Barnabas File

Those who are immersed in the digital world sometimes forget that the same is not true of everyone.     Not everyone has a state-of-the-art computer, a smart phone, an Apple watch, and high-speed internet connection.     Due to their financial status, their demographic group, or their geographic location, these modern amenities are not available to all.      Consider these challenges to inclusivity and connection in the digital age:   The Digital Divide: How do we remain inclusive of older members or those with limited financial means who may feel alienated or left behind by a heavy reliance on apps and digital platforms? Moving to digital platforms as means of communication is faster and more economical, but how do we maintain contact with those who are not connected in this way?  We shouldn’t assume that the barrier is knowledge.  For some—in both urban and rural areas—there may be inadequate and unreliable internet or c...

We can’t avoid technology today.     If I want to communicate with my grandchildren, I must know how to text.   When I need that refrigerator part that Sears no longer provides, I can go to Amazon and find it.     Most of the companies I do business with—including my health care providers--want to interact online.    Many of us learned quickly how to move our worship services online during COVID and now we must decide what to do with that “second campus.”   As we attempt to integrate technology into our faith communities, we are challenged to balance modern necessity and efficiency with humanity and sacred tradition.  In this series of posts, I encourage us to think about technology and the church in several ways.   First, the "Why" behind the "What": How do we ensure that our use of technology serves our core mission of spiritual growth rather than just becoming a performance or a distraction?   I hope we are beyond the “...

Jamais Cascio, an American futurist and anthropologist, proposes it is time for a new term—BANI—Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible—to address our present context.  Although these shifts disturb our personal and organizational equilibrium, Cascio proposes Positive BANI, a set of mindsets to counter the chaos:   Bendable (to counter Brittle) Attentive (to counter Anxious) Neuroflexible (to counter Non-linear) Interconnected (to counter Incomprehensible)   Coaching in a BANI environment requires us to focus on "Capacity Coaching" (how to expand our capacity and options). Since coaches use powerful questions that move people from dependency to autonomy, we can adapt those to address the specific "fractures" BANI creates.   Here are specific coaching tips and adapted questions for each BANI pillar:   Coaching the "Brittle" (Fragility)   When a client feels their career or project is brittle, they are often paralyzed by t...

"BANI is not a technical analysis; it’s visceral and experiential. It depicts the nature of the moment... in a way that resonates for people around the world." —  Jamais Cascio Futurist and anthropologist Jamais Cascio argues that the VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) mindset from the 1980s has "expired." He writes, “VUCA was about a world that was hard to see. BANI is about a world where the things we  can  see are actively breaking." In this new paradigm, there several shifts: Volatility  has become  Brittleness .     It’s not just moving fast; it’s fragile. (Example: A career path that vanishes due to a single AI update). Uncertainty  has become  Anxiety : It’s not just 'not knowing'; it’s the fear that comes with it. Complexity  has become  Non-Linearity : It’s not just a puzzle; it’s a system where small ripples cause tsunamis. Ambiguity  has become  Incomprehensibility : It’s n...

For years, organizations have focused on VUCA, a term introduced by the U.S. Army War College in the late 1980s to describe the world after the Cold War.   VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. It is a framework used to describe the rapid, unpredictable, and turbulent nature of modern business, military, and strategic environments, focusing on how organizations navigate challenging and constantly changing conditions.  Early on, it was often cited a framework for interpreting the COVIC-19 epidemic.    Jamais Cascio , an American futurist and anthropologist, proposes it is time for a new term—BANI—Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible.   He first introduced the acronym in a 2018 article titled  "Facing the Age of Chaos,"  though it gained traction during the pandemic to describe an increasingly unstable world that had moved beyond the older "VUCA" model.   Cascio designed the framework to capture...

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” --Ephesians 4:2, NIV   It happened decades ago, but I still remember the incident.  Another student and I were enrolled in a graduate program at a seminary. We were enjoying the program, but we had some similar questions to ask the director of the program.  We set up an appointment and showed up promptly.  We asked our questions in an open, friendly, concise manner.  What I remember most about the conversation was the program director spent most of the time avoiding eye contact, browsing through papers on his desk, and grudgingly offering some clarity about our inquiries.   How often do you find yourself in those types of conversations?  You want to share something with another person, and they spend their time looking at their phone or changing the subject.  How’s does that make you feel?  And to be honest, have you ever s...

Is it possible that what we have learned about our faith can get in the way of our faith development?     Much of my Doctor of Ministry research was informed by the work of James Fowler.     Fowler suggested that are stages of faith development which connect to cognitive and emotional development. In his book,   Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning ,  Fowler outlined how individuals construct meaning and trust across their lifespan. Based on research, this framework spans from childhood's intuitive, literal beliefs to mature, self-transcending faith.    One of the things that we must wrestle with in considering Fowler’s model is determining how what we absorbed in the earlier stages of life either contribute to our ongoing faith development or gets in the way. For example, as a child and teenager, I learned a high regard for the Bible, the scripture of my faith.  I still remember passages that co...

