The Necessity of Adaption

Is this time of transition the fault of the pastor? Some pastors are gifted with the ability to adapt, but most of them, like you and me, struggle with loss and adaption to new circumstances. Things are changing so fast that we can hardly keep up with the news, let alone adapt to it. The primary skills your pastor learned in seminary, teaching, preaching, and pastoral care may not be the tools needed today to adapt to the changing needs of the church in what many cultural commentators call the post-Christian era.

In his book, Canoeing the Mountains, based on the adventures of Lewis and Clark, Todd Bolsinger suggests that during Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the territories bought in the Louisiana Purchase, there was an assumption that they could canoe the rivers to the West Coast. When they hit the mountains, their assumptions were shattered, and they had to adapt to continue the journey.

Many churches and church leaders have Post-World-War II assumptions as we meet the mountains of a world engulfed in a global pandemic. Just as epidemiologists are telling us to prepare for many more pandemics in our lifetime, some church visionaries are telling us to get over old assumptions so we can canoe the mountains ahead.

In the following blogs, we will look at different leadership styles and skills necessary to adapt and create paths through new and unchartered territories. This is not a journey pastors can go alone, and we must all chart that journey together. We must inspire and contribute to our churches and pastors’ success. And the only way forward is with faith in the God of journeys that gives us the courage to charge ahead.