Recently I came across an appeal letter from Mark Tooley and the IRD (Institute on Religion and Democracy). In the email, Rob Renfroe is quoted as stating that all the staff at GBCS are "liberal to very liberal." I apparently was out of the office the day Rob Renfroe asked the staff to take his "Liberal to Very Liberal" survey. This made me think...
I must admit, I am very liberal... with buttering my toast. And to my shock, my communications counterpart, Wayne, is ultra conservative on this very issue!
I am now forced to evaluate our entire working relationship.
Maybe I should embrace the term, like John Wesley embraced the label Methodist. Maybe loving people unconditionally isn't such a bad thing. Maybe seeking peace throughout the world is what God wants. Maybe opening our hearts to be in relationship with one another is a glimpse of heaven.
Maybe labels are distracting us from our higher calling in faith.
Unfortunately, Mark Tooley, Renfroe and the IRD want to throw labels at me and others I work with rather than see us as sisters and brothers on the same journey. On the surface, it may seem one way, but I struggle with the positions of The United Methodist Church just like others. However, I'm proud to work for an organization that brings people of different backgrounds, cultures, religions and philosophies together to learn from one another and advance the Kingdom of God.
Jesus didn't work to preserve the status quo. So if challenging systems of oppression and working to transform the world is liberal, put a check next to my name!
But wait a second. Aren't we limiting the realm of God's work to a narrow, short-sighted worldview with labels like liberal and conservative? Didn't God make a diverse world? Aren't we called to transform this world not conform to it?
If we truly believe we are created in God's image, than we must recognize that God comes in many shapes, sizes, colors, sensibilities, capabilities and even varying ideologies. Maybe it is time folks stop limiting God to their worldview and making God into their own image.
I am a child of God who continues to grow into what God calls me to be in my life. I can look back at the person I was 5, 10 and 15 years ago and I know my views of others and on issues have been transformed by the experiences and persons God has brought into my life. I cannot and I will not let Tooley (or any person) try to limit who I am and who God wants me to be because of their limited view of the world.
If we (as people if faith) took the language of the world out of our vocabulary, we would probably find out we are one body, with blessed diversity. Then, not only the world but our hearts would be transformed.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
Time for a redesign...
So I am about to embark on a major project for my organization. We are transitioning off our current CRM and CMs system (Blackbaud Sphere) and I'm using separate vendors for the CRM and CMS.
Why? Well, in my opinion, most Constituent Relationship Management systems (CRMs) do not have very robust Content Management Systems (CMS) for websites. Depending on your needs, you may find one that works, but I believe our site could be 100x better on a CMS that is outside of our CRM.
That does not mean that the two do not need to be closely integrated to pull and push data.
Enough about that...
I'm also redesigning our website (www.umc-gbcs.org). When I started at GBCS, the wheels were already in motion for the site and I was handed the keys. Our current site is... well... it needs some work, especially on the homepage.
The homepage has become an unwieldy monster. So many things are jumping out for your attention. I get requests very often to add something else to the homepage. (!!) What started off to be organized is not longer suitable.
One of my goals with the redesign (and new CMS) is to have a more searchable website and reduce the clutter. The same content will be used (for the most part). I'm also working on concepts for some additional audio visual components.
In my initial design for the new site (right), I'm not trying to do anything spectacular just really clean up the layout and establish some form of visual hierarchy through color. I may post some of my earlier sketches, the color scheme is based on a theme I've been using in recent ads based on internal conversations with staff and advocates.
New Philosophy on Engagement
The recent ads I've created emphasis experiential relationships, equipping advocates and connecting with advocates and the community to transform the world - Experience | Equip | Engage. My initial designs for organizing the website were built directly around those words. While I still think they are key, I decided to be less heavy handled with incorporating a slogan and more strategic about incorporating those elements on every page. Thus, on most pages there will be a story (written or in audio/visual form) that highlights a particular topic (Experience) along with resources for furthering your knowledge through Bible studies, training or seminars (Equip) and finally taking action - either in political or community form (Engage).
I'll plan to have more to share as this project moves along but I wanted to get my thoughts out to the world... Feedback is always welcome.
Why? Well, in my opinion, most Constituent Relationship Management systems (CRMs) do not have very robust Content Management Systems (CMS) for websites. Depending on your needs, you may find one that works, but I believe our site could be 100x better on a CMS that is outside of our CRM.
That does not mean that the two do not need to be closely integrated to pull and push data.
Enough about that...I'm also redesigning our website (www.umc-gbcs.org). When I started at GBCS, the wheels were already in motion for the site and I was handed the keys. Our current site is... well... it needs some work, especially on the homepage.
The homepage has become an unwieldy monster. So many things are jumping out for your attention. I get requests very often to add something else to the homepage. (!!) What started off to be organized is not longer suitable.
One of my goals with the redesign (and new CMS) is to have a more searchable website and reduce the clutter. The same content will be used (for the most part). I'm also working on concepts for some additional audio visual components.
In my initial design for the new site (right), I'm not trying to do anything spectacular just really clean up the layout and establish some form of visual hierarchy through color. I may post some of my earlier sketches, the color scheme is based on a theme I've been using in recent ads based on internal conversations with staff and advocates.
New Philosophy on Engagement
The recent ads I've created emphasis experiential relationships, equipping advocates and connecting with advocates and the community to transform the world - Experience | Equip | Engage. My initial designs for organizing the website were built directly around those words. While I still think they are key, I decided to be less heavy handled with incorporating a slogan and more strategic about incorporating those elements on every page. Thus, on most pages there will be a story (written or in audio/visual form) that highlights a particular topic (Experience) along with resources for furthering your knowledge through Bible studies, training or seminars (Equip) and finally taking action - either in political or community form (Engage).
I'll plan to have more to share as this project moves along but I wanted to get my thoughts out to the world... Feedback is always welcome.
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