Adaptive leadership for communities of faith
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The document outlines a program for leading adaptive action in faith communities, emphasizing the importance of inquiry, flexible thinking, and collaborative action. It discusses various forms of truth, covenants of presence for shared storytelling, and frameworks for understanding change and leadership. Additionally, it examines contemporary religious trends among emerging adults and highlights the roles of spiritual competencies and conversation processes in fostering community engagement and personal growth.
![ways of knowing
• objective (observable, “facts”) [eg. there are cycles of light
and darkness]
• normative truth (agreement about what is true) [eg. “light”
is “day” and “dark” is “night”]
• subjective truth (personal beliefs and convictions) [eg.
“good” days and “bad” days]
• complex truth (acknowledging all three of the other truths
are equally valid, no one truth takes precedence over the
others all the time)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/adaptiveaction-140613084445-phpapp01/85/Adaptive-leadership-for-communities-of-faith-9-320.jpg)
![standing in inquiry
• know your “stuff,” but remain open to and actively engaged in
learning more
• be comfortable with ambiguity and vulnerability of holding
questions
• ask questions more than you give answers
• turn judgment into curiosity [I would say “wonder”]
• turn disagreement into mutual exploration
• turn defensiveness into self-reflection](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/adaptiveaction-140613084445-phpapp01/85/Adaptive-leadership-for-communities-of-faith-15-320.jpg)
Adaptive leadership for communities of faith
- 1. leading adaptive action in communities of faith DM6023 – SU14 SFTS / San Anselmo, CA
- 2. orientation • who are we? • what will we be doing? • where and how is God calling?
- 6. rethinking change • static : when an object is moved from one place to another (bounded, low-dimension linear spaces) • dynamic : motion along a smooth course to end up at a predictable point (some open boundaries, more factors, causality is messy) • dynamical : complex change that results from unknown forces acting unpredictably to bring about surprising outcomes
- 7. interdependent pairs • containers • differences • exchanges
- 8. adaptive action • when adaptive action is called for, seeing, thinking and acting in iterative cycles is exactly the right response • every ending action makes the next beginning question necessary • an adaptive action is always standing in inquiry — it’s framed as a series of questions • is simple enough to be flexible • reduces the risk of uncertainty in dynamical change • lots of ways to do this work! • cycles can be embedded inside one another to build a network of inquiry and action
- 9. ways of knowing • objective (observable, “facts”) [eg. there are cycles of light and darkness] • normative truth (agreement about what is true) [eg. “light” is “day” and “dark” is “night”] • subjective truth (personal beliefs and convictions) [eg. “good” days and “bad” days] • complex truth (acknowledging all three of the other truths are equally valid, no one truth takes precedence over the others all the time)
- 10. tuesday
- 11. covenants of presence • be fully present, extending and presuming welcome • listen generously • author your story • we come as equals • it is never “share or die” • no fixing • suspend judgment • turn to wonder
- 12. covenants of presence, cont. • hold these stories with care • be mindful and respectful of time • practice confidentiality care • welcome discomfort and dislocation • love the questions themselves • believe that it is possible for us to emerge from our time together refreshed, surprised and less burdened than when we came
- 13. Case: A Time for Burning
- 14. what? • inquiry • patterns • perspectives
- 15. standing in inquiry • know your “stuff,” but remain open to and actively engaged in learning more • be comfortable with ambiguity and vulnerability of holding questions • ask questions more than you give answers • turn judgment into curiosity [I would say “wonder”] • turn disagreement into mutual exploration • turn defensiveness into self-reflection
- 16. case questions, traditionally • background • description • analysis • evaluation
- 17. pattern spotters • generalizations (“in general I noticed…”) • exceptions (“In general I noticed, but…”) • contradictions (“on one hand I noticed…. and on the other hand…”) • surprises (“I was surprised that…”) • puzzles (“I wonder what was different that set the conditions for…”)
- 18. lunch break
- 19. Kegan’s immunity to change • commitment • what I’m doing or not doing that prevents my commitment from being fully realized • competing commitment • big assumption
- 23. spiritual competencies for boundary leaders • be about one’s own journey of faith and service • nurture capacity for surprise • develop rituals of passage, growth, lament, memory and encouragement • illuminate and support movement from self to social and back • trust the visions born in lament
- 24. spiritual competencies for boundary leaders, cont. • challenge tyranny of externalities, superficial measures, and short term outcomes • appreciate literature and practices of faith traditions • appreciate transformational potential of one’s faith tradition and open appreciation for others’
- 25. working with questions • standing in inquiry • containers, differences, exchanges • the Art of Powerful Questions • art of hosting, liberating structures, respectful conversations, etc.
