We've always done it that way

The last two session meetings we have had some great discussion. Last month we talked about a different way to think about the church as more present and active in the world rather than the world coming to us. This month we talked about the baggage that we try to carry forward and how that impedes our passage to the future.

I think, when we talk about baggage, our thoughts turn to those old habits and perspectives that have been with us for years. This morning I read an article that suggests baggage can be thought of in a different way. this article gave me something to think about. Calling something baggage doesn't necessarily mean it's old.

Basically, the church, or any organization, needs to be always looking both forward and backward at the same time. This is to say that we need to look at what we've done as soon as we've done it and consider how that translates into moving forward. This is not saying that we need to get rid of activities or methods once we use them, but, rather, that we need to think about what we've done.

On Sundays through this month we have been talking about the mission of the church. We'll continue with that subject this coming Sunday and I'm planning to taking up the above topic about change. I think I have written before about the need to do adaptive versus technical change, which can be compared to changing ships versus moving deck chairs, as a means of working in the church.Christine Cross is trying to lead the Deacons in a different way that addresses adaptive change and I think we can all learn from this method.

I am going to suggest Sunday (spoiler alert) that we engage in a form of what is called action learning. This is a way of moving forward that is not jarring or disruptive, but does encourage change. This is a methodology that is used more in business, but can be applied to the church. Action learning requires reflection and evaluation, but it isn't anything too difficult. In fact, this is a style of leadership that seems particularly well suited to our faith. Please come Sunday to learn a little more about this proposal.

The session discussion was good and provides some of the groundwork for leadership. Moving forward is hard because we do carry a lot of stuff with us, but entering the future isn't impossible. Action learning enables us to decide what baggage we want to carry forward and evaluate what those elements do for us.

I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.

D

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