NPO.
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
~ John O’Donohue
September seems like the time of new beginnings. The air is starting to get crisp, the days are getting shorter, and kids start back to school.
Well, after 31 years, Kellie and I just started back to school, and I think we’re as excited as those little bundles of energy with new backpacks, lunchboxes, and number 2 pencils. And what excites us the most is that our doctoral project will be The Vining Center. For the next three years, we’ll be figuring out the shape of what it is we have created.
The goal of this entire first semester is to define and refine what they call the NPO, an acronym for Need, Problem, or Opportunity, because that one statement of 12-25 words will set the trajectory for everything that follows. Have you noticed how important it is to ask the right question? Seems to me there are no right answers to wrong questions.
If I had 60 minutes to solve a problem and my life depended on it, I’d spend 55 minutes determining the right question to ask. Once I got the right question, I could easily answer it in 5 minutes. ~ Albert Einstein
I don’t know that we will answer anything in five minutes, but I am starting to frame my question in terms of why so many Evangelicals are leaving church, and Kellie is framing a question around why the High Country is so disconnected from its Celtic heritage. We find ourselves fascinated with where these quests will lead… and how they will inform our work at The Vining Center.
As I work on my NPO, it occurs to me that all of us have our own NPOs. Life itself seems to be circumscribed by needs, problems, and opportunities, which is why we are invited to be co-regents and co-creators with God in this great ongoing work of creation. You and I get to partner with God in responding to the needs, problems, and opportunities that surround us, little and large. “Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it,” Jesus says in Mt. 11:29 (msg).
So what’s your current NPO?
You could probably name a number of them… but I invite you to name the biggie. Whether it’s on the home front, the work front, or the ministry front, find 12-25 words right now to articulate your primary partnership with God right now. What are you creating together in this season? And how do you feel about that? Write down a few emotions that cluster around your NPO.
I started out trying to define mine in somewhat utilitarian fashion: How do Kellie and I divide this emerging vision called The Vining Center into two manageable pieces. Instead, my advisor urged me to tap into the deeper passion inside. “Where is the energy that will fuel your mission of discovery, design, and delivery?” That’s where the grace is. And this led me to a question more theological than utilitarian.
I wonder where the question of passion and energy will lead you? Even if your current NPO is shaped more by necessity than creativity, it must still be fueled by an authentic inner drive because it’s a divine partnership. You want to tap into that flow of grace as you address it, and you want to be in sync with your divine Partner. “I can do only what I see my Father doing,” is Jesus’ secret, “because whatever the Father does, the Son also does.”
Grab your backpack because it’s time to go back to school!
growing the soul
What’s your next step in this co-creative dance?
serving the world
How will bringing the grace of God into your NPO serve the larger community?
takeaway
Co-create.