- 27. liberating structure • 1 - 2 - 4 - all • (1) in silence : what had real meaning for you from what you’ve heard today? (1 minute) • (2) generate ideas in pairs, building on ideas from self- reflection: (2 minutes) • (4) share and develop ideas in foursomes (4 minutes) • (all) what is one idea that stood out in your conversation?
- 28. wednesday
- 29. Kirkwood UCC Atlanta, GA
- 30. working the case • containers • differences • exchanges
- 31. generating options for action • define all the similarities, differences, and connections you can observe in the current pattern you want to change • consider how you might uncover new similarities, or amplify or destroy existing ones; write down all of these possible options for action • focus on the differences and consider increasing or decreasing current differences, or shifting attention to new ones that might tip the dynamics in a new direction; add these options to the list • locate all the current connections that influence the pattern. Consider making the existing connections stronger or weaker, breaking them or adding new ones between parts of the system that are currently disconnected. Expand your list further with these exchange-based options for action.
- 32. break at 10:30
- 33. landscape of/for emerging adults
- 34. national study of youth and religion • directed by christian smith (notre dame) and lisa pearce (chapel hill) • begun in august of 2001 and continued through 2013 • designed to enhance our understanding of the religious lives of american youth from adolescence into young adulthood, using telephone survey and in-depth interview methods • http://www.youthandreligion.org/research • the following slides have information from that study which appeared in the book Souls in Transition (page numbers in parentheses)
- 35. cultural worlds of emerging adults • disruptions (75) • distractions (76) • differentiation (78) • postponed family formation and childbearing (79) • keeping options open (79) • honoring diversity (80) (page number references to “souls in transition”)
- 36. cultural worlds, continued • self-confident self-sufficiency (81) • self-evident morality (82) • partying, hooking up, having sex and cohabiting (83) • religion as a resource for stability and recovery (84) • ongoing relations with parents (85) (page number references to “souls in transition”)
- 37. six “types” of religious emerging adults • committed traditionalists (166) • selective adherents (167) • spiritually open (167) • religiously indifferent (168) • religiously disconnected (168) • irreligious (168) (page number references to “souls in transition”)
- 38. note • emerging adults more in continuity than contrast with their parents, as well as previous generations (102) • jewish and catholic categories lost the largest percentages as proportional to where they began, and self-identified “non religious” emerging adults grew by nearly 93% (105) • moralistic therapeutic deism is alive and well (154ff) (page number references to “souls in transition”)
- 39. john roberto and faith20/20 project • will trends in u.s. culture lead people to become more receptive to organized religion, and in particular christianity or will trends lead people to become more resistant to organized religion and christianity? • will people’s searching and hunger for God and the spiritual life increase over the next decade or will people’s need for God and the spiritual life decrease? • http://www.faithformation2020.net/index.html
- 41. networked religion (heidi campbell, texas a&m) • storied identity (fluid and dynamic identity construction, performative in nature) • shifting authority (authority is built, not assumed structurally) • networked community (loosely bounded social networks) • convergent practice (personalized blending of belief and ritual, internet becomes a hub for assembling religious identity) • multi-site reality (distinction between “online” and “offline” no longer adequately descriptive) • http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/podcast-heidi- campbell-on-religion-in-a-networked-society/
- 42. authority ! authenticity ! agency for more on this, see “Learning the Bible in the 21st century: Lessons from Harry Potter and Vampires”
- 44. michael wesch (kansas state university) • cultural inversions • express individualism, value community • express independence, value relationships • express commercialization, value authenticity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU
- 49. lunch break
- 51. break
- 53. Robert Kegan (with my theological echoes) • from complaint to commitment (what does faith call us to, lament psalms) • from blame to personal responsibility (forgiveness) • from ‘new year’s resolutions’ to ‘competing commitments’ (steadfastness) • from ‘big assumptions that hold us’ to ‘assumptions we hold’ (parables) • from ‘prize and praising’ to ‘ongoing regard’ (grace) • from rules and policies to public agreement (covenant) • from constructive to deconstructive criticism (learning)
- 54. from policies to public agreement (118) • a collective route to first-column commitment • not to prevent violations but to create them (without agreements there can be no violations), and they can help us to surface further inner contradictions • an opportunity for learning
- 55. core public agreement • Speak for oneself; Use ‘I statements.’ Own and offer your thoughts and feelings honestly; avoid grand pronouncements or stating positions of others • Practice respect in speaking and listening; accept that others may have different views, without needing to debate or set them straight • Be brief in comments; honor timeframes and refrain from interrupting • Listen carefully, especially when something is hard to accept; suspend judgment • Respect confidentiality: After the conversation, do not attach names to comments made without permission • Allow people to pass, or pass for now, if they are not ready or willing to respond to a question Respectful Conversations project
- 56. (1) what in your experience influences your perspective on change in the church? (up to three minutes each)
- 57. (2) when you think about issues of change in the church, what matters most to you? (up to three minutes each)
- 58. (3) within your own perspective on issues of change, what questions do you still wrestle with? (up to three minutes each)
- 59. (4) what genuine questions do you have for each other?
