We are called to be renewers of the church and to do God's work.
Servant renewers, I'll close by illustrating our need for one another with two images from Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala, a town of thousands of indigenous inhabitants, almost all Roman Catholic.
As we look to the past, but especially as we look to the future, as we look at the hurt in the church and the pain in the world right now, dare we say, "Who me, a renewer, an agent of change, one who can make a difference?" If we say or even think that, all the while hanging back in the shadows, then the tagline "God's work.
The way to be a renewer of church and society is to proclaim and follow the Crucified One.
There are few Russians who form a bridge from the moral renewers in the private sector to the political world in their country, and to their counterparts in the West.
If the West supports healthy indigenous efforts and encourages self-reliance, renewers like these could prove to be the critical mass in revitalizing the moral landscape of Russia.
Just as a single candle causes much darkness to recede, so can a small number of moral renewers light the way for a free Russia to emerge from the wreckage of collapsed Communism with a new character.
But you won't get a 100 percent of this year's
renewers next year: businesses will hit hard times, your subscriber will leave the company, etc.
For, as supposed
renewers sign on to their three "R"s--reuse, reduce, recycle--they have yet to add still one more word: reject.
With frequent flyer miles figured at two cents apiece, a $20 magazine subscription could be had for just 1,000; the traveler was happy; the airline got the liability off its books; publishers were thrilled with these high demographic subscriber (and
renewers); and, God knows, NewSub Services was in hog heaven.
At the same time, renewers do not have the freedom that comes with developing a concept from nothing; they have to start with an existing brand, customer group, asset base, and frontline salesforce and somehow transform them.
Yet most effective renewers start by developing a solid fact base about the potential building blocks of renewal - customers, brand image, competitors, and capabilities (see text panel) - because they know that understanding them will reveal opportunities and identify distinctive strengths to work on.
Effective renewers take the facts and then apply bold creative thinking to them.
The logic: (1) everyone knows the Digest is sweeps sold; (2) to order a product from The Reader's Digest Association, you have to spend a lot of time figuring out the sweeps, which means these folks really wanted to buy the product; (3) these are serious magazine readers who love the product with the majority of them being two-plus year
renewers; (4) you only have to look at the massive numbers on the overlays to realize these are serious mail-order buyers.
If you have phone numbers, you could make a thank-you call to
renewers and a similar "special offer."
