Journey Together
Trusting each other
Artwork by Sophie Killingley of Perish + Fade
We frequently assume that people have to see eye to eye to make a journey together. Not so.
by Rev Greg Bakker
A church warden once commented to me that there were many people in the congregation who did not like the direction I was steering the church. His conclusion surprised me, however. He finished by saying, ‘But they respect you because you don’t do spin. You don’t disregard information that is unfavourable. You speak in a way that allows for conversation and understanding of different points of view.’
This means much more to me personally than being liked. As a leader, I can say without any shame that some of the best ideas for moving parish churches forward have come from the very people who didn’t want the culture change I was advocating.
Leaders are frequently in a hurry to move forward in achieving their goals. An appropriate pace of change more often than not means expanding the timeframes in our project plans. Taking additional time to proactively help colleagues and congregations to understand is honouring of others. Finding genuine opportunities for people to engage in the process of participatory change is courageous. Relational work done well unlocks the possibility of a diverse group of people being able to journey together.
If you want to find out more about journeying together as you grapple with the challenge of turning your parish inside out, Culture Change in Practice is for you. Find out more.
