A moment of self-analysis

It was brought to my attention recently that I tend to focus on really big issues and rarely if ever come to complete conclusions on these. Part of the reason for that is that I like to simply muse on the big questions, without really expecting to get solid answers. The image that comes to mind for me is that a of prospecting pan; take bits of tiny bits of the big river bottom and sifting through those bits for flecks of gold. The hope is that maybe one of those flecks of gold will lead me to a nugget of wisdom. This is a slow task, and it is one that I enjoy as it lends itself to arm chair philosophy or coffee shop ponderings. At the same time I like the idea of this blog helping to make a difference. I don't want it just to be knowledge for the sake of knowledge, thinking for the sake of thinking. I am setting a new goal, to find something to take away from my thinking at the end of it. I may not always reach that goal, but I hope in time to get better at not just the process of thinking, but also the result of the thinking. The lectionary texts for this week in part focus on the issue with ritual simply for the sake of ritual. The point of ritual is to point to God, to build our relationship with God. Too often in the church we forget this part and get stuck in the ritual, too often in academia we forget that knowledge is meant to point to something greater and obsess over it simply for the sake of it. This entry is a reminder to me to get beyond simply speculation and remember the purpose behind the speculation. I hope it can also be a reminder to get beyond meetings for the sake of meetings, ritual for the sake of ritual, and all the other ways we lose sight of what we are really about. If I learned anything from my week at the School of Congregational Development was the importance of having a vision and letting that guide us. The vision of The United Methodist Church is a good one, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The challenge in this for me is letting that vision guide and motivate what I do, both through this blog, but also through all my other actions in the world