Lately
I have found myself talking to people – e.g. the Board, the Worship
Committee, etc. – about the time tested strategies United Church
congregations use to deflect from the hard task of making real
decisions. After 5 years of research and touring across the country, I
concur with a list that had its foundation in some observations of
Anthony Robinson.Churches generally distract themselves from decisions that would move them forward by saying:
- We can’t afford it.
- We tried that before and it did not work
- I/we were not consulted (or, in United Church-speak, the process was flawed) and, the peculiar United Church addition,
- Someone is upset by this decision so it must be wrong; therefore whatever action was decided must be immediately stopped.
The tricky part is that sometimes these responses are actually correct. Sometimes a dream, vision or crazy idea has no financial viability or is an old scarecrow dressed in new clothes or is being pushed through by one or more parties or groups within a congregation.
That said, the list remains helpful in that it helps us identify some immediate responses and leads naturally to other more helpful questions.
- What degree of resources do we need in order to take this step?
- What might make this the time to try again?
- What do we mean by consulted? Are we assuming a need for total consensus on every aspect of our decision-making? What degree of disagreement can the community tolerate?
- What will be our criteria for determining whether a decision or initiative is valid? Do we secretly hold the view that only things that cause no one any concern at all are alright?
For us at Oak Bay, of course, these questions are becoming more real. Early in 2012 we will have the exciting opportunity to make some decisions about direction and focus. Knowing us, I am assuming that each option will have a good rationale and generate both support and opposition. I’m looking forward to the conversation and am curious as to how well we will navigate the traditional church traps.
