Interaction at Sugarlump Cafe

The Emergent Church movement in this "post-Christian" city of San Francisco is still trying to find itself. Only a few joined us as our class led the most recent monthly meeting of the "Sugarlump Theology Salon" in the Mission District. "The attendance really varies", says organizer Derrik Flood, "but the right people will come."

The six students from the San Francisco Urban Program had to raise their voices to be heard above the sounds of the barista steaming milk, but they openly shared the many experiences they were having in internships, community and their journey of faith during this semester. Interacting with attendees who came from as far as Sebastopol, our students learned that "Emergent" can mean many things- perhaps it's all in the eye of the beholder.

An attender who self-identified as a Buddhist priest and who had renewed his "love for Jesus", connected with several students. They shared stories and contact numbers. The students wanted specifically to check out the man's ministry where he teaches the techniques of meditation in the context of a church where he will give the morning message in just two weeks' time. Other attenders admired the integration and balance of experiences and learning our students were receiving. Some wished such programs were available to them in their college years.

In the presentation, our focus was on how relevant were the principles of "Places of Realized Potential" from Max De Pree, in his book, Leadership Without Power. The principles were provided to show how leaders can help create a context to move their organization from a hierarchical to a 'covenantal' relationship. Let me summarize the principles, along with a definition, below:

Places of Realized Potential (PRP)
Def: A place of realized potential opens itself to change, to contrary opinion, to the mystery of potential, to involvement, to unsettling ideas. (11)

PRPs offer people the opportunity to learn and grow.
· An essential ingredient is for leaders to be serious in good orientation and training for volunteers.
PRPs offer the gift of challenging work
· Work that is risky, meaningful

PRPs shed obsolete baggage.
· Innovation and renewal are highly prized values.
PRPs encourage people to decide what needs to be measured and then helps them do the work.
· Matters of the spirit, culture of the workplace, competence, moral purpose
PRPs heal people with trust and with caring and with forgetfulness
· Ordinary mistakes should not be terminal
PRPs know that organizations are social environments
· More than profit-centers, that they contribute to society and do some things well rather than trying to do everything.
PRPs celebrate.

As we discussed these, we saw how this template for covenantal organizations highlighted many of the values we longed for, not just in SF Urban, but in the reformation of the Christian Church and any/all organizations which wish to follow Jesus.

I believe the students went away feeling that they were engaged in a paradigm that not only allowed them an opportunity for 'realized potential', but it also provided for them a context for future leadership initiatives in their vocation and in their churches. As small as it was, perhaps the 'Sugarlump' experience could lead to grander changes in the way people find fulfillment in joint ventures and team efforts.