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<\/a><\/p>\nIn the book, Exploring Wicked Problems<\/em> by Bentley and Toth they describe in detail dealing with the wicked problems found in the swamp. They write, “No matter what takes us into a swamp, once there, we face three major challenges: how to survive, how to flourish, and how to find an exit.”[1]<\/a> Their book describes how wicked problems are just a part of being human and even “define the human condition.”[2]<\/a><\/p>\n In this program, we are all working on projects that address a wicked problem of some sort. It is good work to do yet at times feels almost futile. It was a helpful reminder to read, “Wicked problems were never solved. At best, they said, wicked problems can only be solved over and over again.”[3]<\/a> The projects we take on and work to iterate this semester will not solve the issue we are focused on, but we are doing our part to make a conscious effort. We have entered the swamp and are working hard. A challenge of being in the swamp is hearing those on the sidelines offer opinion about what we are supposed to be doing in the swamp. I want to offer a reminder to all of us, including myself, that those people who stand on the edge, tackling tame problems of their own, might offer good insight. However, if they do not enter the swamp at times and navigate wicked problems then they might not have a complete picture of what is going on. Instead, they might simply be offering a \u201csiren song.\u201d[4]<\/a> Bentley and Toth state, “Conditions in the swamp are dramatically different. There is no firm place to stand; people feel they are in over their heads.”[5]<\/a><\/p>\n This NPO project has led me to enter a different swamp than the one I exited in Kenya. This swamp has swamp creatures labeled: immigration, racism, apathy and recently Christian Nationalism. In the book, What\u2019s Your Problem? <\/em>The author helps coach people through navigating difficult problems, or wicked problems as Bentley and Toth write. Of difficult problems, the author writes, “accept the discomfort, our capacity to recognize painful truths can at times generate some of the most liberating solutions.”[6]<\/a> When President Trump took office, the swamp I am in got murkier, bigger, and more dangerous. There are still plenty of people on the sidelines offering insight into how I might solve the problems. Yet, it was Martyn Percy who noted, \u201cchurches have changed and have become more apolitical, and socially, politically and theologically conservative.\u201d[7]<\/a> Many conservative Christian friends on the sidelines of the swamp want to offer me a lifeline out of it. They view the swamp as murky and scary, and they do not want me to uncover any monsters hidden below the surface. But the monsters are there, below the surface and I have experienced them. The advice of my conservative friends is just a call to retreat, a siren song at best. They don\u2019t want to admit to any racism in our institutions. They don\u2019t want to admit that they might have an anti-immigrant attitude. They certainly don\u2019t want to challenge their own assumptions and come to terms with their Christian Nationalist leanings. Instead, they offer advice on how I should get out of the swamp and keep the swamp monsters hidden. I simply can\u2019t do this. I can\u2019t ignore the monsters that are there. I realize that I will never kill the monster. This monster won\u2019t go away until Jesus makes all things new.<\/p>\n Maybe the point is simply for me to stay in the swamp, inviting others to join the murky journey. Maybe this whole project is about inviting others to join in swampy work. Bentley and Toth define success in the swamp as:<\/p>\n “Acting with confidence and competence as we grapple with wicked problems…requires us to show up in the middle of the storm, fully present and alert, with a calm and confident manner, get down in the mud and muck, begin the process of figuring out what is happening, recruit and enlist others to work with us, formulate an idea of the problem, then move on, taking appropriate action to deal with the newly defined situation.”<\/em>[8]<\/em><\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Maybe that\u2019s the point.<\/strong><\/p>\n ____________________________________________________<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Joseph Bentley PhD and Michael Toth PhD, Exploring Wicked Problems: What They Are and Why They Are Important<\/em> (Bloomington, IN: Archway Publishing, 2020), 163.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Bentley and Toth, xiv.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Bentley and Toth, 27.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Bentley and Toth, 70.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Bentley and Toth, 129<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Thomas Wedell-Wedellsborg, What\u2019s Your Problem? To Solve Your Toughest Problems, Change the Problems You Solve<\/em> (La Vergne: Harvard Business Review Press, 2020), 102.<\/p>\n