Erik Freiburger :: Friends blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTc_FoELt8s

http://newwaveministry.com/?p=122

I am too young and not developed enough
I am getting close to the rite of passage event
but there are too many to count
I will endure though
for a season
for a while
I made it to the impossible point in the journey
I have waited so long for this
no college degree but maybe I will still be accepted
I have so many talents and gifts to offer
but it seems no one wants them
or me at 55
I need the gift of wealth
I need to claim it
because that is the principle
of belief, I have heard
I will write and I will feel
but I waste away slowly
but I continue to serve and hope
for there is a time coming to be fulfilled
I hope

yeah, I am dissappointed with my dream and loss of vision. I am finding that the practicle aspect of not having the money to go to the events and places I feel called will cause me not to go. Is it faith or insanity to live by faith and wait for the provisions to proceed?

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheForgottenWays/~3/376164069/

Back we go to the series of posts on organic systems…

Not surprisingly as we move closer to a network structure, we will not only find ourselves closer to the structures of the NT people of God but also more aligned around the dynamics of Apostolic Genius. It is therefore critical to explore the nature and forms of networks. In doing so, we need to realize that this is closer to our truest expression of ecclesia, even though it might at first seem somewhat strange to us at first. In doing this we must realize that we explore things that relate not just to issues of reactivating missional church, but to much of what we experience in God’s world. Albert-Laszlo Barabasi, the guru of network thinking says it this way..

Network thinking is poised to invade all domains of human activity and most fields of human inquiry. It is more than another useful perspective or tool. Networks are by their very nature the fabric of most complex systems, and nodes and links deeply infuse all strategies aimed at approaching our interlocked universe.”

In the literature networks come in basically three types :

• The chain or line network, as in a chain where people, goods, or information move along a line of separated contacts, and where end-to-end communication must travel through the intermediate nodes.


• The hub, star, or wheel network, as in a franchise or a cartel where the agents are tied to a central (but not hierarchical) node or actor, and must go through that node to communicate and coordinate with each other


• The all-channel or full-matrix network, as in a collaborative network of green groups and activists where everybody is independent but connected to everybody else.

According to Arquilla and Ronfeldt

Each node in the diagrams may refer to either an individual, a group, an organization, part of a group or organization, or even a nation-state. The nodes may be large or small, tightly or loosely coupled, and inclusive or exclusive in membership. They may look alike and engage in similar activities, or they may undertake a division of labor based on specialization. The boundaries of the network, or of any node included in it, may be well-defined, or they may be blurred and porous in relation to the outside environment. Many variations are possible.

It might be clear to see that of the three network types, why the all-channel form has traditionally been the most difficult to organize and sustain. This is so partly because it requires lots of communication. But it is this precisely this form of network that maximizes potential for collaborative undertakings without centralized organization. And this all-channel form is gaining new strength and legitimacy from the information revolution—for instance in open source programming and online business and networking. In networks of this kind, the organizational system generally tends to be flat (as opposed to hierarchical.) Also, in its purer form, there is no single, central leadership, command, or headquarters—no precise heart or head that can readily be identified. “The network as a whole (but not necessarily each node) has little or no hierarchy; there may be multiple leaders. Decision-making and operations are decentralized, allowing for local initiative and autonomy. Thus the design may sometimes appear headless and at other times many-headed.” The structure will tend to be comprised of small units or cells. However, the presence of “cells” does not necessarily mean a network exists—a hierarchy can also be made up of cell, as is the case with most churches with an active cell group program.. It is the way in which the cells organize and relate that makes them a network.

We’ll take this further next post.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TheForgottenWays/~3/374476189/

I have to admit that I totally love Nelson Mandela. I do believe he is the greatest leader alive today and a remarkable example of grace. Time magazine recently did an article on him and his view of leadership. Interestingly he says that these are not principles but tactics. He is a man of principles but in terms of leadership he says it is all about tactics. Here are his eight principles…

1. Courage is not the absence of fear — it’s inspiring others to move beyond it


2. Lead from the front — but don’t leave your base behind


3. Lead from the back — and let others believe they are in front


4. Know your enemy — and learn about his favorite sport


5. Keep your friends close — and your rivals even closer


6. Appearances matter — and remember to smile


7. Nothing is black or white


8. Quitting is leading too

Read the whole article here.

BTW sorry that I have been tardy with posting at the moment. I am very, very, busy.

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=277

Most of my links off to the side go to people interested in church and ministry.

And yet I’ve run into a bit of a quandary, and I’m curious if others have experienced this, or if somehow I’m an oddball or maybe just experiencing the August doldrums.

