterized the way things are done in every arena – including business, nonprofit, education, religion – in the modern era (i.e., since the Industrial Revolution got underway).
Are you sick and tired of it, yet?
The headlines tell the story these days: This consumable approach to life and work is killing us, the organizations we care about, and the planet we share. And everybody is caught up in it. Even churches. But we don't think it has to be this way. In more and more places, leaders are experimenting with more renewable ways of living and working together. In education, for example. In the nonprofit world. In business. We believe this is the future of life and work. And we believe the future starts now.
We are committed to helping people in every kind of organization make the shift from a consumable to a renewable way of living and working together, but we have special expertise for working with faith-based leaders. In faith-based organizations that are making this post-modern, post-missional shift to a renewable way of working together, the environment isn't seen as a threat. The environment is viewed, instead, as the locus of God's activity. The world is where the action is! Leaders are constantly on the look out for what God is already doing "out there" and figuring out ways to jump in and help. Neighbors are not potential customers, volunteers, or contributors; they are co-creators in the future God is dreaming about for your community and the world. And you understand your call to be as simple as this: Be who you are. See what you have. Do what matters.
Which approach are you taking in your life and work together? How do you know if you've been sucked in by a consumable approach to ministry? Ask yourself:
Is my faith community or organization exhibiting any of these symptoms of a consumable approach?
__ It's harder and harder to find willing workers.
__ People don't show up for stuff. When they do, they're crabby.
__ Turf wars.
__ Money wars.
__ Burnout.
__Backbiting and gossip.
__People feel like what they're doing doesn't matter.
__People feel like their voices aren't being heard.
__People are turned in on themselves (e.g., worried more about survival than service)
So, how're you doing? Is it time to begin making the shift from a consumable to a renewable way of living and working together? What do you need to do to get started?
If you're a leader in a faith-based group, you may want to join us for a workshop on our "Treasure in Clay Jars" tour. This week we'll be in Hartford, CT. Next week we'll be in Baltimore. It's not too late to register for either workshop. Also, coming up in November and December, we'll be in Winnipeg, Charlotte, Orlando, and Philadelphia. Click here for information about the tour.
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