Adaptive action in communities of faith
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This document summarizes a 3-day workshop on "leading adaptive action in communities of faith" held in September 2015. The workshop focused on developing skills for facilitating complex change, including standing in inquiry, noticing patterns, and considering multiple perspectives. Participants engaged in exercises on understanding complex adaptive systems, adaptive action, and generating options for influencing self-organizing patterns through containers, differences, and exchanges. Religious practices were discussed as a way of providing containers for knowing that could offer possibilities for difference and exchange.
![conscious influence over self-organizing patterns
[which] requires an intentional process for seeing,
understanding, and influencing the conditions that
shape change in complex adaptive systems
30](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/adaptiveaction-150919115543-lva1-app6891/85/Adaptive-action-in-communities-of-faith-20-320.jpg)
![(1) standing in inquiry
• know your “stuff,” but remain open to and actively engaged in
learning more
• be comfortable with ambiguity and vulnerability of holding
questions
• ask questions more than you give answers
• turn judgment into curiosity [I would say “wonder”]
• turn disagreement into mutual exploration
• turn defensiveness into self-reflection](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/adaptiveaction-150919115543-lva1-app6891/85/Adaptive-action-in-communities-of-faith-36-320.jpg)
![ways of knowing
• objective (observable, “facts”) [eg. there are cycles of light
and darkness]
• normative truth (agreement about what is true) [eg. “light”
is “day” and “dark” is “night”]
• subjective truth (personal beliefs and convictions) [eg.
“good” days and “bad” days]
• complex truth (acknowledging all three of the other truths
are equally valid, no one truth takes precedence over the
others all the time)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/adaptiveaction-150919115543-lva1-app6891/85/Adaptive-action-in-communities-of-faith-42-320.jpg)
![ways of knowing
• objective (observable, “facts”) [eg. there are cycles of light
and darkness]
• normative truth (agreement about what is true) [eg. “light”
is “day” and “dark” is “night”]
• subjective truth (personal beliefs and convictions) [eg.
“good” days and “bad” days]
• complex truth (acknowledging all three of the other truths
are equally valid, no one truth takes precedence over the
others all the time)](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/adaptiveaction-150919115543-lva1-app6891/85/Adaptive-action-in-communities-of-faith-54-320.jpg)
![adaptive action is conscious influence over self-
organizing patterns [which] requires an intentional
process for seeing, understanding, and influencing
the conditions that shape change in complex
adaptive systems
30](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/adaptiveaction-150919115543-lva1-app6891/85/Adaptive-action-in-communities-of-faith-98-320.jpg)
Adaptive action in communities of faith
- 1. leading adaptive action in communities of faith DMEL6000.FA15 September 17-19, 2015 SFTS / San Anselmo, CA
- 2. thursday
- 3. Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your cares and concerns Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your doubts and despairs Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your fears and frustrations We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your tensions and turmoil Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your haste and hurry Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your work and worry We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being
- 4. orientation • who are we? • what will we be doing? • where and how is God calling?
- 5. 1 Cor 2:1-6 When I came to you, brothers, proclaiming the mystery of God, I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling, and my message and my proclamation were not with persuasive (words of) wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.
- 6. in times of complex change, surprise is a gift. It opens new opportunities or uncovers unseen challenges 41
- 8. the learning we do together these days will be both personal and systemic… we need to attend to all of who we are and who we are becoming!
- 9. covenants of presence • be fully present, extending and presuming welcome • listen generously • author your story • we come as equals • it is never “share or die” • no fixing • suspend judgment
- 10. covenants of presence, cont. • turn to wonder • hold these stories with care • be mindful and respectful of time • practice confidentiality care • welcome discomfort and dislocation • love the questions themselves • believe that it is possible for us to emerge from our time together refreshed, surprised and less burdened than when we came
- 11. today • brief overview of the ideas • exploring kinds of change • thinking about “what?” • thinking about “so what?”
- 12. break
- 13. authority authenticity agency for more on this, see “Learning the Bible in the 21st century: Lessons from Harry Potter and Vampires”
- 14. michael wesch (kansas state university) • cultural inversions • express individualism, value community • express independence, value relationships • express commercialization, value authenticity http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU
- 16. networked religion (heidi campbell, texas a&m) • storied identity (fluid and dynamic identity construction, performative in nature) • shifting authority (authority is built, not assumed structurally) • networked community (loosely bounded social networks) • convergent practice (personalized blending of belief and ritual, internet becomes a hub for assembling religious identity) • multi-site reality (distinction between “online” and “offline” no longer adequately descriptive) • http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/podcast-heidi- campbell-on-religion-in-a-networked-society/
- 19. what is adaptive action?
