Borderland Churches V
We have walked through the first four chapters of Gary Nelson’s book. It is one of the three or four books published out of the Canadian context in the last five years that pulls all the pieces together within a missional framework. We need this kind of analysis, leadership and passion in Canada in order to move forward.
Chapter 5 follows on the chapter on leadership, and now focuses more narrowly to strategic considerations. This one is titled, “Herding Cats: Leading a Church into the Borderlands.”
Gary opens with a strong metaphor, recalling the western style commercial that was designed for Vanderbilt University’s IT department. Herding cats may be messy and chaotic.. but the point is getting to a certain end together. Or, as Roxburgh and Romanuk put it, “The key to innovating new life and mission in a congregation is not so much a strategy for growth as it is cultivation of people themselves.” (87) “Cultivation” gets at the issue of soil as well as the ethos. Leadership is about atmosphere, and what we are now talking about is culture.
Gary talks about the need to shape values by our being, for the purpose of transforming lives. This requires, primarily, that leaders be trustworthy. Moreover, “the development of an atmosphere of encouragement, permission and experimentation” is a critical component. Gary shares the story of a young pastor who was more interested in his career than in the “cats” he served among.
In the following section (89-90) he addresses leadership and from the perspective of context. Context will always require a particular style. Gary is addressing congregational culture here, which arises partly from local context, history and tradition. Leadership transitions sometimes fail because a leader is imported from a long distance away.. and the distance is primarily social and cultural. It takes years to understand a community and enter its rhythms.. and some leaders never make that transition. (Another solid argument for growing local leaders).
In the next section Gary addresses congregational culture directly.” Over time, congregations develop values (what is accepted as best), choreography (how one should behave and act), and even a unique language (how groups distinguish themselves from others.. Every congregation weaves together threads of history, rhythms and rituals that elicit recurring cultural practices..” (91). While Gary doesn’t say this, culture shapes practices, and practices shape culture in a dialogical manner. And generally this knowledge is tacit and not articulated, making its absorption difficult and time consuming.
I was particularly glad to see this discussion arise here, because frankly until we understand that many of the issues we face are cultural issues, we are forever going to spin our wheels. Changing a culture is much more difficult than simply changing a few behaviors. And we need to understand how culture is maintained in order to effect change. If our goal is discipleship and formation toward an alternative kingdom, then we are now at the heart of the issue. After giving an example of an action that did not take the congregational culture seriously, Gary notes: “The unique themes and unwritten rules are known as constructs.” And I suspect that we are getting very close to Charles Taylor’s “social imaginary.” Gary also refers to these constructs as assumptions and a congregational mythology (94). This story about cats and monks by Mike Riddell illustrates the idea.
In the next section Gary talks about getting to know the context and the constructs. He argues for listening deeply, and taking the position of a learner. He cites Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership. Many of the problems related to leading change relate to a failure to understand and evaluate organizational culture. (See also the work of Peter Senge, Margaret Wheatley, and Ronald Heifetz in this regard). Gary cautions that change takes time.
Next he notes that a good way to discover the constructs of a congregation is to uncover the gatekeepers. Gaining their trust is difficult and they are potentially dangerous resisters. Their assumptions are strongly held, but often in contrast to the reality of the context they live in, formed in a world that may no longer exist. Constructs that restrain missional engagement must be challenged. This is a key process in leading change.
However, missional desire already exists in many congregations. Often it must be coaxed out. One of the leadership arts is to enable vision to emerge within the congregation. Ritual and language must be aligned. Gary notes that words of inclusion to seekers may be negated by structures and language that tell them that they don’t belong. Gary tells the story of a ritual that told members that only in-church workers had real ministry — a new ritual commissioning members for daily mission in the world had to be designed (103).
The following section is a “wine and wineskin” approach.. we need structural reform, and we need to be reminded that there is nothing sacred about our forms. They were a response to a particular context and need. And “even cats need structure.” Gary quotes Jonathan Wilson, “The strength of evangelicalism is its willingness to adapt its practices to the demands of Christian mission.” (107) One of the challenges we face is to recover the dynamic of a missional movement (see esp. Frost and Hirsch, The Forgotten Ways and also Addison, Movements That Change the World).
Gary closes this chapter with some cautionary words. As with any journey, one may make a wrong turn. Gary cautions us to avoid becoming inwardly wired or outwardly oblivious. He cautions us to recognize leadership aversion and to avoid trivial pursuits. He warns us not to ignore those on the edges, nor to fear evaluation. Finally, he cautions against nominalistic passion (Rev. 3:16). He then advocates for certain affirmations and lists seven, including the importance of hope (109).