Get Yourself To Good Space

by Mark Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader

Adaptive Change… finally it’s coming into its own in churches. The pandemic plus all the other volatility in our world pushed more churches over the tipping point to where they recognize significant change is necessary. I couldn’t be happier.

Even so, while doing presentations and engaging coaching groups late Summer and early Fall, I and the Pinnacle Team are hearing many church leaders describe their fatigue. It’s been interesting to watch the undulating waves of energy over the last two years. Church leaders seem to move from highly energized by the adaptive opportunities to deep fatigue in these moments.

This is no small issue when it comes to adaptive change. Leaders are far more influential than they think. They directly influence and shape the spiritual posture and emotional tone of the church. They are primary shapers of mood and morale. With this in mind, here are four ways to get yourself to good space.

Work smart, preserving your best energy for high engagement opportunities.

When our people show up, we want to show up. I remember a church whose habit it was to gather on Wednesday evenings for a meal, followed by Bible studies and programs. This was an excellent opportunity for the pastors and church staff to connect with their people in formal and many informal ways. The relationship building opportunities embedded in these Wednesday evening gatherings exceeded Sunday worship, due to the more casual nature of things. The pastor of this church, who happened to be quite introverted, would drag in on Wednesday evenings after a long day of pastoral engagement with people. Fortunately, the observant church staff was able to describe his behavior to him in their staff meetings… reserved, short-clipped conversations, low energy, flat expressions, etc. From that moment on, this pastor changed his Wednesday work rhythms, preserving good energy for Wednesday evening gatherings. He got himself to good space.

Of course these high yield events are not limited to our churches. I would suggest getting ourselves to good space before any community engagement event is wise, recognizing we are the faces of our churches when in these situations.

Release any lingering Messiah-complex thinking.

There is a Savior for God’s Church, but that’s not you, period. Certainly we can affirm this, but when the volunteer base shrinks like it did during the pandemic, many clergy and church staff people step-up, filling in the gaps. This is a strong contributor to the rampant fatigue among us. Of course this comes from good motivation, wanting to be helpful and wanting our churches to flourish. But there are also hints of the Messiah complex embedded in our willingness to stretch beyond our capacities.

Counterintuitively, allowing those lingering Messiah complex impulses to guide our actions decreases progress in our churches. Let me remind you how systems work. Churches are relational communities with their norms, patterns, routines, and dynamics, forming systems over time which work to maintain homeostasis (balance). So, when a gap in leadership or service exists, the system exerts pressure towards filling the gap. When those with lingering Messiah complexes step into the gap, the rest of the system relaxes as the tension of unfilled service needs decreases. By continually exceeding our roles, we inadvertently inhibit the opportunities for others to use their gifts in service through God’s church.

Wade into the stream of God’s energy.

“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God.” (Psalm 46:4)

You didn’t create the river of God’s energy flowing through this universe. Your job is not to provide the energy your church needs in order to fulfill its calling. No matter how much we love God’s church, God loves the church far more. God provides the water and energy for the river whose streams make glad the people of God, not you or me.

Instead of working up the energy and enthusiasm for our churches, the way forward is to trust ourselves to God’s energy. Like riding a tube on a swift, cool mountain stream, our calling is to wade into the current, trusting the current to take us where we need to go. God provides the current while we trust ourselves to God’s intentions for our churches. When we can exercise this kind of faith, we discover all the energy we need for living into our callings. Not through our strength will we move forward, but through the Spirit.

Take renewal leave when it’s necessary.

Having partnered with many United Methodists over time, I’ve come to learn their Book of Discipline includes a provision for clergy who need renewal. From what I can tell, more UMC clergy are engaging this opportunity than any other time in recent memory, for obvious reasons. Simultaneously, though most denominations don’t have renewal leave embedded in their systems, they do recognize the rampant clergy and church leadership fatigue. From engaging with lay leaders and ordinary disciples in churches, I can tell you people prefer their pastors and leaders miss a few weeks for the sake of renewal rather than crashing and burning. When necessary, prevent something worse by exercising stewardship of self, getting yourself to good space.