- 20. conscious influence over self-organizing patterns [which] requires an intentional process for seeing, understanding, and influencing the conditions that shape change in complex adaptive systems 30
- 21. adaptive action • when adaptive action is called for, seeing, thinking and acting in iterative cycles is exactly the right response • every ending action makes the next beginning question necessary • an adaptive action is always standing in inquiry — it’s framed as a series of questions • is simple enough to be flexible • reduces the risk of uncertainty in dynamical change • lots of ways to do this work! • cycles can be embedded inside one another to build a network of inquiry and action
- 22. what are complex adaptive systems?
- 23. Complicated systems (like sending a rocket to the moon) Complex adaptive systems (like raising a child) Formulae are critical and necessary Formulae have limited application Sending one rocket increases assurance that the next will be OK Raising one child provides experience but no assurance of success with the next High levels of expertise in a variety of fields are necessary for success Expertise can contribute but is neither necessary nor sufficient to assure success Rockets are similar in critical ways Every child is unique and must be understood as an individual – relationships are important There is a high degree of certainty of outcome Uncertainty of outcome remains Will Allen what?
- 24. Complicated systems Complex adaptive systems Role defining – setting job and task descriptions Relationship building – working with patterns of interaction Decision making – find the ‘best’ choice Sense making – collective interpretation Tight structuring – use chain of command and prioritise or limit simple actions Loose coupling – support communities of practice and add more degrees of freedom Knowing – decide and tell others what to do Learning – act/learn/plan at the same time Staying the course – align and maintain focus Notice emergent directions – building on what works Will Allen so what?
- 26. see, shift, learn — and do it all again!
- 28. lunch break
- 29. rethinking change • static : when an object is moved from one place to another (bounded, low-dimension linear spaces) • dynamic : motion along a smooth course to end up at a predictable point (some open boundaries, more factors, causality is messy) • dynamical : complex change that results from unknown forces acting unpredictably to bring about surprising outcomes
- 32. what might be hints of dynamical change in your case studies?
- 33. break
- 35. what? • inquiry • patterns • perspectives
- 36. (1) standing in inquiry • know your “stuff,” but remain open to and actively engaged in learning more • be comfortable with ambiguity and vulnerability of holding questions • ask questions more than you give answers • turn judgment into curiosity [I would say “wonder”] • turn disagreement into mutual exploration • turn defensiveness into self-reflection
- 39. (2) pattern spotters • generalizations (“in general I noticed…”) • exceptions (“In general I noticed, but…”) • contradictions (“on one hand I noticed…. and on the other hand…”) • surprises (“I was surprised that…”) • puzzles (“I wonder what was different that set the conditions for…”)
- 40. try this with your case — where are the patterns?
- 41. (3) perspectives • what you see depends on where you sit • seeing through multiple eyes helps us gain access to patterns that may enhance or detract from options for action
- 42. ways of knowing • objective (observable, “facts”) [eg. there are cycles of light and darkness] • normative truth (agreement about what is true) [eg. “light” is “day” and “dark” is “night”] • subjective truth (personal beliefs and convictions) [eg. “good” days and “bad” days] • complex truth (acknowledging all three of the other truths are equally valid, no one truth takes precedence over the others all the time)
- 46. which of these four truths are you standing in at a given point? • is my perspective based in what I can see, hear, feel or touch? • is my perspective based in what I feel or believe about what is in front of me? • is this something the group has agreed to, or is it something that I alone perceive? • in this immediate situation, which truth will help us find the best fit an most effective options for action?
- 47. tomorrow • what have we learned so far? • CIQ review • “now what?”
