Organized religion reminds me of a monolith. Webster's II defines a monolith as " a large, single block of stone". Monoliths can be immovable objects.
What I have to say about organized religion should not be construed as a criticism, rather an observation. I am a member of an organized religious body and have been for decades. I've also worked for that same august organization so I feel I can speak with some authenticity about its mechanisms and characteristics.
Organized religion (hereafter OR for brevity's sake) moves slowly and deliberately, although often not logically. Religious leaders will argue that because God does not act logically therefore earthly decisions need not be logically based, but rather 'spiritually inspired'.
OR does not always know how to process and receive "out of the box" thinking. I believe that OR leaders think that they think "out of the box" but outcomes often run counter to rhetoric. Creative ideas may be sought but never seriously considered and this can be highly frustrating to those who took the time for careful, purposeful thought that is logical as well as God-inspired.
Yet, we members of OR should not be permanently discouraged if our ideas are either not acknowledged or acted upon. Do we step on the toes of OR leaders when we brainstorm concepts, programs, or initiatives? Absolutely not! Without creative thinking many of history's religious 'pinnacle moments' would never have come to fruition or reality. Are our ideas met, at times, with resistance or indifference? Probably and, maybe, absolutely! But this is also not a different scenario than has been experienced repeatedly for centuries.
The bottom line for us, the members/backbone/lifeblood/pocketbook of OR is that we keep trying to make a difference. I believe that is what God wants/needs/expects of us. He speaks to us and we bring his thoughts to life in the form of ideas. Occasionally those ideas are given life through actions and support of our OR leaders and occasionally those ideas are left to collect dust in our collective cerebrums. The important 'take-away' is that we keep contributing to OR and responding to what God inspires us to do. Our thoughts, ideas, and contributions are a gift and we must never forget that.
There is no such thing as a "dumb" or poor idea. Ideas always inspire other ideas and those ideas may inspire another person to articulate yet another idea and so forth.
In the end, God will have the final say and His ideas will prevail.
May we all keep on keepin' on.
Ancora imparo
