But Let Us Begin
It’s not often that my graduate work overlaps with my 7th grader’s homework, but it did this week! While helping my oldest make sense of his English assignment I could see a pretty clear connection between this week’s reading, Exploring Wicked Problems, and my son’s reading material. He had to find main ideas and supporting sentences throughout John F. Kennedy 
Jr.’s famous inaugural address in 1961 to the United States. You know, the one that encourages America, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Below is the specific section that made me think, “Wow, this hits on this week’s reading.”
Now the trumpet summons us again — not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need; not as a call to battle, though embattled we are — but a call to bear the burden of a long twilight struggle, year in and year out, “rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation” — a struggle against the common enemies of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. [i]
Throughout John F. Kennedy’s address, he calls for national unity and cooperation, then lays out a lofty vision to begin solving issues like tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
These last four things are “wicked problems”.
Based on Joseph Bentley and Michael Toth’s definitions these global issues could be defined as the big “messes” of our world. There are layers and multiple variables to these global issues. Here lies the value of this week’s book for me. When tackling problems, get specific, wade into the mess, and do the work to define and name a precise issue to focus energy for maximum effectiveness.[ii]
Wicked Problems: “Wicked problems refuse to cooperate. They are messy, ill-defined, open to many competing interpretations, more complex than we understand, and lacking correct answers.” [iii]
This reminds me of the illustration Dr. Clifford Berger uses when talking about the process of our NPO’s. There are squiggly and messy lines everywhere on the left side of the page. As the chaos travels from left to right it finds order and by the time it reaches the far-right of the page, there is a definitive line and point.
I know I am in the same boat with the rest of the cohorts, past, present, and future, in feeling overwhelmed with the complexity of wicked problems. It has made me realize how delusional I have been sometimes by thinking things are simple. I’ve thought, “All you have to do is (fill in the blank) and everything will be fixed”, just to realize that this problem was messier, more layered, and intertwined with other things that were not even on my radar.
To be honest, throughout my NPO process (and sometimes pastoral journey), I’ve thought:
“I can’t fix this.”
“I’m biting off more than I can chew.”
Or realized:
“People have tried this before.”
“This is not a new conversation or problem.”
Or asked:
“Who am I to tackle this?”
“Will this make a difference?”
“Am I wasting my time?”
I’m sure others can relate, but my NPO is near and dear to my heart which makes this process of discovery and design emotional. I also can’t not do it even though it cultivates feelings of insecurity, anxiety, excitement, inadequacy, hope, despair, etc. Bentley and Toth say, “Problems are dynamic. They begin to emerge when we become emotionally involved with the persistence of this gap. Certain situations matter to us, and we want to see something done about them. That we are here and not there bothers us and becomes a challenge for us to take action.” [iv] The authors also go on to say that we might wonder if it’s even worth all the effort of struggling through the complexity and mess of it all to find or define a problem.”[v] However…
Problems give us purpose.
This book makes clear that wicked problems are complex, emotional, overwhelming, messy, and multifaceted but without them, we wouldn’t have opportunities for meaning, creativity, learning, courage, growth, or fulfilment. Our reading also highlights that wicked problems are not solved immediately or sometimes completely within our lifetimes, but we can “make advances”, and that matters. Are we the only ones who notice certain problems? No, but our world needs each one of us to define and name specific problems that are contributing to “the mess” and engage them in our own unique ways for overall advancement.
To circle back to John F. Kennedy. He seemed to be very aware of this dynamic as he finished his speech.
“All this will not be finished in the first 100 days. Nor will it be finished in the first 1,000 days, nor in the life of this Administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin.”
What happens when we begin? Poverty was one of the big four Kennedy mentions in 1961, see below?
“Global extreme poverty has declined to 9.6% of the world population. 200 years ago, it was at 90%. In just the last 30 years, extreme poverty has declined by 75% — a stupendous achievement that is almost entirely unappreciated.”
-Steven Pinker [vi]
[i] “Ask Not What Your Country Can Do for You (Kennedy’s Inuagural Address),” ushistory.org, accessed February 15, 2024, https://www.ushistory.org/documents/ask-not.htm.
[ii] Bentley, Joseph|Toth, Michael, Phd. Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are And Why They Are Important. Archway Publishing, 2020, 55.
[iii] Bentley, Wicked Problems, 53.
[iv] Ibid., 77.
[v] Ibid., 83.
[vi] “Can We Really End Poverty?” Homepage. Accessed February 15, 2024. https://concernusa.org/news/can-we-end-poverty/.
About the Author
Adam Harris
I am currently the Associate Pastor at a church called Godwhy in Hendersonville, TN near Nashville. We love questions and love people even more. Our faith community embraces God and education wholeheartedly. I graduated from Oral Roberts University for undergrad and Vanderbilt for my masters. I teach historical critical Biblical studies at my church to help our community through their questions and ultimately deepen their faith. I love research, writing, learning, and teaching. I oversee our staff and leadership development. Before being at Godwhy I worked as a regional sales coach and director for Anytime Fitness. I've been married for over 13 years to my best friend and we have two amazing boys that keep us busy.10 responses to “But Let Us Begin”
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Adam, as you think about the wicked problems that you as the Associate Pastor at Godwhy Church, along with your team/staff, are called / positioned to address, how would you frame a current problem that seems insurmountable in some ways? You highlighted the part of wicked problems that “are not solved immediately or sometimes completely within our lifetimes,” but you also highlighted that “we can make advances.” Is there a problem in front of your church or community that you sense you/your church are now positioned to help make an advance (toward a solution for that part of a wicked problem)? Great post, Adam.