- 48. friday
- 50. Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your cares and concerns Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your doubts and despairs Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your fears and frustrations We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your tensions and turmoil Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your haste and hurry Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your work and worry We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being
- 51. covenants of presence • be fully present, extending and presuming welcome • listen generously • author your story • we come as equals • it is never “share or die” • no fixing • suspend judgment • turn to wonder
- 52. covenants of presence, cont. • hold these stories with care • be mindful and respectful of time • practice confidentiality care • welcome discomfort and dislocation • love the questions themselves • believe that it is possible for us to emerge from our time together refreshed, surprised and less burdened than when we came
- 53. ciq review…
- 54. ways of knowing • objective (observable, “facts”) [eg. there are cycles of light and darkness] • normative truth (agreement about what is true) [eg. “light” is “day” and “dark” is “night”] • subjective truth (personal beliefs and convictions) [eg. “good” days and “bad” days] • complex truth (acknowledging all three of the other truths are equally valid, no one truth takes precedence over the others all the time)
- 55. how do we understand the complexity and inter- relatedness of these three?
- 56. write down one or two favorite biblical verses, then think about what “knowing” is like in those verses, which if any of the three “ways” are engaged?
- 57. eg. “what does the Lord require of you? to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with you God” (Micah 6:8)
- 59. Ian Barbour (philosopher of science) • Nature is understood now to be relational, ecological, and interdependent. Reality is constituted by events and relationships rather than separate substances or separate particles. We are now compelled to see nature as ‘‘a historical community of interdependent beings. (26) The Heart of Higher Education
- 60. Henry Stapp (a physicist) • it is no longer possible even to think of the atom as a discrete entity … an elementary particle is not an independently existing, unanalyzable entity. It is, in essence, a set of relationships that reach outward to other things. (26) The Heart of Higher Education
- 61. and in faith?
- 62. Parker Palmer • “to know truth we must follow it with our lives” “truth as troth” “to educate is to draw out” (40) • “we will find truth not in the fine points of our theologies or in our organizational allegiances but in the quality of our relationships -- with each other and with the whole created world.” (50) • “the deepest calling in our quest for knowledge is not to observe and analyze and alter things. Instead, it is personal participation in the organic community of human and non-human being, participation in the network of caring and accountability called truth.” (53) • “by Christian understanding, truth is neither “out there” nor “in here,” but both. Truth is between us, in relationship, to be found in the dialogue of knowers and known who are understood as independent and accountable selves. (55) To Know As We Are Known
- 65. break
- 66. what might adaptive action, conscious of the complexity of adaptive change, invite us to do? “so what” does this way of thinking about knowing mean for us?
- 67. Margaret Wheatley • people support what they create • people act responsibly when they care • conversation is the way human beings have always thought • to change the conversation, change who is in it • expect leaders to come from anywhere • focusing on what is working gives us energy and creativity • wisdom resides within us • everything is a failure in the middle • humans can handle anything as long as we’re together • generosity, forgiveness, love 10 principles for healthy community
- 68. in adaptive action terms…
- 69. three conditions which influence self-organizing systems • containers (something which holds parts of the system together close enough and long enough that they will interact to create a new pattern) • differences (have to be different in significant ways or no pattern will emerge; differences that make a difference determine the speed and path and outcome of self- organizing processes) • exchanges (any connection that transmits information, resources or energy between or among parts of the complex adaptive system) (27-29)
- 70. in what ways do our religious communities and understandings, our faith commitments, offer us containers? in what ways do they offer differences? in what ways do they offer exchanges?
- 71. lunch break
- 72. now what?
- 73. where are there containers, differences and exchanges in your case studies?
- 74. generating options for action • define all the similarities, differences, and connections you can observe in the current pattern you want to change • consider how you might uncover new similarities, or amplify or destroy existing ones; write down all of these possible options for action • focus on the differences and consider increasing or decreasing current differences, or shifting attention to new ones that might tip the dynamics in a new direction; add these options to the list • locate all the current connections that influence the pattern. Consider making the existing connections stronger or weaker, breaking them or adding new ones between parts of the system that are currently disconnected. Expand your list further with these exchange-based options for action.
- 75. reflections…
- 83. for tomorrow… • as you prepare for the next steps in your own leadership context, in what ways will you stand in inquiry? • bring with you to class one example of a specifically religious practice (it could be a prayer, a ritual, a hymn, a way of reading the Bible) which provides a container for knowing in your community and which might offer possibilities of difference and/or exchange
- 84. saturday
- 85. Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your cares and concerns Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your doubts and despairs Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your fears and frustrations We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being Breathe in the breath of God Breathe out your tensions and turmoil Breathe in the love of God Breathe out your haste and hurry Breathe in the life of God Breathe out your work and worry We sit quietly before the One who gives life and love to all creation, We sit in awe of the One who formed us in our mother’s wombs We sit at peace surrounded by the One who fills every fibre of our being
- 86. ciq…
- 87. now what?
