It is sometimes said that organizing church communities is like herding cats. This is meant to be funny, but there is more than a grain of truth to it. Cats cannot be pushed into formation, but they can, in fact, be herded. All we need do is put a fish on a line. In effect, we need to find what they all hunger for and hold it out there: they will come, and they will eat and be better for it. It is the same way in an effective dialogue with members of church communities who hunger to be seen, to be heard, and to be appreciated. When these nourishing virtues are offered, ordinary people will come, they will eat, and they will be better for it. Of course, we know these cats, and they are us.
top of page
bottom of page