- 60. thursday
- 61. Mark’s case : working with Kegan’s languages
- 62. internal languages • from complaint to commitment (what does faith call us to, lament psalms) • from blame to personal responsibility (forgiveness) • from ‘new year’s resolutions’ to ‘competing commitments’ (steadfastness, edification) • from ‘big assumptions that hold us’ to ‘assumptions we hold’ (parables)
- 63. social languages • from ‘prize and praising’ to ‘ongoing regard’ (grace) • from rules and policies to public agreement (covenant) • from constructive to deconstructive criticism (learning)
- 64. break (10:30)
- 65. moving into the “so what” through storying
- 68. story circle exercise (repeat for each person) • tell a story of a moment when you “let go and let God” (3 minutes) • pause for 30 seconds • storyteller turns around (so you’re not seeing the others, but can hear them) • listeners propose titles to the story they’ve just heard (2 minutes) • storyteller turns back around and either chooses one of the titles offered, or suggests their own (30 seconds) • write down the title, then repeat entire process for the next person
- 69. lunch break
- 70. “We are rarely presented with an authentically fulfilling trajectory for our desires… If we are created for infinite satisfaction, we really only have three choices about what to do with our desire in this life: We will become either a stoic, an addict, or a mystic. The stoic squelches desire out of fear, while the addict attempts to satisfy his desire for infinity with finite things, which, of course, can’t satisfy. That’s why the addict wants more and more and more. The mystic, on the other hand — in the Christian sense of the term — is the one who is learning how to direct his desire for infinity toward infinity.” Christopher West
- 71. contemplation / theological reflection
- 72. working with God’s story and our story • what do you bring back from this exercise? (2 - 4 - all) • another example (Jim Gilliam)
- 74. so what?
- 75. friday
- 76. Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your cares and concerns ! Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your doubts and despairs ! Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your fears and frustrations ! We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, ! We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs ! We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your tensions and turmoil ! Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your haste and hurry ! Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your work and worry ! We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, ! We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs ! We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being
- 77. ciq
- 78. now what?
- 79. Case study: Stewart’s church
- 81. Builder Shepherd Gardener Inspires action by Making decisions Empowering people Making meaning Approach to leadership Organizational approach Pastoral care approach Homiletic approach Emphasizes Roles and responsibilities Relationships Vocabulary and stories View of congregation Structure Community Culture Biblical precedents Nehemiah, Jethro Jesus as Good Shepherd Nathan and David
- 82. resources for emerging adults
- 86. lunch break
- 87. for contemplation: an examen
- 88. break
- 89. visio divina
- 90. closing rituals
- 91. videos available online: ! apple ipad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiyIcz7wUH0) apple iphone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhwhnEe7CjE) johnson&johnson (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzPPx36r3oY) capital one 360 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCFqAuE8WnE) forever young pepsi (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfrdRgpKfI) ! empathy animation (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=1Evwgu369Jw) Jim Gilliam testimony (http://www.internetismyreligion.com/) ! the innovator’s Bible (https://vimeo.com/77818196) woman at the well (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q49BbfgJbto) Paradise Fears “Sanctuary” (http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=KdKu_J5ebMg)
- 92. image of theory u for theo ed taken from FTE vocation care guide (https://www.dropbox.com/s/508nj76glhj3r2q/GUIDE%20TO %20VOCATIONCARE%202012%20%281%29%202.PDF) ! covenants of presence from the FTE vocation care guide ! spiritual competencies taken from Gary Gunderson, Boundary Leaders ! leaders as gardeners table from Scott Cormode (“Multi-layered leadership: The Christian leader as builder, shepherd, gardener” in Journal of the Academy of Religious Leadership, Vol. 1, #2, pp. 69-104.)