Thanks for joining me once more, up on the “observation deck” situated in the balcony over the dance floor that is the PC(USA). I am writing this on my flight back from the NEXT Conference in Indianapolis and feel a bit disoriented and out of breath from the twirls, spins and moves of a most vibrant and interesting dance. (Not to mention a tornado that blew me straight to Louisville where I needed to be rescued by friends.)
While the leadership looked a lot (but not entirely) like me (read “Old Church” not “Next Church”) the presence of 70 or so seminarians, a considerable number of GA staff members, Executive Presbyters, Seminary Presidents, the GA Moderator, the author of the “deathly ill” letter and some engaged elders led to a number of interesting conversations that have only affirmed the observations that we have offered so far and especially this fourth one I’d like to offer.
Here is a quick recap of the Observations that we are finding along the way then on to Observation #4.
Observation #1: For Presbyterians, the Process IS the Product.
Observation #2: Almost everybody agrees that something has to change.
Observation #3: Missional is the “coin of the realm” but we don’t all agree on its “value.”
Now:
Observation #4: We don’t have to develop any models, we only have to discover the models that are already out there.
At first glance this may seem like we are neglecting our charge as a Commission. Indeed, right after it says that we are to “consult with the church”, it is written: "Thou Shalt Develop Models." (Okay, it actually says, “The commission will develop models that reflect the roles of middle governing bodies in our polity and the changing context of our witness in the United States and their relationships with other governing bodies.”) Notice: the verb is “develop.”
But we have had a sense, only confirmed by others who are in the field, that there are already a number of “ways of being” an ordered, connectional, missional church that are “responsive both to the Spirit of Christ and the changing opportunities for discipleship” (again from our Charge). And that we are more about discovering and discerning the lessons of missional faithfulness that are already present than we are trying to “develop” one “silver bullet” solution to denominational entropy.
One of the pastors who attended the conversation on Middle Governing Bodies was Jud Hendrix, a church planter with the Ecclesia Project in Louisville, who after hearing of the approach of the Commission, told me about the book, The Power of Positive Deviance, which I read on the flight home. It’s a study in adaptive change that suggests that when faced with really huge, seemingly intractable, even “impossible” problems, the best solution is found by looking for and learning from those bright spots who are already beating the odds. As the authors write: “Positive deviance is founded on the premise that at least one person in a community, working with the same resources as everyone else, has already licked the problem that confounds others.”
They key is NOT to think of this “positive deviant” as a quick fix solution, but instead to learn from them what they might not even know about why they are succeeding when others fail. In other words, “positive deviants” are those who “get it right” even unconsciously and defy the odds for bringing change. They are not experts who analyzed, strategized and developed a well-thought out plan with a fail-proof solution, but are “outliers who succeed against all odds”, their solution often being “hidden in plain sight.”
I quickly realized that this approach is exactly what we are using and finding so fruitful already in the MGB Commission. We are looking for those places where the Presbyteries and Synods contribute to flourishing growing ministries that are reaching people beyond the usual Presbys-in-the-pew. We are looking for where the Presbytery meeting is “not deadly dull” but instead beginning to engage people in shared missional collaboration that strengthens both effectiveness and relationships. We are hearing stories of “Virtual Synods” that have already sold their building so that more money can go into community, building, training and resource development of church leaders. We found a “middle judicatory” from another denomination that has realigned around a shared commitment to urban church planting instead of geographical boundaries and is thriving so well they are starting to help other denominations (including the PCUSA) plant churches in cities. We are finding common themes and ideas that are coming from majority-world countries that are growing (if you haven’t heard about the new church development success in the Presbyterian Church in Brazil, you really should) and from Presbyteries in our denomination (yes, really!) who ARE already changing. In the words of the authors, “What’s working against-all-odds is a breath of fresh air.”
As we go about our “consultation” with the church, we are in the discovery and discernment business more than the development business. To that end, I have three personal thoughts about discovering and discerning models that are already out there.
- This is not only a breath of fresh air, but a great source of hope. God is at work in the church, there are signs of life. There are green shoots fighting their way toward the light through the dark deep pavement of an old regulatory system that is stifling creativity with both rules and personal resistance. Some of that is in the restlessness and even critique found in the Tweeters at NEXT Church. Others “green shoots” are found in the collaborative experiments that are being drawn up on napkins during conversations amongst church leaders. Still others are found as people begin to rethink traditional "boundaries" and relate to each other in new ways for the sake of mission. Maybe in a post-modern world form follows function-in-relationship.
- Positive Deviants are no guarantee for widespread change. Whether you object to the characterization of the denomination as “deathly ill” or think that instead this a God-given “exile” to teach us some collective lesson, or that we are still mid-Phyllis Tickle-like “rummage sale” and eventually we’ll figure this, or instead think that the church is just fine because “We’ve got Spirit, yes we do!” the fact of the matter is that the church is collectively finally aware something needs to change. We have to acknowledge the Positive Deviants as “deviants” that are exceptions to the “rule” of decline, discouragement and disengagement and we have to resist our own tendency to defensiveness and rationalization and our personal "immunity to change" that keeps us stuck in old, unfruitful ways.
- Once we discover, we have some discerning to do, too. Perhaps the most important part of our charge is not a word, but a single letter. It’s the “s” on the end of “models”. Models. Plural. We are not going to come up with ONE “silver bullet” model that we will seek to impose upon the church in some top-down regulatory fashion. We might not end up thinking in terms of “models” at all, but perhaps “illustrations.” Instead as we acknowledge that the church is in need of change AND there are positive deviants out there inviting us to learn alongside them, we are discovering not just models but truths. We are discovering real possibilities for being the church together that will challenge our assumptions, cause us to seek changes in the constitution to eliminate obstacles and hopefully, even prayerfully, lead to renewal in our congregations, in our communities, and in our lives.
In the meantime, know of any “positive deviants”? If so, let us know so we can learn from them.
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