Loci of Authority

Friday evening with nothing to do, huh? That's ok, me either. No pressure, of course, but if there is ever anything that is more or less interesting, or could be helpful to explore, I would be happy to do so.

Today I managed to get a few odds and ends done, to the extent that I was worried that I didn't get as much homework done as I'd like, but I realise that I've still been very productive. 

Mid-afternoon I got a call about something completely unrelated to my regular life, that ended up giving me a new sort of spur to my passions for gardening. Not the cute stuff I'd want to do around the house, if I had one, but the kind that drove me horticulture and urban planning in the first place-- greenspaces. Community events like farmer's markets and my absolute obsession with the idea of "markets" with local vendors, string lights, crafts, produce, and all sorts of rustic... ness. (I liked it before it was cool, though. Haha) And the thing is, it's not something that I've totally had to eschew because of my change in profession-- it may even be enhanced by it. For instance, what opportunities are there to integrate all sorts of community services and talents, create shared experiences, and also meet our neighbours in a very real sense, demystifying the barriers between the inside and outside of the church? I would be lying if I said that there does not seem to be an unhealthy desire from various powers that be who only like to give lip-service to this idea.  

This happened in combination with some of my NXGN homework, which focused on the different patterns of Gen Z and A, as well as today's situation in general. The articles included fascinating arguments about the movement from external to internal loci of authority, and the potential challenges and opportunities therein. Apparently I'm not supposed to "distribute" the study I read today (although it appears to be available upon request here), unfortunately, but it confirmed much about what I have been feeling in my gut for some time -- that the social pendulum swing to subjectivity and shattered post-modernism will only hold for so long, but that it will not be a full backward pull, but an opportunity for building something new, adjusted against the patterns of our past, and using technologies and lessons that we have available to us to build real faith communities, even if they don't quite look the same as those in the past. I am excited... I want to talk about it more but I cannot right now, on account of my needing to keep it all in my mind for a discussion about this very thing on Tuesday. Perhaps I can have more prepared by then! Until then, if interested, here is an article that is entirely public:

Direction: Authority and Self-Spirituality Today