i tawt i taw a puddy tat

the friday session of the human event included some more reflections on leadership from eric bryant, on voxtropolis from eric sweiven, on accents and translation from alex mcmanus, and an impromptu presentation on missional leadership from the 7-day immersion participants. this is how we sent everyone off:

• [looking at Romans 12] – the church tends to lead not with the soft skin and the sensitive touch, but tend to lead with what should be on the inside – the skeleton (a hard, concussive force) of Christ
• the church often operates like a corporation … the only people who have anything to contribute are the ones who are paid, and the rest of us are stakeholders (judging those who get paid to ‘do the work’)
• church leaders need to trust their people more – they won’t do it as well as we do, and may even do it differently
• we often give up on people too easily
• it’s important to create a climate where people have the freedom to not serve just because they feel obliged to
• God is actively working to remove xenophobia from the earth 
• we are all immigrants with an incredible accent
• being together in relationship is what facilitates comprehension – but we often look to take shortcuts in translation
• the Gospel is never more true than when it is being translated
• voxtropolis is a means to an end – the same end that the church is a means to: making the world human again

i hope that in sharing the thoughts of this week, you have experienced the invitation to participate in ushering in a brazenly hopeful new future. for more on the international mentoring network, please go to theimn.com, and for more on voxtropolis culture pubs, please visit myvox.org.

if you want to peer into the movement that i’m helping to provoke, please visit wearetherepublic.org. join the resistance – heroes are still wanted, and safe return is still doubtful.

i tawt i taw a puddy tat