Transformational leadership

John 4:39-42

Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

We are transformed so,that the world may be transformed.

Traditional churches will only become missionary churches as those in authority (and even those without formal authority) develop capacity to lead their congregations through a long, truly transformational process that starts with the transformation of the leaders and requires a thoroughgoing change in leadership functioning. Tod Bolsinger: Canoeing the Mountains

While we're taking care to map what we can of our individual and collective journeys on Path of Renewal, we've been reluctant to be too specific about goals and objectives. Because much of the work is the work of discernment - listening deeply for where God is in our lives and in the lives of our communities while listening, too, for God's invitation to mission.

Carving out the time and developing the skills necessary for that discernment is transformational work. It transforms us and, in time, transforms the communities we serve.

As we model our compassion and engagement with those around us on the example of Jesus, we recognise the nudge to get to the heart of the matter, to ask the difficult questions, and to grapple with things that take us out of our comfort zone.

We recognise the need to challenge inherited models of behaviour and interaction, to unlearn what we think we know, to clear out the clutter to make way for what God is revealing to us. And, only once we ourselves have begun that process of transformation can we expect others to join us.

Our teaching is not in what we say but in what we do, in what we model for others to follow. Jesus did not call anyone to go where he himself was not prepared to journey. But neither did he ask his followers to have it all worked out before they began. He required only a commitment to surrender all that we think we know to get started on the journey of transformation.

We've been mapping out some of the transitions we hope to see - but the first transition begins with us transforming the way we model leadership in a post-Christian era, laying down the tools we have to hand and proceeding empty handed along a path that the Spirit only reveals in that place of listening, that scary place where we are disarmed and recreated, equipped and transformed for leadership in such a time as this.

Keeping up with the Spirit

Conceptually stuck systems cannot become unstuck simply by trying harder.

Ed Friedman - A failure of nerve

It's much easier to tweak programmes, to step up on strategy and to put more effort into delivering on expectations than to step aside, take time out and imagine a new future.

It's easier to work harder at what we know than to embrace what is uncertain and requires learning new skills and, crucially, a different mindset.

On Path of Renewal, we're confronting that with varying degrees of boldness because we recognise an opportunity to redefine church in a post-Christendom era, we have discerned something of God's spirit ahead of us and, quite frankly, we have seen that our current practice and structures are not sufficient for the age we now inhabit. So why would tinkering with those practices or rearranging those structures when the premise on which they were built (a Christendom era) no longer prevails?

What, though, of those for whom the old ways do still seem to be working? What of those wedded to a system, with the resources to keep things running for some time to come, who see no need to do things any other way and, for whom, initiating any radical changes would result in loss, whose immediate context does not mirror the rapidly changing culture with which others are grappling?

Our mission is not to change how others "do church" but to faithfully listen to the Spirit's leading where we are. To listen to and follow God into the places we are called to serve and be served and to continue listening for the voice of God on the fringes and in the heart of the communities we inhabit.

And, in doing that, to share our stories, to gather evidence of God at work and the divine invitation to get involved, to persist in the face of obstacles spurred on by God's affirmation of our calling to be faithful. To learn lessons that may be shared but, first of all, to be obedient to and shaped by God at work in our lives and in our context.

John 14:25-27

“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.

Transforming the world

Isaiah 43:18-19

Do not remember the former things,

or consider the things of old.

I am about to do a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert.

How can we embrace, today, the notion that God wants to do a new thing in the world? We, who sense God's calling to go in a new direction, to venture on paths whose terrain is unfamiliar and which lead to God knows where?

How can we who are often trained or have become ingrained in "doing the church thing", learn new ways, wrestle with new questions, explore different connections and keep on listening to God and to those around us, the communities in which we are called, along with our neighbour, to be church?

How can we risk letting go of what we know and step out empty handed along a way we have nor determined, mapped out or set?

We, who are trained and equipped to preach, to teach, to answer questions, to be the keepers of the faith, how can we journey with the stranger and, together, grapple with what it means to be a follower of Jesus today?

We, who know how to set (and to protect or fence) the table are called to throw caution to the winds and sit at table with those who haven't learned table etiquette.

Walking in that unfamiliar landscape requires humility, demands listening to and learning from others, it involves letting go of things long cherished and of holding lightly the new things that we learn in the knowledge that the God of every journey is working a transformation in us for the sake of the world.

And to do all this, not from a place of scarcity or fear of decline and loss but from a conviction of the sufficiency - even abundance - of God's grace!

The good news is that the Spirit of God is already ahead of us, transforming the world, transforming our communities, ready to surprise us in our transformation.

This new thing is not for those who prefer good order, clean lines and clear definitions.

To get caught up in the new thing that God is doing is like opening a sparkly Christmas card, covered in glitter - you can be sure that, long after, you'll be finding glitter in places you never expected - and certainly in places you didn't want it to be.

God is doing a new thing - reshaping and recreating the body of Christ in the world. Dare we dive in and be a part of that?

Failure as learning

“We can fail, but we can’t suck.”

Tod Bolsinger: Canoeing the Mountains

This is one of my favourite quotes from Canoeing The Mountains.

In a church culture which is encouraging and investing in experiments on the fringes, it's an important premise to hold. 

Unfortunately institutions, not least that of the Church, tend to be risk averse. 

History reveals that often organisations, in times of change, enter a self preservation mode, becoming inward looking, redrawng boundaries, revising policies and structures, hoping that tweaking and redefining what is familiar will ensure survival. 

But it is those organisations that can look outward, adapt to culture, be informed and learn from those on the fringes or outside the organisation that are more likely to weather the storm. 

An institution that is prepared to listen to and engage with a changing culture rather than defaulting to what is known and safe (and no longer works) is more likely to find a way through a constantly changing environment.

Asking different questions also helps.

It is the listening and engaging that enables experimentation to be better thought out and implemented  - and less likely to suck! 

Experiments thought through, even when their outcomes are not immediately clear, produce more learning - whether or not they work.

So, in this time of change for the church as an institution, a healthy culture of experimentation will enable learning even from failure.

In order to "not suck" creating a platform for telling the stories of experimentation and disseminating learning as we go will be important markers along the way.