What you focus on determines what you miss.

If God is "all in all," his focus is everywhere and misses nothing. Our goal should be all-ness, not merely wholeness. To be whole can still leave us bounded, excluded, or even shut out. But if we embrace all aspects of life as God does, then we live in his presence and open up to all things, from individuals to the universe, because it is all God's world.

Through Presence, and this virtual Center of Learning, you'll discover the difference between transformation and simple change. Things often change without getting better; and sometimes things change for the worse. Even change for the good, however, is not necessarily transformative.

Transformation is emergence into a higher order. When we awaken to the domain of God as here and now we find ourselves in a higher place, one that is imaginative, innovative, and inventive. This is life in the full presence of God, where all things are possible. Discovering the work of God as transformation-whether micro or macro, inner or outer-is our passion at Presence. And our mission is to encourage you in that discovery process. What branches would you like to see cultivated on your tree this year? Consider this:

1. Covenantal transformation is the source of all transformation.
Jesus is a model for creative transformation. He offered a creative path out of the political and spiritual turmoil of his day and time. He rejected business-as-usual and life-as-usual. He had real vision for the future, a vision that saw above and beyond the conventional answers, and the world has never been the same since. You may have already learned about Christ's new covenant as a doctrine, but the more you follow this path, it will become a lived dynamic. Learning Christ's way of creative transformation opens the potential for personal transformation.

2. Personal transformation empowers us to grow from where we are to limitless possibilities.
By learning who we are, what we are, and what capabilities we have, we change from passive spectators to active creators of our lives and the world around us. Life doesn't happen to us; it happens from us. Personal transformation flourishes as we become increasingly present in our own lives. Personal transformation involves learning to tend our own gardens. As we do this, we find a centered, balanced place from which to act, to serve and to love. We discover that we are not in control of the lives of others and don't need to be--that God can work through us in ways we never expected as we embrace his Presence in our lives. We can learn to be more present and centered within ourselves--at home in our own space. Personal transformation produces an increased awareness that we do not have to change the world, but that God can transform all things as we attend to our place in life.

3. Organizational transformation includes our family, workplace and spiritual community.
Because we live in an interconnected web of relationships, transformed people come together to create transformed organizations, whether that is at home, in the workplace or as part of a spiritual community. Transformed organizations move from being run-of-the-mill institutions filled with dreary routine to being vibrant communities of animated individuals pulsating with spontaneity. Communities filled with 'presence' provide people with the opportunity to shine. Transformed organizations are filled with talented and transforming people who continually enhance the life experience of every member.

4. Societal transformation comes about through transformed organizations of transformed people.
Societal transformation on a grand scale yields both a transformed humanity and a transformed universe. The Apostle Paul envisioned this new humanity through the finished work of Christ. Societal transformation leads to an integrated culture in which everyone and everything is valued as a part of God's universe; one where learning never ceases and in which transformation never ends. Ultimately, societal transformation (one that is global, broad-based and impassioned) grows out of organizational transformation resulting from a personal transformation that follows Jesus and his path of a creative, embracing presence. And this is the story in which you and I find our selves. You are part of his story-we all are-and it's a story that continues.