In my work with the Summit Coach Training, I teach several times a year.  Most of our coaches-in-training are people with experience in the helping professions—clergy, therapists, social workers.  In a recent class made up of pastoral leaders, an idea emerged that I found invaluable.   First, some background.  In coaching, we teach that people are smart.  Our clients know more about their problems than the coach does.  They are unique individuals with various gifts, talents, and experiences that they can draw upon.  They can make decisions and pursue their goals.  The role of the coach is not to solve the client’s problems, but to help each client ascertain what they want to accomplish, what resources they have to get there, identify barriers and how they might be overcome, and celebrate their achievements.   As we were coaching around challenges that our class members face, we realized that taking a coachin...

When we consider resources that a coach might suggest a client pursue in faith coaching, there are many!  Please understand as I address this topic, I come from a Christian perspective (note the “a” and not “the”). However, there are rich spiritual resources connected to all religious faiths and to no particular religious faith.   Perhaps a starting point comes from the Methodist or Wesleyan tradition.    The Wesleyan Quadrilateral is credited to Methodist founder John Wesley.   This model bases its teaching on four sources as the basis of theological and doctrinal development. These four sources are chiefly scripture (the Bible), along with tradition, reason, and Christian experience.   As Christians, we are not bound by tradition, but we have two thousand years of tradition upon which we can draw.  Tradition is not simply about organization or ecclesiology, but ways in which believers approach God—spiritual practices (such a...

On my wall is an icon of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland.  As one might expect, much of the story of Patrick is shrouded in myth. The accepted story is that he was kidnapped from Britain by Irish raiders when he was 16 and taken to Ireland where he was a slave for six years.  He eventually escaped and returned to his family, but he took vows with the Church and returned to his place of enslavement as a missionary.  He is credited with converting the island to the Christian faith.  By the seventh century, he had come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland.   The genius of Patrick seems to have been his ability to contextualize the faith to win converts.  He took advantage of the well-developed stories, customs, and institutions of Ireland to present the Gospel in a powerful way.  So significant was this approach that it gave birth to what we call Celtic Christianity, a movement that differentiated itself from the Roman form of t...

Humans are meaning making creatures.  We seek understand of the world and of ourselves.  We ask existential questions. Existential means "related to existence," often focusing on the big questions of human life like purpose, freedom, meaning of life,  responsibility, and place in community.     Assistance in finding answers to these questions come through revelation, myth, and reflection.  Coaches who partner with clients to consider faith questions begin by being open to what the client seeks, taking into consideration the client’s maturity level, life experiences, family of origin, religious tradition (if any), and present context.     Although individuals raised in a similar context such as a Christian tradition have common experiences, we should not assume a common vocabulary or equivalent response.  For example, the meaning of the Eucharist (Lord’s supper) for an individual varies upon whether they experienc...

In the last few years, religion scholars and the popular press have written much about the “Nones”—people who profess no religious faith.     Ryan Burge and Tony Jones have found that it is not that simple.    The Nones are often thought of as a single group, but Jones and Burge have found they’re not. There are the Nones in Name Only (NiNOs), Spiritual but Not Religious, the Dones and the Zealous Atheists.  There not discreet boxes but gradients.   What this means for coaches is that we may find ourselves coaching about existential or faith issues when we least expect it.  Our clients may say that they have no particular religious views, but some are more spiritual than they think!   All coaches—Christian or not—can their support clients in authentic meaning-making by exploring their inner world, uncovering  and integrating their true selves.  Faith coaching acknowledges and accepts the inherent ambiguities and tensions ...

“Over 85% of the world population identifies with an organized religion while millions more practice folk religions and spiritual beliefs. Humans may be innately spiritual, learning existential views early through family traditions, community practices, and cultural narratives.”   You may be surprised to know that this quote comes from a study by the International Coaching Federation Thought Leadership Institute.  The study points out that it is typical for individuals to ask existential questions, often focusing on the big questions of human life like purpose, freedom, and meaning. Religion and spirituality enrich the human experience through meaning-making and help find one’s place in the word.   For those coaches who follow the Christian faith, the opportunity to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18, NIV) is a given in our lives and will inform our coaching as well.  However, ho...

Every week, we find ourselves in some type of gathering with others.     Sometimes it is a group meeting where we are discussing topics of both collective and individual concern.     Often it is team of people working together to further the tasks of a church, organization, or service group.     How can you, as an individual, positively impact the effectiveness of the conversation in either setting?    Adam Grant is a professor in organizational psychology at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He has shared these insights about group leadership.   The true leader in a group is rarely the person who talks the most.  It’s usually the person who listens best.  Listening is more than hearing what’s said.  It’s noticing and surfacing what isn’t said.  Inviting dissenting views and amplifying quiet voices are acts of leadership.  As I reviewed these observations, I realized that one d...

  "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there”. —Lewis Carroll   "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up someplace else”. —Yogi Berra    We are far enough into the new year that most of our “new year’s resolution” have either taken hold or have been forgotten.  The beginning of the year is one of those pivot points that challenge us to stop, take inventory, and at least consider making changes in our lives.  Although we don’t often think about it, new year’s resolutions are a kind of goal setting.   The idea of setting goals often strikes fear in our hearts.  Most of us have been part of organizations that required us to set goals at one time or another.  Some of us didn’t mind so much setting goals as being required to!    In The How of Happiness , Sonja Lyubomirsky helps the reader to see goal setting as a path to mental health and growth rather than as a burden.  ...