As a coach, I specialize in navigating change. (This is somewhat ironic, as I am not more immune to resisting change than anyone else!) Congregations such as FBC that are between settled pastors were already dealing with transition. Then: Covid-19. Then: a call for racial justice after the deaths of Armaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd that thankfully seems to be taking deeper root than many past cries. That’s a lot to process.
I want to offer some orienting questions while we remain in this time between what was and what will be, both individually and collectively:
- What specific changes are happening?
- What is it time to let go of, and what might closure look like?
- What do we know and not know? How might we find out the latter?
- What possibilities lie before us?
- What steps into that new normal are needed?
Sometimes change happens external to us. But for our hearts and minds to catch up to our circumstances, we must engage in active reflection. When we do, God accompanies, illumines, and emboldens us.
Laura