Functional Fixedness and the Church
Quick!
In 30 seconds, how many ways can a brick be used?
GO!
If you are like me when I first took this little test, you came up with a good number of things, but they are all basically two or three categories 1) some sort of weight 2) some sort of structural use 3) some sort of weapon.
When you examine this question however you can begin to see that we self limit our responses. For instance this question says nothing about the size of the brick or what it is made of? What if the brick was ground up or 1,000 feet tall? What if it was a brick of gold, Legos, or soap?
Functional Fixedness is the reason people are not good at coming up with new uses for an old thing and it is the reason that you and I come up with the same - predictable? - list of uses for a brick.
So you may be able to see where this post is going.
Quick!
In 30 seconds, how many ways can the Church be used?
Breathing breaks
I learned in physic class that when we throw a ball straight into the air, it will stop at the peak of the throw before it comes back down. It is a simple thing, but at the time I learned it I was astonished for some reason.
I have noticed the suspension of movement when I breathe.
When I am taking deep breaths, between the inhale and exhale there is a moment in which air is not moving in or out of my lungs. My breath, like the ball at the apex, is suspended.
There is something about this for me. Not only is breathing a critical part to life, but also being still is vital.
Ever tried to breath like a dog or take many breaths without a short pause between breaths? If you are like me, then you are getting dizzy every time. It is that space between the breath that so much takes place. It is in the stillness that life continues to happen.
And so, listen to your breathing not just on the inhale or exhale, but even on the rests.
I have noticed the suspension of movement when I breathe.
When I am taking deep breaths, between the inhale and exhale there is a moment in which air is not moving in or out of my lungs. My breath, like the ball at the apex, is suspended.
There is something about this for me. Not only is breathing a critical part to life, but also being still is vital.
Ever tried to breath like a dog or take many breaths without a short pause between breaths? If you are like me, then you are getting dizzy every time. It is that space between the breath that so much takes place. It is in the stillness that life continues to happen.
And so, listen to your breathing not just on the inhale or exhale, but even on the rests.
Beyond Orthodoxy and Orthopraxy - part 2
"Faith without works is dead."
This process of discovering orthokardia is like learning a second language. When we first begin a new language, we are focused on the right words. Once the vocabulary is to a point, we then begin to work on the correct way to say the words (rolling the 'r' or pronouncing the umlaut). As we speak this second language we are at first really speaking our first language then translating in our heads what that word combination would be in our second language. With practice, we begin to shift from translating to just speaking. We being to think in terms of the second language and not our first. It is a wonderful transition and critical to anyone who wants to be fluent in languages.
Orthokardia is much like this. While we are focused on what people, think about giving or what they give to, we are not encouraging orthokardia. It is not enough to convince people to give or to give to specific causes, orthokardia is about making generous people. People who do not need to be told to give of their time or money or energy, but people who are aware of the numerous ways to be generous all around them.
It is an easy thing to get people to give compared to creating generous people. It is an easy thing to get people to understand the value of learning the story of Jesus compared to helping create "little Christs". It is very easy to pick out people who do not believe the right things or do the right things compared to those who have correct orthokardia.
"Works without purpose are empty."
"It is not what you say it is what you do."
"Beliefs drive actions."
"Anyone can take communion in worship."
"You cannot take communion unless you know what it means or it cheapens the sacrament."
"Baptism of children are well and good because baptism is for all people."
"Baptism is only for those who know what it means, so babies are not considered."
The argument of what is more important - what you believe or what you do - grows two camps. Each side appreciates the other side but in the end is ultimately convinced their camp is slightly more important than the other. Thus debates rage on and on in these dualistic conversations.
Enter Jesus who brought a teaching that there is a third way.
Jesus heals a lot of blind people, which is nothing to dismiss as though Jesus is just really good with eyes. Jesus heals blindness because it is this blindness that keeps us from seeing this third way - the way beyond orthodoxy and orthopraxy.
Take the example of teaching people to give to the church. The orthodoxy side of us want to ensure people know that giving is important. The orthopraxy side of us wants to ensure people are giving to the right causes. When this right knowledge and right action are achieved then would count that as a good job. If someone knows they should give and then give to the causes that are the most fruitful, then "mission accomplished"!
Teaching people to give and giving opportunities for them to give falls short in discipleship. These two steps are just the beginning and if we want to move beyond orthodoxy and orthopraxy we must see our need for orthokardia - right heart.
This process of discovering orthokardia is like learning a second language. When we first begin a new language, we are focused on the right words. Once the vocabulary is to a point, we then begin to work on the correct way to say the words (rolling the 'r' or pronouncing the umlaut). As we speak this second language we are at first really speaking our first language then translating in our heads what that word combination would be in our second language. With practice, we begin to shift from translating to just speaking. We being to think in terms of the second language and not our first. It is a wonderful transition and critical to anyone who wants to be fluent in languages.
Orthokardia is much like this. While we are focused on what people, think about giving or what they give to, we are not encouraging orthokardia. It is not enough to convince people to give or to give to specific causes, orthokardia is about making generous people. People who do not need to be told to give of their time or money or energy, but people who are aware of the numerous ways to be generous all around them.
It is an easy thing to get people to give compared to creating generous people. It is an easy thing to get people to understand the value of learning the story of Jesus compared to helping create "little Christs". It is very easy to pick out people who do not believe the right things or do the right things compared to those who have correct orthokardia.
Be the change by Jason Valendy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.