Being Qualitative in a Quantitative World...

We live in a quantitative society. It’s the language of business, economics, science, social science, mathematics, and finance. It is based on numbers, statistics, measurements, empirical observations, money, stuff, budgets, production, profits, the "bottom line", and getting the most bang for the buck.

But as we know, not everything can be reduced to a number, a formula, or even tallied numerically on a form! Not everything is "talliable"!

For those of you who work in the qualitative professions, such as the ministry, the chaplaincy, social work, counseling, teaching, the arts and or any of the helping / people professions...you know what I am talking about. The things we provide just do not fit neatly into little boxes on a form. And we go untallied, undocumented, and those that live in the quantitative world look at us and wonder, what on earth have you been doing? What are we paying you for?

But even if we wanted to, we can’t ignore the quantitative. For those of us that serve in large, governmental organizations or corporations or large businesses, things change as we move up the hierarchical ladder. We become supervisors, directors, the person in charge..... We become “them”!! Now we must create reports....how do we tally what our people do? We must live within budgets, justify our existence, if we don't, budgets may be slashed, jobs lost.... Bills need to be paid, payrolls met, and so forth.

How do we translate the language of the qualitative to quantitative?

Yes, it is not only a different language, it is also a different worldview!

Large, organized religions and churches I think, tend to operate for the most part quantitatively. Get those people in the pews! Grow! Expand. Get new converts! Increase those numbers!

Of course, not all religions are this way. But it seems to be the way for many religions and denominations that are missionizing type religions.

Of course, no one wants to speak in front of, or perform in front of an empty house.

But what is the spiritual dimension of all this? Hmmm. Well, there are many levels…

On one level, it is very “Western”. It seems to be related with the Industrial Revolution and the creation of a consumer society. Stuff. More! More stuff! Conspicuous consumption!

It also seems to be related to production. Make more stuff. Produce! Work hard.

How did it get this way? And there…it is almost hiding….it is related to that darned Protestant hard work ethic! And the thought of faith without works, is dead!

Perhaps it is also, because our global economy is based on similar quantitative attributes. Business and big religion…they tend to match each other.

But spiritually, it goes deeper, way deeper.

Work more, make more money...so you can buy more stuff!

What if we didn’t play the game?

The past two weeks, I have been at home. On the verge of moving for a certain amount of time, what should I take with me?

After much pondering, and the fact that I am on a budget, and I am the only person moving me, I decided not to play the game!

I am going minimalist! Taking only the bare essentials.

And I mean, the bare essentials. No furniture, no desk, no cable TV, no stuff. Therefore, no trailer needed to haul stuff, and no $350 fee for being forced to purchase a hitch that I will use once in my life. No lifting of stuff that I can’t lift by myself anyway.

It is totally counter–cultural. I am not going to have any stuff!

It makes me contemplate the early Christians….no church buildings, no budgets, no heads in the pews. No programs. No bulletins. No stuff. Just people who gathered together….

But, somehow, the movement grew. Why?

Perhaps it is because it was based on the qualitative. Perhaps it was because of the people….the relationships.

And that is QUALITATIVE.

What if we lived our lives based on this? What of we dared to live qualitatively….instead of quantitatively?

What a different world it would be!