I had lunch once with a very successful documentary filmmaker. We talked about the business side of making documentaries in Canada—there are a lot of barriers, it’s a lot of work, there’s very little money. He uttered a line that afternoon that for me has been a sort of mantra. I asked him if the trick is finding the right story, the right idea—that with the perfect idea, the process would somehow be easier. His response was, “The perfect idea is the one that can get funding.”
One could write a PhD thesis unraveling this idea but here it is in a nutshell: If the idea that you love is getting no response, then it may not be the perfect idea you think. Seek out the idea to which people respond, perhaps that is the perfect one. (There are many other shadings here, of course, but let’s ignore them for now.)
I was reminded of this mantra while reading the following letter from Rev. Jeremy Bellsmith, minister at Burns, Ashburn, Ont. Bellsmith worked at the national office at the Vine for a while till he answered the call at Burns about a year ago. He is here responding to several articles, including mine, about the vision thing, in the July/August Record:
“We don’t need vision, but we do need it articulated. I appreciated the calls for vision and rethinking our structure at this year’s General Assembly. It seems many want to know where our national church is headed and how we’re going to get there. But, it’s better to discern what God is already doing instead of trying to hear what God wants to do.
“Many congregations have already asked the second question. Across this country, Presbyterians are engaged in mission, responding to the vision God has given. Each mission – shaped expression may look different from neighbouring congregations, but God’s vision given to Presbyterians unites them all.
“Since God’s vision is alive and being enacted in many Presbyterians, we can’t say we lack it. The cry for a national vision can be answered by studying these local expressions as a whole. What are the similarities? What do the differences say about God’s call to all of us? Once we know what God is doing among us, we’ll see both where God’s leading us and what needs changing to get us there.
“This grassroots approach to visioning fits for our polity better. Top – down visions—whether doubling in the ‘80s or the Flames initiative that followed—didn’t receive large – scale buy – in. Even the broadest top – down vision only articulates the voices of a few. We are diverse across regions and the theological spectrum so, excluding any voices can be injurious. We miss important parts of what God is saying to us. By hearing the stories of what God is already doing, not only is our variety affirmed as a gift from God, but each of us are encouraged to find our place within the work God does through Presbyterians.
“Our friends in the Church of England discovered this to be true. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, heard God speaking through local initiatives. He appointed a person to build a team that would gather these stories. The team saw in these efforts a movement and named it Fresh Expressions. From it, they gained a sense of direction and shared this vision with the national church. Then they linked it to their distinctive theology and made changes to the institution’s structure that would facilitate everyone finding their own place within what God was doing.
“The Assembly Council has been charged with discerning vision, using broad consultation. Whatever form that process takes, I pray it will be a time of discerning what God is doing and letting it point the way forward. The resulting vision will be filled with hope: despite declining attendance, God is at work among us. This kind of vision focuses our activity on our purpose: continuing Christ’s mission from our backyard to the ends of the earth. And, this vision assures every Presbyterian that they have a unique part to play in Christ’s work around them.”
