{"id":22072,"date":"2019-03-07T13:19:19","date_gmt":"2019-03-07T21:19:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=22072"},"modified":"2019-03-07T13:21:18","modified_gmt":"2019-03-07T21:21:18","slug":"too-safe-to-fail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/too-safe-to-fail\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Safe to Fail"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI just witnessed a teacher getting excited about a mistake. Why? She saw it as a teachable moment!\u00a0 And she ran with it!\u00a0 This fired me up! There are teachable moments all around us . . . if we just take the time to notice them . . . and capitalize on them.\u201d[i]<\/a><\/p>\n

Much has been written about how difficult it is for a modern student to fail.[ii]<\/a>\u00a0 Failure in the online age means leaving a digital history that is very difficult to overcome, or one that certainly takes much time and energy to move on from.[iii]<\/a> But failure is exactly the activity Jennifer Garvey Berger and Keith Johnston suggest leaders undertake in their riveting text Simple Habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The primary focus of their text is to encourage leaders to think about the complex issues they face with new vision.\u00a0 If leaders reorient their thinking along these three primary guidelines, clarity and better understanding for all should ensue.\u00a0 Leaders should:<\/p>\n

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Ask different questions \u2013 what are the stories people are sharing or not sharing about an issue?<\/p>\n

Take multiple perspectives \u2013 what voices aren\u2019t being listened to and why?<\/p>\n

See systems[iv]<\/a> – what are the forces at play that stall an issue?<\/p>\n

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While these three core components of the text are profound, the idea the authors raise of a \u201csafe to fail\u201d experiment has really stuck with me.\u00a0 In describing these experiments as a process for an organization to learn more about itself to move toward a common future, Berger and Johnston write, \u201ca core distinction that makes an experiment safe to fail in a complex time is that the leader thoughtfully constructs safety guardrails around the zone of play.\u201d[v]<\/a> Later the text continues that the leader \u201callows failure (because if you\u2019re not failing, you\u2019re not actually being particularly experimental.)[vi]<\/a>\u00a0 In the life of a faith community I am doing my best to ascertain what these moments of \u2018allowed failure\u2019 can be.<\/p>\n

I wonder what these moments of failure look like for each of us in our own ministry and leadership contexts.\u00a0 I know that as a pastor I often over compensate to put people into positions where they succeed (provide a liturgist with the readings and proper pronunciations well in advance of a worship service, walk a Sunday School teacher through a lesson prior to teaching it, provide the stewardship team with a draft script for their follow up phone calls) however these are programmatic, life of the church type tasks. \u00a0We certainly don\u2019t want to experience failure in the realms of finances, spiritual care, or in the safety and wellbeing of anyone.<\/p>\n

Here are some of my thoughts on the opportunities in the church I serve where it may be \u201csafe to fail.\u201d I would love to hear yours!<\/p>\n