High Change Churches Are High Security Churches

by Mark Tidsworth, Founder and Team Leader

“Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock.” --Matthew 7:24-25

The most adaptive churches, those who learn and grow and live into their mission with high relevance, are also the most secure.

When I first began studying change in churches (and other organizations), I found this insight puzzling. My uninformed preconceived opinion was that those churches with the greatest adaptability were those who were the most flexible about nearly everything.

But it turns out that we human beings need something solid to stand on, especially when the shifting sands of volatility come our way. The higher our security as a group, the more free we are to change and adapt to our contextual realities.

Those excellent articulators of Adaptive Change and Leadership, Heifitz, Grashow, and Linsky,* combine two concepts to describe this aspect of congregational life. Those who would lead their churches in adaptation do well to translate these concepts into leadership moves.

Holding Environment

“The cohesive properties of a relationship or social system that serve to keep people engaged with one another in spite of the divisive forces generated by adaptive work. May include, for example, bonds of affiliation and love; agreed-upon rules, procedures, and norms; shared purposes and common values; traditions, language, and rituals; familiarity with adaptive work; and trust in authority. Holding environments give a group identity and contain the conflict, chaos, and confusion often produced when struggling with complex problematic realities.”

Productive Zone of Disequilibrium

“The optimal range of distress within which the urgency in the system motivates people to engage in adaptive work. If the level is too low, people will be inclined to complacently maintain their current way of working, but if it is too high, people are likely to be overwhelmed and may start to panic or engage in severe forms of work avoidance, like scapegoating or assassination.”

In other words, adaptive change is challenging and hard, requiring us to give up something familiar and dear for something unfamiliar yet mission-congruent. When we have things securely nailed down in one area of our communal life, we become more flexible in other areas. When everything comes loose, we are in a state of chaotic, and typically unproductive, crisis.

So, here is a practical move for those leading their churches toward growth, adapting to the current contextual realities.

Go all in with our faith, investing in that which does not change.

As we learned during the pandemic, our church rhythms are not “that which does not change.” We cannot guarantee we can gather for worship in person every Sunday. So, what is it that does not change in our faith story? Well, that’s for your leadership and congregation to discern. I’m glad to share my answer, without being prescriptive for your church.

One, we know who we are (Identity), disciples of Jesus.

Two, we know who we are with (Companions), the body of Christ.

Third, we know what we are called to do (Purpose), join God’s mission.

These do not change, come hell or high water. We are disciples, companioning together, pursuing God’s mission to bring the kingdom to earth as it is in heaven… regardless of contextual conditions.

So, church leaders, perhaps it’s time for your church to consider what does not change – that which is sustainable and sustaining – regardless of conditions on the ground. Then you can plant your congregational feet on the ground, spiritually and emotionally attaching to that, freeing you to adapt with nearly everything else.

The most adaptive churches, those who learn and grow and live into their mission with high relevance, are also the most secure.

* Reference: Heifetz, Grashow, Linsky, The Practice Of Adaptive Leadership, Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA, 2009.