In her reflection on the theme of “Woven Together” during the 2019 National Gathering, Tasha Hicks McCray talks about the need for our tightly woven circles to be broken open and torn apart as an opportunity for God’s grace to enter in. Tasha poses several questions that are crucial for individuals and the church to consider.
NEXT Church gatherings – local or national – seek to connect leaders to one another, to spark imagination, to offer an honest reflection about the challenges confronting the church, remind us that God’s Spirit is up to something, and encourage us to see possibilities to which we had been blind before.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2017/04/featured-lifted-hands-17-gathering.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2019-04-01 12:24:272019-04-01 12:34:47Seeing the Possibilities in Ministry
I believe that power, all power, comes from God. Not only is God love, God is power. I think that understanding this truth helps us understand why power can be positive or negative.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2018/04/featured-skyline.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2019-03-28 06:05:122019-03-27 14:04:27God, the Architect of Power
Reflecting on a theology of power has challenged me to re-evaluate and re-calibrate my ultimate distrust and rejection of power. My calling to follow after Christ and proclaim healing to the nations is woven together with a God-given power and sacred agency to participate in that restoration.
While we may not think of power as something “dirty,” neither do we consider it to be more than a tool of last resort. We prefer to live in the world as it should be, rather than in the world as it is. As a result, we feel that the rightness of our ideas and arguments ought to be enough to carry the day — and if not, if carrying the day requires the use of brute force, then there must be something wrong with our ideas and arguments.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2019/03/featured-hand-salt.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2019-03-24 20:07:292019-03-24 20:07:29Stinging Like Salt
There is power in making the choice to stop and notice our neighbor. There is power in recognizing that we are all broken, we all need mercy. There is power in relationship, in community, and in hope.
It’s not enough to have good intentions if we want to accomplish good things. In order to act, one has to have power. Broad based organizing is about organizing people and organizing money so that one can act.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2019/03/featured-organizing-panel.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2019-03-19 17:09:392019-03-19 17:09:39Relational Power Over Coercive Power
To write about power in light of the recent passing of Rev. Robina Winbush sparked me to think about the ways she and the late Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon stood in the fullness of their power, while serving in predominately white spaces.
Somehow, in the midst of our best attempts as leaders to challenge the powers and principalities, we have inherently set up a dynamic whereby we’ve locked ourselves out of claiming power. We are supposed to confront power, aren’t we? Name it, shame it, reframe it, but certainly don’t claim it. So how can we claim what we also condemn?
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2019/03/featured-organizing-worship.jpg200398Linda Kurtz/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.pngLinda Kurtz2019-03-07 16:11:532019-03-07 16:11:53Confronting and Claiming Power for the Gospel's Sake
The Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the oldest faith-based organizing network in the US, teaches leaders about power – what it is, how it works, how to build it and use it for the aims of justice. A key teaching from the IAF is that in order to make change in the world as it is, on behalf of the world as it should be, you have to build more power.
When We’re Too Tightly Woven
/in Leadership, National Gathering /by Linda KurtzIn her reflection on the theme of “Woven Together” during the 2019 National Gathering, Tasha Hicks McCray talks about the need for our tightly woven circles to be broken open and torn apart as an opportunity for God’s grace to enter in. Tasha poses several questions that are crucial for individuals and the church to consider.
Seeing the Possibilities in Ministry
/3 Comments/in Leadership, National Gathering /by Linda KurtzNEXT Church gatherings – local or national – seek to connect leaders to one another, to spark imagination, to offer an honest reflection about the challenges confronting the church, remind us that God’s Spirit is up to something, and encourage us to see possibilities to which we had been blind before.
God, the Architect of Power
/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzI believe that power, all power, comes from God. Not only is God love, God is power. I think that understanding this truth helps us understand why power can be positive or negative.
Sacred Agents
/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzReflecting on a theology of power has challenged me to re-evaluate and re-calibrate my ultimate distrust and rejection of power. My calling to follow after Christ and proclaim healing to the nations is woven together with a God-given power and sacred agency to participate in that restoration.
Stinging Like Salt
/1 Comment/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzWhile we may not think of power as something “dirty,” neither do we consider it to be more than a tool of last resort. We prefer to live in the world as it should be, rather than in the world as it is. As a result, we feel that the rightness of our ideas and arguments ought to be enough to carry the day — and if not, if carrying the day requires the use of brute force, then there must be something wrong with our ideas and arguments.
Power in Relationship, Community, Hope
/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzThere is power in making the choice to stop and notice our neighbor. There is power in recognizing that we are all broken, we all need mercy. There is power in relationship, in community, and in hope.
Relational Power Over Coercive Power
/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzIt’s not enough to have good intentions if we want to accomplish good things. In order to act, one has to have power. Broad based organizing is about organizing people and organizing money so that one can act.
Questions Unanswered
/1 Comment/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzTo write about power in light of the recent passing of Rev. Robina Winbush sparked me to think about the ways she and the late Rev. Dr. Katie Cannon stood in the fullness of their power, while serving in predominately white spaces.
Confronting and Claiming Power for the Gospel’s Sake
/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzSomehow, in the midst of our best attempts as leaders to challenge the powers and principalities, we have inherently set up a dynamic whereby we’ve locked ourselves out of claiming power. We are supposed to confront power, aren’t we? Name it, shame it, reframe it, but certainly don’t claim it. So how can we claim what we also condemn?
The Ability to Act
/7 Comments/in Community Organizing, Leadership /by Linda KurtzThe Industrial Areas Foundation (IAF), the oldest faith-based organizing network in the US, teaches leaders about power – what it is, how it works, how to build it and use it for the aims of justice. A key teaching from the IAF is that in order to make change in the world as it is, on behalf of the world as it should be, you have to build more power.