Looking forwards and glancing backwards

By Al Ronberg, 2ndcity Communications guy.

Holding the balance between tradition and innovation…

Last week we had a special guest at our staff meeting. Campbell McSkimming was the pssm director for a number of years (a number that he would more than likely prefer I didn’t share with you). When Campbell speaks about the story of pssm from it’s inception  in 1938, to our new era working towards the launch of 2ndcity, there is a sparkle in his eye. Whilst recollections of days gone by bring very fond memories for Campbell, you truly do get a sense that he is excited about what we are developing with 2ndcity. One of the recurring themes that we picked up in Campbell’s storytelling was the level of Faithfulness that has been apparent over the years. When there has been great need, there has always and unfailingly been great provision… It is safe to say that prayer has been at the very core of the story of pssm.

As a team that is building 2ndcity it is crucial that we appreciate how we build upon a foundation of passionate and visionary leaders that captured the heartbeat of their culture and made something very exciting happen. What was originally started up with pssm was making the most of technology that was world-class for it’s time. The New Zealand postal system has always been a model that has lead the world and our pssm forefathers harnessed this and used it to communicate the gospel around our country (and the world). We are now at a time where new technologies are emerging (at the expense of existing technologies and systems) and once again, pssm is seeking to be at the helm as we steer our culture toward their Creator… 

We essentially need to be holding a balance between our heritage, and what we will leave as our legacy. In order to communicate our approach to you, I would like to take you on a ride in my little blue Nissan Lucino. 

Every time I am in my car I need to keep a healthy balance between looking forward, whilst also making sure I am glancing backwards.When we get this balance WRONG in a car, accidents can happen. I have friends that failed their driving test when we were teenagers because they NEVER looked in their rear-view mirror… we need to be looking for hazards from behind or ambulances and police that may need to get past. We also need to know if we are holding up traffic behind us (I wish more people thought of this one!!!). If we never look in the rear-view mirror we could create a few problems. I also think the opposite is also true… if we ONLY ever look in the rear-view mirror, it will be a very short time before we come crashing in to the next obstacle to come across our path!

Getting the tension between respecting those that have come before us, and dreaming new goals and visions that our organization has NEVER looked like before, is a critical process for us. As mentioned, we stand on a solid foundation of generation-changers that found a need in their time, and stopped at nothing until that need was met. If we only look back towards the way things have always been for us, it would definitely make things difficult for where we need to be heading! If we are only looking ahead, then we miss out on many lessons learned and experience gained along the journey that brought us to today.

We hope that what we do HONOURS those that have gone before us… and we hope that what WE are doing will build a strong platform for those that will come after us…

AL