Do pioneers all think and act alike?
There are broad classifications and within them usually lots of varieties.
Artwork by Sophie Killingley of Perish & Fade
The word ‘pioneer’ is a classification. Our brains are wired to classify things in the world around us to help us manage the huge abundance of information we have to take in. There are broad classifications and within them usually lots of varieties.
by Rev Tina Hodgett
I opened the shed last week and was amazed to be met with the sight of a huge male peacock butterfly perched with open wings on a box. On the back of my utility room door is a poster detailing in words and pictures the most common types of butterfly, which is how I knew I was looking at a peacock. I was chuffed I immediately recognised it for what it was and went back to the poster to check and compare with other varieties, excited about extending my knowledge of the natural world.
Within the pioneer world there are equally many varieties. Pioneers are influenced in their approach by a range of different factors. Personality, for example: you will pioneer in a different way as an introvert than as an extrovert. Education and training – often influenced by personality – will direct a person’s attention to different things, and give a person different skills and approaches: an engineer will approach a creative task differently from a fine artist, a personal shopper to a nurse. Theology in all its variety will play a major role. How does the pioneer see God and God’s world? What do they understand worship to be? What church practices have influenced their faith development, and what do they see as the essential nature of church?
Beyond the principles and preferences, nature and skills of the pioneer or pioneer team engaged in missional activity there is the context. A pioneer is always in relationship with the place she or he is set. The local people and the local environment shape the pioneer’s thoughts and actions as a child is shaped by the context and culture into which he or she is born.
Some years ago Paul Bradbury and I gave some thought to all the factors that go to make up individual pioneer approaches and gave birth to the Pioneer Spectrum; an aid to identify and potentially classify pioneers. You can find it here: pioneerspectrum.com It consists of diagrams, games, explanations and questions to enable newcomers to this conversation to understand the range of varieties of pioneers you might be or might encounter. Enjoy!
Whether you’re taking your first steps as a pioneer or grappling with the challenge of developing a pioneering culture we have tools that can help you. Find out more.
