Embracing Detours

When I set out on my bike ride tonight I had a clearly laid out plan in mind that would take me for a pleasant ride along the Peninsula Link Bike Trail about a third of the way into my planned route.  As I turned out of the traffic onto the much calmer bike path and headed into the serenity of Pines Reserve, I was confronted by road bunting blocking the trail, redirecting me back into busy traffic.  It would be fair to say that I was more than a little miffed!  

For a few kilometres into the forced change of route I nearly allowed the disappointment of an unplanned detour to overshadow the possibilities of unexpected discoveries.  Instead, the change of scenery presented another perspective that added a new dimension to my ride as I took in my new surroundings.  Embracing the detour enabled me to enjoy the journey while still reaching my original destination.

How often in life and leadership do we set out with a clearly marked out plan for the day, a new year or even a career path and encounter unwelcomed detours that take us off course?  Along the way we have a choice to resent and resist these detours seeing them as obstacles or to embrace and engage them as opportunities.  Keeping focused on your end goal allows you the flexibility to adjust course along the way and integrate detours as a part of the overall journey.  

Whether it be a bike ride or a leadership experience, it has most often been the detours that have presented me with the greatest learning and relational opportunities through the unexpected encounters along the way.

To Change Or Not To Change

Everything involves change!  

Our entrance into life takes us from the security of the womb to the uncertainty of the world; our early childhood development transitions us from the nurture of the home to the culture of the school yard; our teenage years substitutes the instruction of our parents for the influence of our peers; adulthood expects us to convert an education into a career; marriage replaces our individuality with a partnership; and so, the pattern of change continues throughout every stage of life.

Resistance to change or rebellion against change in the natural rhythms of life may frustrate the process but cannot stop the paradigm.  Ultimately, change is not a choice but an inevitable characteristic of life.

As a Christian leader who is passionate about Christ followers and the Church fulfilling their redemptive potential and purpose, I fully embrace the necessity for change in both the physical and spiritual realms.  In his book Leadership On The Axis Of Change, Chick Yuill affirms the necessity for change as the primary role of the church, “God has brought His church into existence to be the supreme agent of change. Its mission is not to stop the future but to shape it.”  Yet, often the church puts up some of the greatest resistance to change and abdicates its prophetic role to shape the future by reliving the past!  It is for this reason that I cannot accept the status quo and will do whatever it takes to facilitate the change necessary to be the church God has called us to be.

Recently, while implementing necessary changes in my ministry context, I was confronted by strong resistance and rebellion.  My response, while maybe a little direct, expressed a determination not to be deterred by the naysayers.  After connecting the proposed changes to God's vision for our church, I declared to those refusing to let go of the way things were, "I'm not here to make you happy, but to make this work and I will do whatever it takes to make that happen.  But here is the tradeoff.  When this works, you will be happy!"  I am not sure how my response aligns with conventional change management practices, but it does express the degree of my "holy discontent" with opposition to change.

A healthy attitude towards change unleashes all sorts of possibilities for the church to be a transforming movement towards what could be rather than a monument to what once was.

“If we motivate enough people to invest in a changing church, we may well see a world that is radically changed for the better.” (Chick Yuill, Leadership On The Axis Of Change)

Changing The Culture Of Generational Poverty

Today, I had the opportunity to attend a workshop entitled "Bridges Out Of Poverty" which provided a broader awareness of poverty and a deeper understanding of the values and vocabulary of those who are trapped in a culture of generational poverty.

There is so much to be learned about seeking to understand instead of judging, developing respectful relationships, and building capacity with those we seek to support in crisis.  However, I found myself kicking back against the final quote of the day:

"Whilst we can't and don't want to change the culture of Generational Poverty, we can work with what we've got."

Whether it be generational poverty or any other brokenness in our society, I refuse to accept that it "can't" change and reject the suggestion that we "don't" want it to change, when the culture of generational poverty is enslaving human beings to living a life less than that which they were created for!  We may seek an understanding of their culture to effectively "work with what we've got;" not to leave people where they are, but to give them a vision of an alternate reality and empower them to redefine their cultural paradigm.  This is not to impose change upon people who are bound by generational poverty, but to influence change among these people to break the cycle of generational poverty.

To simply "work with what we've got" with a spirit of resignation is to deny hope and to perpetuate hopelessness. Instead, God has raised within the spirit of The Salvation Army an unquenchable hope that dares to believe that lives really can be transformed.  Our founder believed in a God who loved the world too much to leave it as it was and sent Jesus to "change the culture" by establishing a kingdom of hope in a world of despair.  William Booth's 'Darkest England' scheme also refused to settle "with what we've got" but inspired a vision of hope and an audacious belief that The Salvation Army really could and should change the culture of generational poverty. 

We ought to believe in nothing less than the hope that Jesus gave through new life and be prepared to challenge any culture that offers less when responding to generational poverty today!

The Paradox Of Change

One of the dynamics of leadership and ministry that continues to perplex me is the paradox of change.  People and organisations come to a place of dissatisfaction with where they are, express a vision for where they want to be, yet remain unwilling to embrace the change necessary to experience their preferred reality.  In my role as a church leader I see this paradox manifested personally, corporately and spiritually all the time.  While I am no psychologist, it almost seems there is a greater sense of security in the dysfunction than the uncertainty of the necessary change, resulting in a frustrating cycle of blame, denial and resistance.

As a strategically minded and practically oriented person I find a real conflict between this paradox and my personality.  I understand resistance to change when the need for change is not recognised and that there is a journey that needs to be travelled in order to get to a place where the present reality becomes indefensible.  What I don't understand is when a shared journey of discovery has led to a place of mutual recognition that change is needed, yet the agreed process for change is resisted every step of the way!  This is especially perplexing when those you are leading are the ones who initiate the change process.

