The little teacher inside my head started to nod and hasn’t stopped. So how does this apply to or affect the church? What can we learn from this? What do we do as a church when it comes to facilitating collaboration? Using the metaphorical people churning production line from this animation, what “product” do we churn out*? What are the inherent flaws with our production line? Are we as community a place that empowers people of all backgrounds to flourish and become an agent that transforms the world in which we live or are we the anesthetic that disengages our brains from the both the creation and the creator?
*My initial typo was “What ‘product’ do we church out?” Perhaps I should have left it.
“Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” – Pablo Picasso
ok, so first of all, what a brilliant piece of work that video is. A very stimulating and creative learning experience in itself, so the peeps involved are leading by example as to how we might begin to address this problem, rather than just complaining about it using the very methodology they are complaining about.
As relating to the church, two things – yes i have seen and mourned the way that our society’s stupid academic definition of intelligence has infected the curch with tragic consequences. We as church communities need to learn to be counter-cultural in this but actually we are amongst the worst offenders (go to sunday school now, kids, so you won’t be bored whilst mummy and daddy listen to the important man on stage. And remember, the right answer is always Jesus!). We need to affirm that people’s academic ability is not what defines them, that those with academic ability often desperately need help and support in other areas and that all of us are remarkable creations and remarkably precious, regardless of our personality or academic ability.
Secondly, though, the danger is that we have bought into this academic/knowledge based understanding of value to the point where we actually believe that the primary responsibility of christians and of church is to teach. Its not – its to love and to give. I think if i can start to get that right a bit more, i might finally be of some use.
Thanks for this vid – really enjoyed watching it, and its really helped me to think throuh and express the above, so much appreciated. Hope you’re well, mate.