“People do not put new wine into old wineskins, otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out and the skins are ruined. Rather they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” – Matthew 9:17
WORKING IN THE BOX
We can’t make real, lasting change using the old models and old systems. If we want to create change, we need a new model that can help us change our system and allow us to see ourselves, others, and our world differently.
We are designed for community. The care, the vulnerability, the natural give and take that flows in relationship makes us stronger because it reminds us that we belong to each other because we belong to God.
Current organizational models first grew out of the military and then expanded through use in the corporate world. They reduce people to their function in the organizational chart and literally put them in a box. The emphasis on competition and control can create disconnection and create a false sense that everything is a binary choice. Win or lose. Profit or loss. Us or them.
But with God there is only Us.
WORKING IN THE SPHERE
The spherical model that I use recognizes our complexity and our interconnectivity. If we are all connected, then if you are suffering it impacts me too. When we look at an organization spherically, we see how all elements are interrelated and our strategies address the whole instead of just one part.
Working together spherically inspires a different kind of communication and collaboration. We are no longer in a competition between you getting on my page or me getting on your page. Instead, we are co-creating the page together. The path to co-creation starts with learning to communicate differently. Conflict and hard conversations are that much harder to have in church because that is often the place our heart and soul finds sanctuary and we don’t want that to change.
But what if, instead of looking for comfort in avoiding change, we found our security in each other, in community. Working spherically allows to go FARRR Flexible, Adaptable, Resilient, Responsive, Resourceful. We communicate differently because we know how to start from genuine curiosity and listen for understanding rather than reaction. Change becomes easier to navigate when we realize we aren’t going through it alone. And if we can learn to do this in church, in that sacred place that can feel the most vulnerable, then that is a skill we can take into every other area of life to model a new way of seeing and being.
If you are curious to know more, please reach out. I would love to talk with you and hear your thoughts.