"You never change things by fighting existing
reality. To change something, build a new reality that makes the existing
reality obsolete."--R. Buckminster Fuller
Reality is a funny thing.
If the two of us look at the same picture, read the same article, or
observe the same interactions between two or more people, each of us might well
come away with very different conclusions.
This is because everyone brings his or her own perspective to the
situation. The perspective we carry with
us has been developed over many years through various life experiences. Sometimes our perspective on reality is what
keeps us sane. At the same time, having
a certain perspective on reality does not make one’s viewpoint “right.”
For example, I had a conversation with someone after the
Presidential election and commented, “I think many people voted based on their
fears.” My friend responded, “No, this
was all about power and keeping certain segments of society subjugated.” We were looking at the same experience and,
although we have a lot in common, our backgrounds informed our
perspectives. What if there had been
five or six people in the conversation?
The Fuller quote reminds us that each of us has constructed
her or his own reality. No matter how
many rational arguments someone comes up with to convince you to change your
point of view, you will probably be confident that what you see is reality. Nothing will change your mind.
If someone is convinced that 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is
the only appropriate time for worship, you can argue that this expectation has
more to do with the agriculture of the 19th century and when we need
to milk the cows than with divine edict, but it is unlikely that you will
change that person’s opinion.
Someone may argue that the only way for a person to get a
theological education is to pack up and move to another city for three or four
years and be a full-time student because this was their experience and it is
normative to them. You can make the case
that this no longer works for many who have been called to ministry, but your
arguments will probably fall on deaf ears.
So what are you to do?
As Fuller says, it is time to create a new reality. I was part of a church that was discussing
the need to provide worship in a different style and a time other than 11 am on
Sunday morning. Some argued that the church should just make the change and
accept the consequences. The pastor had
enough wisdom to suggest, “Let’s add rather than taking away.” He suggested offering an alternative service and
letting those who preferred the traditional approach to keep their time and
style, while offering a choice for others.
Consequently, both approaches continued to have their adherents while,
at times, it became clear that each was moving toward some of the
characteristics of the other.
In theological education, there will continue to be a place
for traditional approaches that require moving out of state and being a
full-time student. My friend Mary,
however, is thankful that she could stay where her family was already
established, continue to work at her job and serve in her church while completing
a Master of Divinity degree that allowed her to fulfill her goal of becoming a
hospital chaplain.
Of course, not all alternatives will succeed and even those
that do may have to be fine-tuned along the way, but we must remember that
there was a time when everything we value as traditional was brand new and
untested. Eventually, new realities emerge
and are embraced because they work.
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