Four Steps Toward Updating Our Church-Perceptions

by Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader

Last week I suggested this would be a three-part series of articles on Choosing a Growth Mindset, but I can’t wait any longer. Let’s cut to the chase. This article provides a pathway for leading churches to update their church-perceptions. You know how our self-perceptions shape who we are and what we do? Churches function in much the same way. Ultimately, we hope our churches will come to see themselves as God sees them. Part of that journey involves their evolving church-perceptions, how they see themselves. The assumptions they make (beliefs) about identity, capability, and health will directly influence their mission and ministry. With this in mind, here is a four-step activity we use in the ReShape Initiative to update church-perceptions.

Step One

Start with your real life experiences. What were the adaptive and helpful moves your church made during the volatile event (pandemic)? Currently we are looking for that which your church did which was adaptive and helpful. There is intentional method in this appreciative, positive approach which will become clear as we move forward. For now, trust the process and list all the adaptive moves which come to mind. The prompt of this action is simply the word “We,” with you filling in the sentence. The following are illustrative examples.

• We recognized the moment and adapted our church quickly during that volatile event

• We were able to quickly learn how to worship online, not missing a Sunday of worshiping together

• We trained so many of our people in technology use, equipping them to participate in worship and other online gatherings

• We quickly organized ourselves in care teams, reaching out to continue our community of faith connections

List your church’s adaptive and helpful moves:

We….

Step Two

Consider what this may mean or say about your church. When you look at your list above, what does this say about a church who responded in this way? What does this mean about your adaptive capacity? What does this mean about your faith as a church? These are simply questions to help you get started. Don’t limit yourself to these questions, but think broadly. Based on your experience during this crisis, what are you learning about your church? The prompt for this action may be, “We are a church who….” The insights you list are whatever they are. We are not looking for positives or negatives in particular, but rather the insights which rise to you as a result of observing how your church responded to the volatile event.

List insights on what this may mean about your church:

“We are a church who….”

Step Three

Reflect on your previous church assumptions; perceptions you held about your church before this volatile event which may be outdated at this point. These assumptions may have been more true previously, while now they are less or not true about your church. By identifying them, you provide yourself and your church the opportunity to update or lay them aside. Here are examples which may help your reflection.

• Our church doesn’t change, or is unwilling to change, or is very slow to change

• Our church is constrained by traditionalism, preventing innovation

• Nearly our entire congregation must be in agreement before we can make significant changes

• If we step outside our church paradigm when it comes to our church practice, then we will be like “those” churches who we don’t respect

• If we step outside our paradigm, we will upset major stakeholders, and they will stop giving and participating

• If we continue a strong online presence, then most people won’t return to in-person church activities or ministries

• If we do online worship, we will be selling out and dumbing-down our worship

As you can see, these statements largely function as constraining church assumptions, interfering with mission.

List outdated church assumptions:

Step Four

Bring all four intervals together to update your church-perceptions. Now step back and reflect on these first three steps. You identified what you did, what this may mean about your church, and what assumptions are no longer as true about your church. As you move ahead in the unfolding story of God as expressed through your church, what insights rise from this perception correction activity to guide you? Just like in step two, a helpful prompt is, “We are a church who….”

List potential new insights for updating your church-perception:

“We are a church who…..”

May we boldly move toward God’s perception of who we are, updating our church-perceptions toward aligning with God’s view of the blessed community.