One of the problems we face in the South (as you know being in Atlanta) is biblical fundamentalism. Not that we are trying to disrespect other people’s views or prioritize one interpretation over another, but many hold this view to the extent that they have no room or openness to hear other people’s views, ideas, or experiences. There is alot of tribalism and black and white thinking that really shuts down healthy conversations. My NPO revolves around introducing biblical perspectives and methods of interpretation that are widely discussed in higher education to local churches.
We also have many who have left the church and the faith who want nothing to do with it because of, what I believe is, biblical fundamentalism. We have noticed that exposure to richer and deeper views of Scripture has been effective to get people’s wheels turning again and to bring back an apprecition for Scripture. This can seem overwhelming since the material can be complex and requires a paradigm shift for some in the local church. This is what my NPO is addressing. Thanks for the response Travis!
Really nice post. I especially enjoyed your connection to your (and by extension, all of our) NPO project(s). I had also made the connection that Bentley’s process bears a strong resemblance to our discovery and design workshop process. And I definitely identified with what you said, “my NPO is near and dear to my heart which makes this process of discovery and design emotional. I also can’t not do it even though it cultivates feelings of insecurity, anxiety, excitement, inadequacy, hope, despair, etc.” So my question is, how is that subjective/personal connection to your NPO maybe making it harder some days or maybe easier other days to keep focused and working on this wicked problem?
My NPO, like many, is intimately connected to my ministry context. We have a wide range of biblical views at our church from “I don’t know or care about it” to “I’ve read this book since I could read and believe it dropped out of heaven”. The work is bringing more education and understanding to one group and bringing value and appreciation to another for 21st century readers. Teaching anything that challenges or reexamines strict understandings of biblical inerrancy is the biggest challenge for some in my context. What about you Kim? What are your challenges?
Thanks for the response!
Hi Adam….I know it wasn’t the primary point of your post, but I appreciated the example of how we’ve made massive advances in addressing poverty–one of the more wicked of the wicked problems! The data related to the overall global reduction of extreme poverty is similar, but more significant in recent decades. I appreciate this addition because, first, we tend to focus on problems and neglect recognizing and celebrating the good, which often leaves us with the perception that ‘everything’s wrong’ when, in fact, it’s not–or at least it’s not as bad as it once was. Second, I appreciate it because it shows that change is possible for the current messes and wicked problems we must address. As each person defines their particular ‘problem’ from the mess and does their part (together with hundreds,,,thousands…millions? of others), real change can and does happen. God’s empowerment to you as you do your part.
Thanks for the response Scott, not sure if you’ve read anything from Steven Pinker, but he does a lot of research on the global changes that have happened. He also had a TED talk with some interesting charts that made me go, “Wow”, didn’t realize this is the state of the world compared to times past. We’re not in utopia, but we have made significant steps in some areas that are encouraging.
Tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself.
Ukraine, Israel, the Red Sea, and Taiwan. The list goes on with Myanmar and other military dictatorships.
Wicked, Wicked, War remains as our bane. Revelation, confirms the process.
Ukraine is on my horizon and today I spoke with Ukrainian Christians who continue to expand the kingdom despite the war. In the advent of their “wicked” problem they do what they can.
Shalom
I know you are speaking about war from experience. It is a wicked problem. That’s great to hear concerning Ukrainian Christians being able to spread the love of Christ in the midst of war. Really puts things in perspective. Thanks for your response!
C’Mon Adam! I love how we are talking about wicked problems and you show the PROGRESS in poverty or specifically how it has declined. Thank you for this. That’s brilliant and so shepherd-like.
I also like your statement, “Are we the only ones who notice certain problems? No, but our world needs each one of us to define and name specific problems that are contributing to “the mess” and engage them in our own unique ways for overall advancement.”
Engage them in our own unique ways, allows for everyone to be creative but we do it for “overall advancement” Another good insight, because a good question to ask all the time is how is this advancing our mission, goals, community, family, etc. I’m gonna ask that question this week and hopefully I’ll have the courage to stop doing something that doesn’t advance for the good of people or the glory of God. I appreciate you bro!
Thanks for perspective on wicked problems. It may be unsolvable, but that does not mean it does not get better!
I took a workshop once when I was a revitalization pastor. It was what a dying church can learn from church planters, it was a graph where on the left the established church has 100 members and $100,000 budget for example and the church planter on right starts at bottom. Eventually, the established church line dropped down to 50 members and $50,000 budget and the church planter arrived upward at the same point. Now is where the established church has an opportunity to change perspective. The established church is losing momentum and grieving the losses and will continue to do so if those were not address and reframed. The church planters with the exact same resources were thrilled at how far they had come and were upwardly mobile! Your blog reminded me that sometimes we need to take a different view of the wicked problem and reframe!
As you have gone through this process, have you had to “begin again?”