“Respect
heaven love people” is the business motto of Kyocera, a company in Japan. I am in the middle of writing my thesis (Yes,
I am not done yet!) and part of the thesis is to look at organizations and
their styles of leadership.
Kazuo
Inamori, founder and President of Kyocera believes that “people have their own
will, their own mind and their own way of thinking. If people are not sufficiently motivated to
challenge the goals of growth and technological development…there will simply
be no growth, no gain in productivity, and no technological development. “ In addition, Inamori believes that tapping
the potential of people will require a new understanding of the “subconscious
mind.” “willpower,” and “action of the heart…sincere desire to serve the world.” Inamori teaches Kyocera employees to strive
for “perfection” guided by their motto, “Respect Heaven Love People” In turn he believes that it is his duty as
manager starts with “providing for both the material good and spiritual welfare
of his employees.” (Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline. 139)
As
followers of Jesus we are supposed to always be striving for perfection using the
principles that Jesus teaches us. But of
course, human perfection is a misnomer because we humans we fall short of God’s
expectation of perfect. Perfection isn’t
about our looks, jobs or lifestyles, it
is about what is in our hearts. I don’t
believe that Inamori is Christian but his way of doing business looks a lot
like Jesus’ teachings.
What
if this country did business as if we really were “under God”? What if in the United States all US companies'
mottos were “Respect Heaven Love People? What if we were all taught that the “action of the heart” is about a "sincere
desire to serve the world?” These “what
if” questions for some are impossible to conceive because thinking “what if”
would mean that just asking the question
would mean change! It is the “what if?”
questions that spark conversations about change.
I
don’t think I am going to stop asking “what if?” because we need the conversations. I need to ask, What does God call us to
do? What does it really mean to follow
Jesus? How are we a presence of God in this community? These conversations are important in the
life of the church. James and Evelyn
Whitehead in their book, Method in
Ministry – Theological Reflection and
Christian Faith say,
“The metaphor of conversation reminds us that pastoral
reflection is meant to be a communal exercise, not a monologue nor a
lecture. If only one’s person’s voice is
heard or only one group’s concerns are acknowledged, there is no conversation.
..theological reflection as a conversation is not simply an emergency strategy
to meet a momentary need. We do not have
a conversation – about poverty or consumerism or sexuality or authority – so
that we can settle the matter once and for all and be done with the need for
such engagement. The conversation is our
life together. Such a community
dialogue is a habit, both pleasurable and painful, in which our faith is tested
and matures. This realization helps us
bridge the gap between theological discipline and the everyday life of
Christian Faith.” (p4)
Without our conversations, Bethel would not be. Conversations are “our
life together.” Conversations are critical and essential for good health. Just in our regular life, if we aren’t in conversations with those closest to us about
our fears, needs, hopes and dreams, our relationships will not grow and
strengthen. This is the life of a
community of faith, to be in conversation regularly about God’s role in our
life and God’s call on our lives.
I
will continue to ask the “what if?” questions, not because we are in a stuck
place but because we are working on our relationship with God and the
community. We strive for
“perfection.” We practice loving God
and loving neighbor or in Inamori’s words, “Respect heaven, love people.”
We
are doing well. People are coming to
Faith Encounters (which by the way is fun and lively!) music is powerful,
messages are relevant, worship attendance and giving is up. There is great energy in the air. We are doing well.
I
recently received the following from someone who knows our faith community and most
recently attended the “Bark A Lot in the Parking Lot.”
“after the
"dog show" event on Saturday, as I was walking home, I was reflecting
on all that your church does. A little flock with a few people, but you all
really do make your presence known. I thought about how friendly people are --
and yes, now, everyone seems to know me -- but I remember back in your early
days how you challenged them to be open, friendly and welcoming. And I think
that they are.
Then I got
this little missive today, about how people act when people come in to their
church, sit at their pews etc. And it made me think, again, how welcoming and
open Bethel
is
/ has become. So I am sending not because you and your congregants reflect that
worse of this message...but that they reflect the best of this message. “
Here is the message to which she refers:
One day, a man went to
visit a church.. He got there early, parked his car, and got out.
Another car pulled
up and the driver got out and said,"I always park there!
You took my
place!"
The visitor went inside
for Sunday School, found an empty seat and sat down.
A young lady from
the church approached him and stated,
"That's my seat! You
took my place!"
The visitor was
somewhat distressed by this rude welcome, but said nothing.
After Sunday School, the
visitor went into the sanctuary and sat down.
Another member walked up
to him and said,
"That's where I
always sit! You took my place!”
The visitor was
even more troubled by this treatment, but still He said nothing.
Later as the congregation
was praying for Christ to dwell among them,
the visitor stood up, and
his appearance began to change.
Horrible scars became
visible on his hands and on his sandaled feet.
Someone from the
congregation noticed him and called out, "What happened to you?"
The visitor replied,
as his hat became a crown of thorns, and a tear fell from his eye,
"I took your
place."
For many of you, it is hard to imagine
that Bethel was described as the church above. It is because of the "what if?" questions and our conversations together in community that we have grown out of the above description. Thanks be to God!
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