namahatta.org - Congregational Development Ministry

Posted On: Sat, 2006-10-14 21:11 by josh sitapati at www.atmayogi.com

"How to stimulate valid innovation while preserving our core values? A look at one way that ISKCON members have been using "novel ways and means" to introduce people to Krishna Consciousness."

A Preacher's Dilemma

There is a growing sense of unease about the effectiveness of our current preaching paradigms in Western cities. The rising number of ads calling for pujaris, cooks, and preachers to reinforce existing ISKCON temples is a visible indicator that recruitment from the general public has slowed down drastically.

Some say that the slowdown is due to mechanically doing "more of the same" when times have moved on; we no longer live in the world of the 60s and 70s, in which Srila Prabhupada weaved his way expertly through the cultural environment. "Srila Prabhupada's own example is one of sensitive and intelligent adaptation. We need to find the appropriate ways and means to stay relevant to a changing culture!"

Others counter that it is exactly this push to "change things" that is sapping the life out of the movement; that it represents a loss of faith in the process that Srila Prabhupada gave us. "There is no need for something new. What we need is a return to purity and the basics - the Prabhupada program. This talk of doing something "different" is a symptom of the very problem!"

The young man with melancholy eyes listened curiously as I explained the Krishna conscious lifestyle. “A swami, a monk, eh?” he pondered aloud. Then a grizzled, worn-out hippy in his forties shrieked derisively: “Man, that’s bogus spirituality! Any true guru knows that the more sex you have, the more you’re liberated!” Infected, the younger man, no longer reflective, erupted with the fervor of an evangelist at the peak of his sermon. Eyes ablaze, he proclaimed, “I’ve had true ecstasy through sensuality!” Groaning, I sank into my chair.

 

Here is an interesting article on the use of technology by American “Megachurches”. Props to Candidasa for the heads-up. Here’s another related article from the Sitapati.info archives.

If you read the section “Towards Network Centric Preaching: Vision 2011″ from the “Operations Manual for World Domination” that I published in December last year, you’d have read my analysis of how information technology enables massive increases in scalability and speed - exactly what Srila Prabhupada had in mind when he talked of the “lame man and the blind man”.

“Think Steps, Not Programs” is how Andy Stanley and the crew at Northpoint summarize the concept that I spoke about in the article People are the Focus.

The idea is this: instead of having a strategic vision that focuses on programs, you have a strategic vision of a people-process - a pathway that takes people from where they are now, to where you want them to be. You then make sure that you have all the programs you need along that pathway, in easy, obvious, and strategic steps that take them from point A to point B.

Here is the transcription of a lunch-time talk by HH Devamrita Maharaja, December 10, 2005, in Brisbane, Australia. He talks to members and guests of the Loft - team about preaching in modern urban surroundings.

I found the talk on Sita-pati prabhu's web site, at this location. You can download or listen to the recording here (9.22 MB): Lunch time talk at Red Hill by H.H. Devamrita Swami.

HH Devamrita Maharaja:

"I can sense that what you are trying to do here is to establish a Krishna conscious urban community where persons striving to have a Krishna conscious life-style can enliven each other, help each other, and give each other camaraderie.

Although cities are full of people, they can be very lonely places. Perhaps you know people who are considered to be the 'life of the party', but when you actually talk to them, they tell you that they are very lonely, don't have any real friends.