I’m really bored with conversations about church and ministry. Not just with other people. I’m bored with myself when I talk about it. Yet I do, because it’s interesting on a theoretical level and I’ve studied the subject a lot, and will be studying the subject a lot.

But today, all summer really, I’m just plain bored with topics of leadership, organization, strategy, diagrams, angst, and the rest. Just plain bored of it all.

Anyone else feel like this?

Any suggestions or commiserations?

http://dualravens.com/ravens/?p=273

I’ve realized over the years that I’m a peculiar reader. Peculiar in that I’m not entirely sure what will and what will not strike my fancy, especially my fiction fancy. I’m not a literature snob, reading only the Great Books, but neither do I seem easily contented to wander the wide fields of whole genres. Which makes it difficult for me to find books that really swallow me up, even as that’s one of the great pleasures of my life since I was very young. So, it was with a rare delight that I enjoyed reading The Unnameables by Ellen Booraem.

First the description, then a little review.

Medford lives on a neat, orderly island called—simply—Island.

Islanders like names that say exactly what a thing (or a person) is or does. Nothing less.

Islanders like things (and people) to do what their names say they will. Nothing more.

In fact, everything on Island is named for its purpose, even the people who inhabit it. But Medford Runyuin is different. A foundling, he has a meaningless last name that is just one of many reminders that he’s an outsider. And, to make matters worse, Medford’s been keeping a big secret, one that could get him banished from Island forever.

When the smelliest, strangest, unruliest creature Island has ever seen comes barreling right into his rigid world, Medford can’t help but start to question the rules he’s been trying to follow his entire life.

A whimsical fantasy debut about belonging, the dangers of forgetting history, and the Usefulness of art, The Unnameables is one of the funniest stories of friendship you’ll ever read, with a cast of characters you’ll never forget.

I’ll be honest. When I picked this book I did so because I thought it had an intriguing message of being yourself in midst of society’s attempt to define. After ordering it, but before receiving it, I began to get worried. Because it had an intriguing message of being yourself in midst of society’s attempt to define.

That, I thought, is a sure recipe for a book that is beloved by teacher’s organizations, book award clubs, and other such fine folks who tend to see a message being much more important than story, writing, or imagination. In other words, where the moral of the story is so obvious it’s pretty much a given a book should be called unreadable.

I was wary.

And I was pleasantly surprised.

Booraem has accomplished a brilliant task, offering a story with a clear moral without being overbearing or blatant about it. Indeed, she helps create a unique world that echoes aspects of our own, but certainly has rather strong differences. Indeed, these strong differences make The Unnameables more of a fairy tale story rather than an attempt to show a direct picture into our society.

As the story went on it we are pushed deeper into this world, caught up in the characters, some usual and some wholly unique. We quickly move past the expected “Footloose” plot where young, creative teenagers show the adults about having fun. Instead, the story moves deeper, where there is no generational line, and where we see a wonderful creative exploration of a society’s tradition, history, and culture.

Booraem has a moral to the story, but is not preaching, nor is she drawing lines in the sand against religious, cultural, or other societal standards. What she is saying is be true to who you are, and this goes for those religions, cultures, and standards. It is when these standards have lost sight of their own foundations there is distortions, distortions which sadly then take over the whole movement.

But even as I write that last paragraph I feel awkward, because that sounds so dry and ‘full of message’ like a heartwarming episode of our favorite family sitcom.

It’s not that. It’s so much more enjoyable. Booraem has walked a very fine line in her writing giving us both a message while avoiding becoming overbearing. More than that, she has penned a very readable book. That’s why I gave it five stars. I realized not too far in that I kept wanting to come back to it, I couldn’t put it down, and I was for a long while absolutely lost in this story that has a wonderful mix of identity crisis, detective story, fantasy, and even humor.

Honestly, this is one of those books that I think was marked as young adult fiction more because of the age of the main characters. It is directed towards those 10 and up, and probably would be more enjoyed by kids and adults who themselves have a creative, introverted, side they have felt punished for.

Indeed, The Unnameables a great book for artists of all ages, and I highly recommend it as a fun read.

http://htod.cdncon.com/o2/rzimht/MP3/LMPT/LMPTCD107-2.mp3

“Why is God allowing this to happen to me?” Often, the most powerful answer to this question is an honest, “I don’t know.” Too many times we try to force meaning or explanation onto someone else’s suffering without fully understanding the entire situation. Often, in our desire to comfort a hurting person, we glibly look past the fact that God is present to comfort them - with or without our words. So how can we learn to truly be a blessing when others struggle or go through hardship? By looking once again to the story of Joseph with Ravi Zacharias.