“As we question our current understanding, we become curious about what information we’re missing. That search leads us to new discoveries, which in turn maintain our humility by reinforcing how much we still have to learn. If knowledge is power, knowing what we don’t know is wisdom.”
I am in the midst of reading Adam Grant’s latest book, Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know. I find his research fascinating – he is an organizational psychologist at the Wharton School, has written a few other very successful books, hosts a popular podcast called WorkLife, and has some amazing TED Talks. In Think Again, he suggests that while we typically exalt intelligence, in our rapidly changing world of today, the ability to rethink and unlearn may be even more vital.
This resonates with me as I think of all the pivoting and adapting we’ve been practicing during the pandemic. This resonates with me as I think of the way Jesus lived and taught – he frequently turned conventions upside down and invited people to see things in new ways. Just look at who he called to join him as disciples. They weren’t scholars or experts in religion. They were ordinary people, who sometimes got it right and sometimes not so much. It seems like the only requirement for being a disciple was choosing to take Jesus’ invitation seriously and follow him.
What are you being invited to rethink in your life these days? Where is the Holy Spirit moving? What might St. John’s be invited to rethink as a church, as the Body of Christ?
The pandemic has invited some rethinking in many areas of our shared life. One place in which it is evident we have work to do as we heed our Scripture’s call to justice is the work of anti-racism. In the past couple of years many Episcopal Churches have entered into this path of rethinking and un-learning through Sacred Ground, which is a film-based curriculum designed to explore race and faith in a small group setting. I joined a Sacred Ground circle last winter that was offered by my seminary. We came from all different parts of the country and learned from the films we watched, the articles and books we read, and the conversations we shared. I am so grateful for the experience – it was transformational.
It does require some things from us – it’s an investment of time, curiosity, and courage. I am eager to start a Sacred Ground circle at St. John’s so we may learn and rethink together. The course has 10 sessions, and we will meet every other week for 75 minutes. Depending on how many of us are interested, we will offer a class on zoom in the evening, and another in person at the church mid-day. If you’re interested in joining this process, please let me know.