Barnabas File

A walk outdoors is refreshing.     Whether it is in the backyard, the neighborhood, a park, or a walking trail, being closer to God’s creation reminds us of the resilient, dynamic, and changing environment in which we live.    Although our efforts in development and industry often tend to interrupt those natural rhythms of life, they persist.   The same is true in human organizations.  Organizations—businesses, churches, not-for-profits, communities, political parties—are living systems.  However far they seem to have departed from God’s creation, they still exhibit the characteristics of living organisms.  If we recognize this, we can encourage those inherent aspects of life to make them more integrated, dynamic, and life-giving.    I was first introduced to this approach several years ago in a book by Steven Johnson entitled Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities, and Software , but more recently I was re...

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. -- Philippians 3:12-14, NIV   Change is inevitable.  It is not only to be expected, but to be pursued.  If you are a believer, my hope is that spiritually you are not where you were when you first acknowledged your faith in Christ.  The same is true for any church, family, business, or not-for-profit organization.  If you are now exactly what you were when you first started your journey, you are not effective in your mission.  As our context changes, our beliefs remain stable, but our methodologie...

Search was recommended to me by a ministry colleague.     Although she did not know that I had served on a pastor search committee a couple of years ago, I welcomed the recommendation and found the topic intriguing.     Most ministers do not have the opportunity to be part of a pastor search committee and those who do may have a difficult time processing their experience.   Author Michelle Huneven has written this novel about a congregational search committee told as a memoir with recipes.  I shared with a group that I found it both amusing and terrifying!  In the novel, Dana Potowski is a restaurant critic and food writer who is also a longtime, but increasingly dissatisfied, member of a progressive Unitarian Universalist congregation in Southern California. Coming off a successful book launch, she is asked to join the search committee for a new minister. Seeking her next book idea, she agrees, and resolves to secretly pen a memoir, with recipes,...

Let me start with a confession:     I never refuse the gift of a book.     I may not read it immediately, but I am honored when someone wishes to share with me a book that has impacted them I some way.     For All Who Hunger:     Searching for Communion in a Shattered World is such a gift.      In the Missional Imagination class I teach for Central Seminary (Shawnee, KS), we talk about creative ways to engage our culture with Christian presence.  One of our students in a class last summer was experimenting with dinner church in her home.  She was gathering friends regularly for a meal, fellowship, and worship.  In class and in subsequent conversations, she reported some of the lessons she was learning.  Out of her interest, she discovered this memoir and shared it with me.   Emily M. D. Scott’s work is a memoir—more of a reflection of a spiritual journey than a recitation of facts—and sh...

In this VUCA--volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous--moment, we are rediscovering that what we crave most is relationship, and we are discovering new ways to relate to family, friends, co-workers, and fellow disciples.       THNK recently posted a blog suggesting how we can take advantage of this opportunity, and we can apply their insights to the church. First, lead with humanity and empathy. The key word I am hearing both from business and spiritual leaders is connection.  In this time of shelter-in-place and social distancing even the introverts among us desire human contact.  Even those who have families with whom to interact are feeling vulnerable.  Church leaders have created or rediscovered many ways to keep in touch with their flocks--not just Zoom and Facetime but cards, letters, and telephone calls--and remind each person that they are loved and valued.  No matter their age, status, or level of church involvement...

In a recent post, I stated that most churches will settle for being “good” rather than “great.”  So what does a great church look like?  I am not talking about numbers.  Being a great church has nothing to do with numbers—people attending, services offered, funds received.  A great church is characterized by the willingness of its members and leaders to pursue certain tasks. A great church both prays to God and listens for God’s response.  Great churches have members who are willing to lay their concerns, hopes, and fears before God and to be patient enough to listen for an answer.  This means that the church is willing to hold everything loosely —ministries, budgets, leaders—and place it all in God’s hands. A great church values its people as their number one resource whether they are children, adults, or retired people.  A concerted effort is made not only to teach the Bible but to apply it to life.  Leaders listen to members and disc...

We approach the future in different ways.    In coaching, we encourage people to be intentional about their future, but we must realize that there is more than one way to prepare for the future. Becoming a Resonant Leader presents the research of Annie McKee on three ways of thinking about the future. McKee observes that individuals tend to be either goal-oriented, direction-oriented, or action-oriented.  Goal-oriented people lay out specific objectives and work toward them in a straight-forward way. They do not necessarily have a vision or dream for their lives but focus instead on short-term achievement and success. Often this is the approach that we emphasize most in coaching.  The weakness is that it can become rather cut and dried with little passion involved. Other people use a direction-oriented approach that recognizes and chooses a path they wish to pursue without being too specific about each step.  These individuals...

What are signs of hope in congregational life today?     Eddie Hammett, president of Transforming Solutions, LLC , was asked this question in an interview in the March/April issue of Nurturing Faith Journal.    Always looking for positive comments about the future, I found Hammett’s responses to be informative. First, “the perseverance of the few leaders who are open to the Spirit’s leading, innovative thinking and risk-taking leadership strategies.”  My only disagreement with Hammett is that I think there are more than a few congregational and denominational leaders who realize that the old approaches no longer work. Some have realized this too late, I am afraid, but others have caught the wind of the Spirit and are ready to engage in something new. Second, Hammett cites Christian coaching that offers hope to “individuals, teams, churches, and denominations that face steep learning curves” and “overwhelming challenges” but seek something that is...

