Since we have a couple of weeks before the next congregational conversation on February 23, I’d like to share a model that might be helpful for personal reflection and in future discussions. This week I offer to you the Results Cycle, proposed by Thomas Crane in The Heart of Coaching.
During the congregational conversation on January 12, I heard the seeds of what some people would like to be different in the future: “What results are we seeking?” Sometimes the response to this question, however, is frustration. “We see the same patterns over and over.” Or, “We have tried X and Y and Z in the past, and nothing has worked.”
The Results Cycle shows where those frustrations originate. What I believe determines how I act, which influences the quality of my relationships, which affects outcomes, that reinforce my beliefs. In order to switch up our results, then, we have to make a change earlier in the cycle. That might involve doing something differently. It might mean building trust and sharing more openly with others. It might call for a perspective shift.
Pastoral transitions, when much is up in the air, provide valuable opportunities for examining where the cycle needs to be tweaked in order to live fully into God’s call. Where in the midst of beliefs, actions, relationships, and outcomes could small changes make big positive impacts at FBC?
Laura