Last week I introduced myself and promised to share my hopes for this diocese.
We face a significant challenge. It's been suggested that half of our traditional churches will close in the next 10 years because of an ageing population, or old churches needing significant upgrading, or because Christianity has no relevance for a “post-Christian” society. Why would we settle for this?
Where does this diocese want to be in 2040? I am deeply motivated about rising to the challenge of doing what others say cannot be done.
The first thing I felt God put on my heart when I was thinking about this job was what J.F. Kennedy had said to his people in 1962.
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.1
Now at that stage the nation had no resources, no expertise in this area and they were behind everybody else in the space race. Yet Kennedy’s dream galvanised the community, and everybody started to catch the vision of pioneering, championing the cause to get the first pair of feet on the surface of the moon.
It was a goal that everyone could understand. It was specific, it was time-constrained and it was challenging. And people said it couldn’t be done.
I love the vision this leader had to do something no one thought was possible.
Legend has it that Kennedy was visiting the NASA headquarters, inspecting the progress of this mission, when he noticed a janitor on the sidelines.
He went over and said, “Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy. What do you do here?”
And the janitor said, “Well Mr President, it’s my job to clean this place to get the man on the moon.”
Everybody in the nation was contributing to get this man on the moon. No matter who they were, everybody had a part to play. From the astronautical engineers to janitors.
And what would our rocket look like to get us to our moon 2040?
What is it we have to do to revitalise and transform all that we do, so that the way we present the gospel message is relevant for people who want to come and experience faith by 2040?
This diocese has been doing some good and hard work in the discernment and revitalisation process which is very heartwarming. I sense my calling is to take this initial thinking and stretch it out to say, 2040. That’s what excites me about taking up this role: helping you do the impossible!
To me, the astronauts that will get us to the moon are our young people. The generation who will be the guardians of the Church in 2040. If we are going to want really good leadership to defend the faith, then we need to start prioritising their training today.
Young people have a vision for the future of the Church – how can we involve them in decision-making? We should be identifying young leaders of influence and integrating them into our governance boards now. How will they learn to lead if we don’t start mentoring them and giving them opportunities now?
There are people with other jobs in this mission to space – people like our “empty-nesters”. Parents and grandparents naturally want to build a lasting legacy for future generations. We can engage more people in this life stage to support and mentor our youth.
Where does the 2040 date come from? Because that's the 200-year celebration of the Treaty of Waitangi where there were three entities around the table. There was the Crown, there was the Māori and there was the Church.
Today I think the Church is possibly missing in action. How does the Church become a relevant party to the foundational document of our nation again? How does the Church also be a valuable influencer in society for what we stand for?
Everyone has a role in this mission. We need to develop leaders across all fields – churches, public service, sports, arts, education, health and beyond – who bring their Christian faith into leadership.
So that’s one of my challenges for all of us. Our aspiring leaders, seasoned mentors and dedicated supporters. Our astronauts, senior engineers and faithful janitors.
Knowing each of us has a part to play, let’s envision our rocket and our moon.
By developing a culture of faith-based risk takers, within a “multitude of counsellors”,2 let's start our adventure to get to our moon. And let’s land there.
1John F. Kennedy, Moon Speech - Rice Stadium, 1962.
2Proverbs 11:14
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Last week I introduced myself and promised to share my hopes for this diocese.
We face a significant challenge. It's been suggested that half of our traditional churches will close in the next 10 years because of an ageing population, or old churches needing significant upgrading, or because Christianity has no relevance for a “post-Christian” society. Why would we settle for this?
Where does this diocese want to be in 2040? I am deeply motivated about rising to the challenge of doing what others say cannot be done.
The first thing I felt God put on my heart when I was thinking about this job was what J.F. Kennedy had said to his people in 1962.
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard.1
Now at that stage the nation had no resources, no expertise in this area and they were behind everybody else in the space race. Yet Kennedy’s dream galvanised the community, and everybody started to catch the vision of pioneering, championing the cause to get the first pair of feet on the surface of the moon.
It was a goal that everyone could understand. It was specific, it was time-constrained and it was challenging. And people said it couldn’t be done.
I love the vision this leader had to do something no one thought was possible.
Legend has it that Kennedy was visiting the NASA headquarters, inspecting the progress of this mission, when he noticed a janitor on the sidelines.
He went over and said, “Hi, I’m Jack Kennedy. What do you do here?”
And the janitor said, “Well Mr President, it’s my job to clean this place to get the man on the moon.”
Everybody in the nation was contributing to get this man on the moon. No matter who they were, everybody had a part to play. From the astronautical engineers to janitors.
And what would our rocket look like to get us to our moon 2040?
What is it we have to do to revitalise and transform all that we do, so that the way we present the gospel message is relevant for people who want to come and experience faith by 2040?
This diocese has been doing some good and hard work in the discernment and revitalisation process which is very heartwarming. I sense my calling is to take this initial thinking and stretch it out to say, 2040. That’s what excites me about taking up this role: helping you do the impossible!
To me, the astronauts that will get us to the moon are our young people. The generation who will be the guardians of the Church in 2040. If we are going to want really good leadership to defend the faith, then we need to start prioritising their training today.
Young people have a vision for the future of the Church – how can we involve them in decision-making? We should be identifying young leaders of influence and integrating them into our governance boards now. How will they learn to lead if we don’t start mentoring them and giving them opportunities now?
There are people with other jobs in this mission to space – people like our “empty-nesters”. Parents and grandparents naturally want to build a lasting legacy for future generations. We can engage more people in this life stage to support and mentor our youth.
Where does the 2040 date come from? Because that's the 200-year celebration of the Treaty of Waitangi where there were three entities around the table. There was the Crown, there was the Māori and there was the Church.
Today I think the Church is possibly missing in action. How does the Church become a relevant party to the foundational document of our nation again? How does the Church also be a valuable influencer in society for what we stand for?
Everyone has a role in this mission. We need to develop leaders across all fields – churches, public service, sports, arts, education, health and beyond – who bring their Christian faith into leadership.
So that’s one of my challenges for all of us. Our aspiring leaders, seasoned mentors and dedicated supporters. Our astronauts, senior engineers and faithful janitors.
Knowing each of us has a part to play, let’s envision our rocket and our moon.
By developing a culture of faith-based risk takers, within a “multitude of counsellors”,2 let's start our adventure to get to our moon. And let’s land there.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
