Institutions Don't Have Conversations.

Social media is fast becoming the center stage in media communications. Institutions will never win in this Conversation Age because institutions do not have conversations ... people do.   And as tech tools empower people to focus on those conversations that really matter to them, communication they judge to be even slightly irrelevant may never even appear on their radar.

Could this be a better long term plan?  Click on diagram to view larger.

Starting Fires.

We all know what starts fires:  Rapid oxidation of dry material in the process of combustion which produces an explosive, spreading effect of heat and light...something we call Fire.

Metaphorically, fire is human passion, hopes, and dreams.  Scriptures tell us that 'the spirit of man is the candle of the Lord.'  It was said of Jesus, "a smoldering wick he will not snuff out" and people who encountered him said, "did our hearts not burn within us as He talked with us along the way..."  Our encounters with others should fan the flame that God himself put in them.

The other day as my wife and I were taking our grand daughter to her class we were telling her (as we often do) how God made her so unique and that she was a dream of God long before she was born.  We talked about the special gifts He gave her to match the dreams he also gave her.  As we moved on to another subject, she interrupted us to say, "Tell me more about me."  Coming from this innocent six-year old we laughed, but sensed that her "Papa God" (as she calls him) also delighted in her desire as much as we did.

A movement of Firestarters in our future?

He put that desire in her, as he did with every person created in His image. It is the desire above all else to know who we are and be affirmed in our identity, value, and purpose to God and our place in the world.  That desire was put there by God to draw us to Him and motivate us, even compel us to seek our God-given purpose in life. Desire with a purpose of its own--to draw us out of the comfortable nest of dreamless normality.  A heart with wings...divine evidence we were meant to fly.

How is dreamfire kindled, how does it spread? Fire needs air to breath. But is there enough air in the rooms of our lives?  When we need air, we look for a park or cafe, not a stuffy lecture hall.  Where is the open space and the open time for deep and meaningful talk, the kind that fans the flames of true purpose.  Small talk like small groups are not an end unto themselves.  Dream conversations change things, they shake things up, they disrupt with creative destruction... they wake us up from our deep sleep, and lead us out into the lives we were meant to live.

It is interesting that there is a much slower oxidation process in metal... (no fire) ... it's called rust... which reminds me of where we don't want to end up.    I prefer fire.

Kindle the flames, awaken the dreams... in you and everyone you meet.   Start a Fire.