The training in New York City that I went to in January was about adaptive leadership. The definition of adaptive leadership is: the capacity to mobilize people to address tough problems, especially problems they would rather avoid.
The ‘problems’ in the definition are further broken down into two categories: technical and adaptive.
Technical problems can be solved by experts or authorities. Someone, somewhere has solved the problem before and a clear roadmap for the next steps exists. An example of this at Christ United is in the Generosity Campaign we recently completed in November. There was a clear roadmap and steps to take.
Adaptive problems are different. There is no clear roadmap; it requires experimentation. There are no clear solutions. It will take many people working on a problem, not just a few ‘experts.’
We have stepped into an adaptive problem with the proposed Welcome Statement. With this statement, there isn’t a clear roadmap forward. As has been said, mistakes have been made in the introduction of this to the wider church.
But the actual problem is that within this Welcome Statement are the hot-button topics of our day.
And so the adaptive problem is two-fold: Do we talk about hot-button topics at Christ United Church? And if we do, how should we talk about those hot-button topics?
Bad Past Experiences
I think everyone can name a time, maybe even in church, maybe even from personal experience, maybe even at Christ United, when discussion of a hot-button topic got really heated and ended badly. We’ve all heard the horror stories of other churches where a hot-button topic blows up and divides a church.
Christ United is Primed and Ready
But this is where Christ United is primed and ready for something like this. Christ United has a history of doing things differently. I’ve heard many of you say how unique Christ United is.
Christ United is known for being flexible. Christ United is know for being open to experimentation and trying new things.
So what if we could find a ‘Christ United’ way to talk about these hot-button issues?
What if we could find a Christ United way to talk about these hot-button topics, and people did not walk away more angry? What if we could find a Christ United way to talk about these hot-button topics, and the church becomes stronger for it? What if we could find a Christ United way to talk about these hot-button topics, and the church becomes healthier? What if we could find a Christ United way to talk about these hot-button topics, and the church grows? What if we could find a Christ United way to talk about these hot-button topics, and it be a respectful discussion?
This all might sound naïve to you. And perhaps it is. Perhaps this is too lofty of a goal. Perhaps it is impossible.
But perhaps, just maybe, some naivete is what we need right now. Perhaps right now we need to think boldly and aim high. Perhaps we should try for the impossible.
I believe in us.
And I believe it’s worth it to talk about these hot-button topics.
And I believe we can find a Christ United way to do so.
Peace and blessings,
Pastor Alex
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