Sue Mallory, author of "The Equipping Church," provides some helpful insight into this paradox:  “I can’t emphasize enough how pointless it is to change a system and not address its underlying culture...Healthy and wise change rarely happens apart from deep cultural understanding."  In other words, change that does not address the underlying culture or values will only attract a superficial commitment.  Effective change begins with the realisation that there is a lack of alignment between personal values or organisational culture and an individual's or organisation's desired reality.  

So, while the need for change may be intellectually acknowledged, if it is not intrinsically motivated, it is unlikely to be fully embraced.  Maybe the resistance that I struggle to understand is actually an outward expression of the inward tension felt by a person or organisation wrestling with the same paradox? 

As a leader I am coming to realise that the journey involved in motivating cultural and value based change is as important as the change itself.  The process, while at times frustrating, is essential to moving beyond the paradox towards a new paradigm of change that will cultivate a positive environment for personal and corporate transformation.

He Who Got Us Here, Will Get Us There

I am inspired and deeply encouraged by courageous leaders who have a strong faith, clear vision and firm convictions!  The Salvation Army was founded by such leaders and it's advancement depends upon such leaders. 

It is exciting to look around The Salvation Army today and see an emerging generation of leaders who are filled with the Holy Spirit and possess a spirit of 'Primitive Salvationism' - which has been described as, "Charismatic-flavoured, mission-focussed heroism; Term describing a strain of Salvation Army philosophy based in 19th century fundamentals of Booth, Railton, Booth-Tucker, and others, and re-emerging in the late 20th century throughout the west."  However, it is frustrating to see another generation of Salvationists who cling to traditions that have long passed their used-by date and are culturally irrelevant.  They resist the very essence of what made The Salvation Army an 'unstoppable force' in advancing the kingdom of God.  They fight so hard to protect what we have become and forget the level of risk, reckless abandonment and raw faith that earned us the reputation we celebrate today.

Therefore, as a leader who is uncompromisingly committed to God's calling to lead The Salvation Army into the future, I find myself drawn to like minded and spirited leaders who have the courage to challenge anything that inhibits The Salvation Army from being all that God has raised us to be.  One such leader, Major Gary Grant, wrote a blog post recently that has generated quite a lot of debate about these issues - What Got Us Here, Will Not Get Us There.  His post expresses a heart and will to reverse the decline and reposition The Salvation Army for revival!  While his message is provocative and has evoked many strong emotions among supporters and critics, I believe it is a prophetic voice that should be echoed throughout the Army world.  

This blog post serves as an echo to that voice!

Gary's post, "What Got Us Here, Will Not Get Us There," speaks soundly into what needs to change:  "It's insanity to think, that if we keep doing the things we have already done, that we will get a different result. All that we have done so far, in previous weeks, months and years and even decades have given us the results we are seeing right now. If we think for one moment that things are going to change, by doing the things the same way as we have already done them, then there may be a need for seeing a therapist."

This post, "He Who Got Us Here, Will Get Us There," speaks into what needs to remain.  While this might sound like a contradiction on the surface, it is far from it!  For it has nothing to do with 'what' The Salvation Army has done, but everything to do with 'who' has led us to this point in our history.  When we discuss the rich heritage of The Salvation Army and the formation of our mission we naturally think of people like William and Catherine Booth, Samuel Logan Brengle and the like.  However, the central "person" who inspires and empowers who we are as a movement across all generations is the Holy Spirit!  It is the Spirit who stirred the heart of William Booth in East London.  It is the Spirit who empowered Gore and Saunders to leave their homeland and expand the mission of The Salvation Army into Australia.  It is the Spirit who motivates Salvationists to enter into some of the darkest places and stand alongside some of the most broken people in our society.  Yet, it is the Spirit who is resisted, grieved, and dare I say, disobeyed every time we allow our past to inhibit our future!  

The Holy Spirit leads those who will listen and obey into an adventure of faith towards an unknown future of hope and promise.  This future may be unknown and scary, pulling us away from all that is familiar, but the same Spirit who went before us goes ahead of us, so we can be "confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6).  If we want to finish the journey the Spirit has started, then we need to be prepared to go where we haven't gone before, do what we haven't done before and be who we haven't dared before!!  Let us resist the Spirit no longer and believe that "He who got us here, will get us there" - wherever there may be.

Necessary Endings

It seems timely that I have picked up Henry Cloud's book "Necessary Endings" again, as I approach a major transition in my leadership, preparing to leave my current appointment after 8 years of ministry.  Cloud speaks about the seasons of life and leadership and the importance of recognising when necessary endings come and how to embrace them as doorways to new beginnings.

Like with any ending of significance it is met with mixed emotions and responses.  When you invest yourself into people and programs to fulfil the vision that drives your leadership it can be difficult to release them to an unknown future.  I can only guess (as my children are still at home) that it is not that dissimilar to parents releasing their children into the unknown, after investing themselves into raising them with a vision for their future.  One has to trust that the values and vision that have been imparted are strong enough to guide future life directions and decisions.

As I face this reality of change and the uncertainty that it brings, I find myself reflecting on two verses of Scripture:

"God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them." (Hebrews 6:10)

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  (Philippians 1:6)

There are many truths in these verses, but I am particularly drawn to God's faithfulness and the confidence it gives me to trust Him with what has been begun in His name.  I am just a steward of all that God has given me, including the people He entrusted to my leadership, therefore, this 'necessary ending' is not releasing God's people into the unknown, but passing the baton of stewardship onto another anointed leader.

"God is not unjust; he will not forget" the values and vision that have been imparted, so I can be "confident of this, that he who began a good work...will carry it on to completion."