yup, i agree… but… the cartoon is more about the ‘institution’ than the ‘family’… the family of church can have a massive heart but i think the institution with its ‘take no prisoners’ agendas and visions can kill heart, spirit and intellect. many i know have been hurt or damaged by their experience of this kind of driven church and i abhor it.
you’re right though, it’s still harsh and i make no apologies for it.
i think you’re being pretty harsh on yourself there.
institutions demand a certain way of being and many go with the tide… institutions couldn’t exist if they didn’t. so you are right, but those in positions of power do bear responsibility for their behaviour. the masses often get manipulated and damaged people will hurt damaged people particularly if the stage is set for it.
i am angry about some things, especially when i see people manipulated or bullied… something institutions can do with no guilt. o for wiser leaders sometimes.
thanks for your support of these cartoon musings… and thanks for offering your thoughts, which i do take seriously and enjoy very much.
love it!!! well done, on all fronts.
Comment by Heidi — July 18, 2007 @ 9:54 pm
this church needs a make over, lets contact the BBC
Comment by fogg — July 19, 2007 @ 11:37 pm
…no heart? hmmm
not sure that you’re fair there…
trouble with ears
not hearing what’s going on
around us
trouble with legs,
often failing to get going
trouble with the tongue
too often speaking to make points
rather than build lives
trouble with the bum
just stuck in the pew,
and won’t budge
trouble with the eyes
can’t see the obvious
but the heart?
I think that’s in the right place
the trouble is though
that the other troubles
often blind us to the
good of the heart.
Comment by Caroline — July 20, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
yup, i agree… but… the cartoon is more about the ‘institution’ than the ‘family’… the family of church can have a massive heart but i think the institution with its ‘take no prisoners’ agendas and visions can kill heart, spirit and intellect. many i know have been hurt or damaged by their experience of this kind of driven church and i abhor it.
you’re right though, it’s still harsh and i make no apologies for it.
Comment by jonbirch — July 20, 2007 @ 2:00 pm
Dear Jon
I must be careful, for I fear I may tread on a bruised heart
but sadly, it was not an institution that damaged your friends, it was people
flawed people, like me,
trying-to-do-their-best people, like me
people who, like me, wanted to do what’s right but ended up hurting those they love the most.
it was not an institution but the damaged person who didn’t mean to damage anyone else, ‘cos they know how much it hurts to be damaged.
it was a frail, foolish person (like me) who needs to repent and turn and try again
it was a bone-headed, arrogant, sure-that-they-know-what’s-right person (yep, you guessed it, not unlike moi)
it was a person (or people) who needs grace and forebearance (like I do)
Harsh? No I don’t think you’re harsh, Jon. Angry, yes
but not harsh…
…and I still love your cartoons
with best wishes
Caroline
Comment by Caroline — July 20, 2007 @ 8:19 pm
i think you’re being pretty harsh on yourself there.
institutions demand a certain way of being and many go with the tide… institutions couldn’t exist if they didn’t. so you are right, but those in positions of power do bear responsibility for their behaviour. the masses often get manipulated and damaged people will hurt damaged people particularly if the stage is set for it.
i am angry about some things, especially when i see people manipulated or bullied… something institutions can do with no guilt. o for wiser leaders sometimes.
thanks for your support of these cartoon musings… and thanks for offering your thoughts, which i do take seriously and enjoy very much.
Comment by jonbirch — July 20, 2007 @ 10:46 pm