Silver Imagination
[Silver frame photo courtesy of Michal Zacharzewski, SXC]
Auxano’s founder, Will Mancini, is one of the presenters at the PGF conference (Presbyterian Global Fellowship), going on this weekend. Sharing a coaching platform with Alan Hirsch yesterday, Will relayed on his blog a great quote from Alan, which ties in with my recent posts on doing church and kingdom imagination. He writes:
My favorite quote of the day was, “There is no silver bullet, but there is a silver imagination.” “Constantine is still the emperor of our minds” when it comes to how we think about church, Alan states. The silver imagination is about re-calibrating to our founder- Jesus; a process Alan calls radical traditionalism. He urged the presbyterian leaders wrestling through missional transformation to think like beginners and not experts- “we have to be OK with not knowing all of the answers.”
These are great thoughts. Rather than a quick fix or silver bullet, we need silver imaginations.
Minds that are transformed and renewed by our willingness to sacrifice everything at the feet of our Savior. Minds that are taken captive, and are captivated, by Christ. Minds fueled by the Spirit to see beyond current circumstances and past experiences. Minds that can only imagine where God is leading…
Do you tend to look for silver bullets, or silver imaginations? What has God placed in your imagination?
hey steve, i like this thought. i grew up in ministry in a system that really focused on the silver bullet & i think the days of that are long gone. kingdom imagination is a lovely thought, i loved at the new conspirators gathering in seattle how the focus was on dreaming & imagining what could be & actually setting foot to move toward it.
ps: i like your new blog template
Thanks Steve. Very challenging questions.
Kathy — great to hear from you! The problem with silver bullets is they can become idols that take our focus off of God. The real silver bullet is stepping out on the unique path God has placed before us — listening and learning from others along the way.
Keith — thanks for stopping by.