- 88. now what? 3 ways to change a pattern • change the container that holds the similarities by making it bigger or smaller, by breaking up large ones or introducing small ones • change the differences by incorporating new ones in or excluding old ones from the current container, or ignoring or focusing on differences that exist within the current container • change the exchanges by breaking existing ones, by altering them, or by adding new connections where none existed before (90)
- 89. working with questions • standing in inquiry • containers, differences, exchanges • the Art of Powerful Questions • art of hosting, liberating structures, public conversations project, etc.
- 91. which of these four truths are you standing in at a given point? • is my perspective based in what I can see, hear, feel or touch? • is my perspective based in what I feel or believe about what is in front of me? • is this something the group has agreed to, or is it something that I alone perceive? • in this immediate situation, which truth will help us find the best fit an most effective options for action?
- 92. the containers of our faith…
- 95. authority authenticity agency for more on this, see “Learning the Bible in the 21st century: Lessons from Harry Potter and Vampires”
- 98. adaptive action is conscious influence over self- organizing patterns [which] requires an intentional process for seeing, understanding, and influencing the conditions that shape change in complex adaptive systems 30
- 99. spiritual competencies for boundary leaders • be about one’s own journey of faith and service • nurture capacity for surprise • develop rituals of passage, growth, lament, memory and encouragement • illuminate and support movement from self to social and back • trust the visions born in lament Gunderson
- 100. spiritual competencies for boundary leaders, cont. • challenge tyranny of externalities, superficial measures, and short term outcomes • appreciate literature and practices of faith traditions • appreciate transformational potential of one’s faith tradition and open appreciation for others’ Gunderson
- 102. dynamical change: complex change that results from unknown forces acting unpredictably to bring about surprising outcomes
- 103. trust the visions born in lament
- 105. Markismusic / June 21, 2015
- 106. Rhiannon Giddens
- 107. Sweet Honey in the Rock
- 108. Love has no labels
- 110. closing prayers
- 111. gifts for the road… the resources you share
- 112. My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Thomas Merton
- 114. • Parker Palmer quote: https://www.facebook.com/couragerenewal/ photos/a. 72247664972.97071.47893474972/10153333696019973/? type=1&theater • American dream game: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php? fbid=10155916244005184&set=a. 105088390183.189296.880305183&type=1&theater • UCC love differently: https://www.facebook.com/ UnitedChurchofChrist/photos/a. 377652286786.165494.13217786786/10152561147561787/? type=1&theater • Mary Engelbreit: https://www.facebook.com/maryengelbreit/photos/a. 283968321636466.87914.138832742816692/993662340667057/? type=1&theater
- 115. • 4 gospel versions: https://www.facebook.com/178609685499598/ photos/a. 558486050845291.147623.178609685499598/1120517347975489/? type=1&theater • laudato si infographic: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/ 2015/06/if-you-dont-have-time-to-read-laudato-si-try-this/ • collaborative leadership: http://www.business2community.com/ leadership/understanding-future-work-8-traits-collaborative-leadership- infographic-0697429#!zrLIg • Maya Angelou quote: https://www.facebook.com/corybooker/photos/a. 115558592227.120345.36872302227/10152567919807228/? type=1&theater • MLK, Jr. quote: https://www.facebook.com/thinkprogress/photos/a. 201001406578004.58230.200137333331078/1048105438534259/? type=1&theater
- 116. • pastor search committee: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php? fbid=731299733582328&set=a. 160485833997057.31307.100001069258033&type=1&theater • Otto Scharmer theory U: http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2015-02-17- U.Lab_Abyss_2000.jpg • seed breaks open: https://www.facebook.com/MysticMedusaFans/photos/a. 303581246356718.63978.130421213672723/675612892486883/?type=1 • Thomas Merton quote: https://www.facebook.com/ CenterforActionandContemplation/photos/a. 214277931917524.59678.111022348909750/983283815016928/? type=1&theater • https://www.facebook.com/coffeeparty/photos/a. 313395813326.193473.304981108326/10154084871883327/?type=1&theater • learning worth crying about: http://mediatedcultures.net/wp-content/uploads/ 2014/07/WonderCry.jpg