much more . . . |
||
| #5 — February 2008 | ||
The Tip of the Iceberg
- On January 25-26, 25-30 members of the Presbytery Council, the Way Forward Work Group, and a few others met together on a retreat with Alan Roxburgh. This group gathered to map out where we are as a presbytery and what steps are needed for us to move forward in God’s mission here in San Diego and Imperial counties. Much of our planning and decision making in the church tends to focus on the tip of the iceberg. We look at what is obvious. We see what is out in the open. We discuss what is “out there” in the public arena and make a judgment on where to steer our ship. But because we live in such a fast-paced culture, we often make a rush to judgment. We are too quick to analyze, predict, and develop our way forward. The problem is that often we base our decisions on the 10% of the iceberg that is above the surface of the water. Then, when we unexpectedly hit the iceberg, we get confused, and wonder what we did wrong. Often it’s because we didn’t take the time to get a clear picture of the 90% of the iceberg that exists beneath the surface.
So, we spent time looking beneath the surface. We dwelt in Luke 10:1-12, listening for the text to speak to us, and listening one another into free speech. We looked beneath the surface of our churches and our presbytery as we reflected on where we’ve been. We discussed many places of hope and energy and mission in the past and the present. We admitted the challenges we are facing in the present, including experiences of conflict and confusion, and feelings of anxiety and uncertainty. We sense a lot of creative energy and good people, as well as an admission that we don’t know how to create the future. We have a good understanding of the ships we are steering, but we are in uncharted waters. As skilled as we are at keeping the boat in good shape, we don’t recognize what part of the ocean we’re in.
Leading a congregation and a presbytery is more like sailing a boat than flying a plane. The progress we make is never in a straight line from A to B. Rather, it is like a sailboat tacking from the right to the left, catching the power of the shifting winds, as the Spirit blows us to the other side of the lake. We discussed how change doesn’t happen from the top down, it emerges from the bottom up. This means learning to lead differently. Instead of leading like Moses coming down from the mountain with the answers for the people, the role of the leader is to cultivate an environment that stimulates the missional imagination of the people of God, and allows the vision and ministry to develop out of the stories and lives of ordinary Christians. This is a completely different way of leading for many of us, but is the only way we will see the 90% of the iceberg that is beneath the surface.
We talked about the five step missional change model, which describes how individuals, groups, congregations, and presbyteries begin to accept new ideas, adopt new perspectives, and take new actions. The process involves moving from Awareness to Understanding to Evaluation to Experimentation to Adoption / Commitment. The change that is needed through this process in the church today is not just a technical, structural change. The change that is needed is an adaptive one that changes the culture of the group. It’s not about finding the latest fad or program, because we already know those won’t work anymore. It’s about finding a way to help the people of God re-engage the richness of our scriptures, reconnect with the depths of our history and tradition, and recommit ourselves to the neighborhoods where Christ has planted us. We walk by people everyday, in the church and in the world, content with knowing the 10% of their lives that we can see on the surface. It’s only as we gain the courage to inquire into the 90% of our lives that we hide from each other, that we can begin to see what God is already up to around us.
We left the retreat with a commitment to keep this discussion going. We realized that the way forward will probably involve bringing congregations, pastors, and church leaders together in new ways. Alan Roxburgh made some suggestions on how to do this that we will continue to explore later this month. I have been working hard during my four months with you, to get beneath the surface of this presbytery, and not be content with the 10% that everyone sees. I believe the Spirit of God was with us during this retreat.
The first step into the future is always to start where the people are, not where we think they are, where we think they should be, or where we want them to be. We begin where we are. We begin with the tip of the iceberg. I want to invite you to join me this year in a commitment to discovering the rest of the iceberg. We may not want to look at it. We may not want to talk about it. And we may not agree on it. But the only way to move our ship forward is to realize what’s going on beneath the surface. God is as present there as He is in plain view. I am confident that He did not bring us this far to leave us. He Who began a good work in us, will bring it to completion, on the day of Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Clark Cowden
ClarkCowden@PresbyterySD.org| previous issues of Clark’s Corner |
