I'm back to writing after spending the last few months digging into the Disrupt Church model. I've been in conversation with ministers and congregants, and even with a whole congregation at once, and it's been enlightening.
But, I'm gonna be honest, while learning is good, what I learned...not so much. In fact, for the first and only time in the years I've owned an Apple Watch, I got an alert during that congregational workshop that my heart was beating too fast. Alert! You're having a strong physical response! Sit down, get a glass of water, and find bigger thinkers.
Really, the fault is mine. My expectations have been high. The response to the Disrupt Church model has been so good, I thought people were ready to break it all down and build it up again anew. I haven't been prepared for people to think small or to be so set in their ways that even their powers of imagination have been limited.
In the end, I think it's good. I have two invaluable pieces of information. 1. There are a lot of people, even those for whom change is unwelcome, who understand that we can't keep doing what we've always done, and 2. Most people are unwilling to make significant change no matter how much they think it's necessary. This is good for me to know as I imagine ways we might move forward.
Because as true as those things are, something else is true. Change is coming. We can be surprised or we can be prepared, but neither will alter the facts. Organized religion is in a free fall across the nation in every denomination. If we're going to be relevant, we should get ready for what's next.
It’s September, and I understand the assignment.
this is so true!
I've been working in the church change arena for the better part of a decade. What I know - people who are still sitting in the pews are the *least* likely to change. Why? they're the ones still there! they're the ones for whom the dying system still works, or works enough for them to still be there.
These are the folks who need to be supported in every way to actually keep things the same!
The change starts building around them, little by little. It comes in bite-sized pieces where they can see the good in it. It comes without threatening the things most dear to them - their worship, their building, their beloved community members.
I think of my job as like those people who literally move houses from one place to another. Gently, slowly, and with respect and care for the valuable bones of this structure.