The final step in the CHANGE process for a church is encouragement.   Accountability structures provide encouragement as we pursue a goal and they keep us on track.     In individual coaching, the coach is NOT the accountability structure.     The client designs his or her own accountability structures or identifies those already in place—family, friends, coworkers—who can come alongside and help. As we work with a church to change, we can call upon structures already in place or create some to help move toward the goal.   Some accountability structures already exist.  These may be staff meetings, leadership teams (elders, session, etc.), or church business meetings.  These provide times to not only report what is being achieved but to celebrate as well.   For example, when a goal is developed, steps to achieve that goal are outlined.  We might see these not only as steps in a process but milestone...

GPS is a wonderful invention.     All one has to do is either type in (or speak) a destination and step by step directions are provided to get there.     I must say, however, that I often pull up an overview map that shows me the “big picture” of how I will get there as well as some perspective on the arrival point.     I like clarity about where I am going to end up. Author Lewis Carroll wrote,  “If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.”  Before you depart on a journey, it is a good idea to know where you are going.  As a church makes decisions about the change it wishes to initiate, there should be clarity about the desired future before planning on how to get there.  This is the desired goal the church is working toward—more engaged worshippers, expanded ministry to the community, or a great commitment on the part of participants to Christian formation, for example. There will alway...

When did the need for structure first begin to limit your creativity?  I think it began for me in kindergarten when the teacher insisted that I had to color within the lines.  I don’t remember if I asked “Why?” or not, but I do know that there was no option.  Of course, my teacher wife and daughter would assure me that this has something to do with developing small motor skills, but I still wonder about the practice and what’s so important about “coloring within the lines.” The same is true in the church.  Early on, each of us was ingrained with the idea of “this is the way we do church.”  Imagine my surprise as a teenager when I discovered that other people (including other Baptists) did church in different ways.  I did not find this threatening but rather exciting!   Those of us who work in the church today must address the fact that we have been trained to avoid creativity and temper our curiosity.  We have been e...

Several years ago, I heard Alan Roxburgh make a statement something like this: “The Spirit of God is at work among the people of God.”     He went on to say that, as a result of this relationship, God has already provided within God’s people the ability to fulfill God’s mission. One way to discover what God’s people have to offer in fulfilling that mission comes from developing spiritual and relational vitality in the congregation.  Another way is to ask questions that will challenge members of the church to dig deeper and not settle for their first response. These questions “peel the layers off the onion.”  In coaching, we call this “asking powerful questions.” Powerful questions come in many forms, but the primary characteristic of a powerful question is that it moves a person to a new perspective.  I always know that I have asked a person or a group a powerful question when the response is, “Now that’s a good question.” Powerful ...

Our society provides numerous examples of people not listening to and respecting each other.     We let prejudices and preconceived ideas get in the way of respectful discourse.     Unfortunately, we often find the same practice in the church. When we consider the change process, the second step is “honor the other.” Honest differences of opinion must not only be respected but honored.  We all have our points of view.  As we talk and reason with one another, uniformity is not the goal.  Writer Walter Lippman was reported to have said,  "When everyone thinks alike, no one thinks very much."  The challenge is to present one’s opinion in such a way that we do not cut off effective dialogue and discussion.  We want to generate light rather than heat. A mistake often made in the process of change is to jump to conclusions and to try to resolve a contested issue without adequate discourse.  Th...

Coaching has given me great insights on the power of individuals to identify their needs, cast vision for their lives, discover the personal resources for life change, design a plan of action, and successfully pursue that plan.     What works for individuals can also work for groups and organizations including churches. Consider this process that churches can adopt as they address change: C—Connect H—Honor the other A—Ask powerful questions N—Nurture curiosity and creativity G—Goal Setting E--Encourage The first step is to connect.  In individual coaching, we often work with clients not only to identify a specific life change they wish to achieve but to understand the values that motivate and guide their behavior and how this life change fits into the total picture of whom they are becoming.  They connect with themselves on a deeper level. As we begin to address change in a congregational setting, we help people to connect with ...

In a recent study conducted by the International Coach Federation on “ Building a Coaching Culture with Millennial Leaders,”  Alejandro Campos , 
  Head of Talent Management and Organizational Development at Continental Tire Worldwide, is cited in this quote: “Coaching is one of the instruments that we see can really boost performance and also help realize potential for people. We see it as something that is important to leverage our culture. So especially now that we are trying to be a more progressive and attractive employer, we’re trying to move from a culture of more top-down approach to a more collaborative approach in the more engaging leadership style.”  There is a crisis in ministerial leadership.  In many denominations, there are fewer seasoned ministers available and many younger clergy are disenchanted about working in the local church.  One way to address this concern is to incorporate basic tenets of coaching into the life of the ch...

In churches across our nation, the time has come for crucial conversations about the future of each congregation.  As churches face the realities of changing communities, demographic shifts, unexpected ministry opportunities, and financial challenges, their continued effectiveness demands difficult conversations about mission, vision, and use of resources. Most pastors are not equipped to lead these discussions.  Even those who realize the need are often either untrained to do this or unwilling to do so. Our programs of theological education rarely train ministers to lead these crucial conversations.  Seminary training does several things well.  First, it tends to strengthen the spiritual foundation of the potential clergy person.  Second, it equips the minister to exegete the scriptures and deliver sermons competently; however, the topics of such sermons tend to address matters of personal development rather than community engagemen...