Crossing Thresholds: Collective Exploration

Courtesy of Pinnacle Leadership Associates

Friend and colleague Mark Tidsworth is rolling out a new process for churches titled Crossing Thresholds. In a nutshell, Mark is designing a way for churches to identify the “invisible barriers” to a church’s missional movement, changing those to “thresholds for crossing.” He states, “Once a threshold is crossed, churches and their leaders experience relief and release, moving into new seasons of freedom with ease of movement.”

Part of this process is a design of six steps for creating a strategy to cross thresholds (see diagram). From time to time, I will take the opportunity here to comment on some of the thoughts these steps provoke for me. Please note these are my responses and do not necessarily reflect Mark’s thinking!

One of the dynamics that Mark addresses is Identity and Deconstruction. One strategy step is “Collective Exploration.” For me, an essential key for collective exploration is prayer. As a congregation considers who it is and who it wants to be, prayer plays an important role. Here are several reasons.

First, prayer challenges our engrained ideas and prejudices. C. S Lewis wrote,

"I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God—it changes me". Although our prayers matter to God, the attitude we bring to pray is important. Prayer is undertaken in an attitude of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and submission. In the act of prayer, we gain a new perspective on our lives and our community.

Second, prayer builds community. In this step, we talk and pray together. As we talk together, we gain new insights about one another. As we pray together, we gain a greater appreciation for the gifts, points and view, and needs of our fellow disciples.

Third, in the act of prayer, we allow the Spirit of God to speak. The Spirit opens the door to surrender, acceptance, and challenge. We are empowered to give up those things that are not central to our fellowship, accept the possibilities that God has given us in our context, and embrace the challenges of the future.

Not matter how we structure collective exploration in the process of moving forward in missional ministry, prayer is essential.

(Diagram courtesy of Mark Tidworth and used by permission. Please contact Mark for additional information.)

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