On Ordinations, Orbiting Organizations, & Orville Wright A.I.M.'s 15th shot.

Over the June 10-12 weekend, the Birksfam joined hundreds of other Salvationists from all around the Western Territory in attending the Commencement, Commissioning & Ordination of the Ambassadors of Holiness session.  It was a great weekend, culminating in the Sunday afternoon Service of Appointments, where these newly ordained Ambassadors found out where they will begin leading & serving OTHERS as officers in The Salvation Army.  The weekend held additional significance for us, as we were able to witness the ordination of my nephew, Dan Whipple (pictured here, with his wife, Audra), my niece Ryan Boyd (and her husband Josh), my 2nd cousin Leilani Armendariz (and her husband Carlos), our "mentees" Bonita & Sean Kelsey, our new Corps Officers Sean & Harryette O'Brien, and other good friends and co-Ambassadors of Holiness.  I pray all God's best for them as they go out to do good, Kingdom work.  This particular blog post is dedicated to them.  You didn't know we did long distance dedications here at A.I.M., did you?  Hey, I grew up on Casey Kasem.

Anyway, directly following the weekend, I met with some creative types for a few days of dreaming up new ways to share the good news with the world (literally), http://tcspeak.com/blog/2011/06/14/creative-caucus/

Part of the prep for this caucus was to read the book; Orbiting the Giant Hairball, (A Corporate Fool's Guide to Surviving with Grace) by Gordon MacKenzie.  This book was first published in 1996, but somehow I had missed it.  I did attend a good workshop based on the book at Boot Camp a few years ago, but I hadn't actually read the book until recently.  Uhhhhmmm, it's good.  Really good.  It's especially worth the read for anyone who at times feels constricted and/or confined by the layers and layers of policies & procedures which can build up (thus the "Hairball" analogy) over the many years of a large organization's existence, (hypothetically speaking, of course).  Mackenzie was a creative force at Hallmark for 30 years, so he knows a bit about the potential & potential perils of large organizations.  He suggests (and its not for everybody) that instead of succumbing to the pull of the Hairball's "relentless gravity",  or escaping to other endeavors to "avoid the threatened limbo of the Hairball", it is possible to "actively engage in the opportunities" the Hairball presents, without "being sucked into" it.  (Thus, the "Orbiting" analogy).

I have to believe he's right.

Here are a few gems from the book:

"Orbiting is responsible creativity: vigorously exploring and operating beyond the Hairball of the corporate mind set, beyond accepted models, patterns, or standards - all the while remaining connected to the spirit of the corporate mission."

"Flying off on a tangent is the first step in the process of going into Orbit."

"You can Orbit too soon, and it can turn out badly.  So it is important to grow into readiness.  And you can do just that in the Hairball.  Its tangledness can serve as protection, a briar patch - a cocoon in which to prepare for the challenges of Orbit. 

A word of caution, though:

Cocoons can be paralyzing."

"It is a common history of enterprises to begin in a state of naive groping, stumble onto success, milk the success with a vengeance and, in the process, generate systems that arrogantly turn away from the source of their original success: groping."

"...find the goals of the organization that touch your heart

and release your passion to follow those goals."

I don't want to take a lot more of your time, but I can't sign off without sharing Chapter 19 of OtGH with you in its entirety.  The title of the chapter is; Orville Wright.

"Orville Wright did not have a pilot's license."

Happy & Holy Hairball Orbiting to you all.  We need you!

IN CHRIST & OUTreach,

rob

P.S.  If you can get past the narrator's voice, this video has some good thoughts on going into orbit, (or at least avoiding being hypnotized by a straight line)...