“Be prepared.” The Boy Scout motto. “Be prepared” stands as a wonderful work
phrase for my life. From my Scouting
experience as a Tenderfoot through Eagle Scout, it guided me. Practical lessons
from Mr. Boyd, our Scout Master, about setting up camp: “tents first, water
second, fire third, food fourth, then fun” still ring true in my setting
priorities. “Be prepared” speaks into
daily life, adventure, travel, work, and so many other life expressions.
Sidebar: To
Be Prepared is greater than having a plan.
In the dynamics of business and ministry of this century, preparation is
greater than planning. The focus of the
late 1990’s on “long range plans”, “current action plans”, and “goals, plans,
actions” no longer speaks into the fluidity of current climates. Plans cannot keep up with the pace of action
around us. The current action of
deterioration in denominational status and programs moves rapidly. The present and real recession in business
and economic life continues to spin out consequences. The current action of building new
expressions of Church for God’s people carries a momentum all its own. While we cannot anticipate what God is doing
or where God will lead, we are to Be Prepared to see, be amazed, and to move
when directed (see Bill Black on Behold! Isaiah 43: 19).
(Editorial subnote question: How does last sentence compare and contrast
to Blackaby’s Experiencing God lessons?)
In Isaiah 43: 19 God declares “See, I am doing a
new thing! Now it springs up; do you not
perceive it? I am making a way in the
desert and streams in the wasteland.”
The context of the passage is a new way home from
Babylonian exile for God’s people.
The implication for God’s
people is to prepare themselves to move.
The command to move is not there.
But the anticipation is there. Be
Prepared for the moment and the movement. Be Prepared sits at the end of hope.
Survival
Be Prepared also speaks into survival. The following thoughts on survival point me
and those of us in resort ministry to be prepared. They are not intended as anticipation of
looming disaster nor are they intended to be a “self-fulfilling prophecy” (to
borrow from Scott Capshaw). They do
recognize that we are on the edge of great changes in systems of support and
affirmation.
To go into Boy Scout tradition and material once
again, I would quote from the Fieldbook For Boys And
Men that I often studied as a Boy Scout:
“Most of us, in doing fairly ordinary things, are
close to disaster at one time or another.
Mostly things work out fine and we blink away any sense of danger. But then up crops the broken ankle, the dry
radiator, the turn of weather, wheels deep in sand, or the flapping rudder—and
suddenly things are different. In itself
it may not seem to serious, but things seem to snowball, and you realize you
are alone, lost, adrift, cut off, wrecked, stuck, the radio is dead, or the
electricity is gone for good. Now you
are on your own …you need help.
How soon will help come? Will it come?
Does anyone know? When will they
start looking? How? Can you manage until
they come? What are your urgent needs now and until help arrives?
…You must survive until safe. So after sustaining life through first aid,
STOP! Try to figure out what kind of a jam you are in. Relax, if only for a few minutes, and fight
off any feelings of panic. Saying a
prayer might not be a bad idea.”
“Then see how these things might fit into the
puzzle somehow: signals to searchers or possible rescuers; shelter to prevent injury from the elements; fire for signaling, cooking, and cheer or warmth; water to sustain life; food for cheer and energy; tools to obtain food, improve shelter,
and afford protection; and finally, some
means of travel if that is your only hope.
Keep first things first. Survive until
safe.”
“If morale
is your strongest weapon in your fight for life, probably the greatest defense
you can have against adversity and despair will be your reliance on inner
strengths developed through your religion.”
Fieldbook For Boys And
Men; Boy Scouts of America; 1967,
pp. 300, 301, 332
Signals
Signals: Face facts:
we have been abandoned; we are on
our own; we must recognize that we must
have outside help;
Clear message of who we
are; what has happened; (without
recrimination on those who set us free and without seeing as judgment of God on
self or ministry)
Clear message of what our
hope is; what our goals are
Clear message of where we
are going; what our work is; invitation to join with us;
Accurate
communication --what instruments of
communication needed and necessary to get message out
Shelter
Shelter: protection from the elements that seek to
draw our energy
Place of security and
home
Biblical image of
pilgrims in camp and on journey with God watching over (Ps 121)
Breathing space; comfort;
What this looks like in
survival mode: less than where we
were; roughing it; gradually into greater From Tom Hanks in Cast Away to Swiss Family
Robinson—not instantaneous
Fire
Fire: “The Church exists by mission even as fire
exists by burning.” Emil Bruner
Hold on to passion --beyond the blows to identity and
selfhood; this is not about “you”
Keep mission: clear vision and task
Avoid mission creep where
we are doing more than supposed to do, thinking that is necessary for money or
survival
Water
Water: Sustainer of life; Greater need for water
than food;
Finding God as source of
spring of life;
Flow of Holy Spirit; Going with flow of where Spirit leads; Staying in channel of what God wants us to
do; Point about flow: we are not in control --God is;
we do not paddle to go against current but to stay in it; we float with flow;
Food
Food: Food groups:
meat; grains; fruits and vegetables; dairy
Versus my food groups of barbeque; seafood;
chocolate; potato chips
Food groups: Identify what is needed: Money; church support; friends united in
caring; board with mission; ability to continue to work (we get our identity
from where and how we minister) –point is that we are not spending all our time
on development or management;
Hunting, Fishing, Edible
plants (section in Fieldcraft book)
---learning new skills necessary for survival --boards, economic development, non-profit
management, sales (of organization), program development, capital improvement,
etc.
Tools
Tools: New systems for: volunteers; partners; equipment; offices;
housing; etc.
New styles of ministry
funding
New ministry
possibilities (without limits of denominational requirements) (again, avoid mission creep)
New ministry styles and
expressions (with freedom of self/board determination)
Travel
Some means of
travel: Most survival is “stay in
place” “Get found” Rare and powerful occasion: Move
Find the right system for
accomplishing call; for ministry
Denominational vehicle /
system ending;
Find new;
Create new
Search out correct
models; Establish correct and accountable system; Adapt it as necessary;
Point: God called person for God called
ministry; Search out the God given
means of getting there
Morale
Keeping morale in times
of stress: outside help; inside help;
Keep the faith;
Trust as stepping out
/ Trust as letting go
A new way to struggle
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