Join Pastor Scott Simmons, founder and director of the Lydia Way in Saint Paul, MN, as he shares more about the Lydian Way, Strategic Posturing, and how there is a way forward when there seems to be no other. 

The New and Renewing Team of the Grand Canyon Synod would like to invite congregations to participate in the “Introduction to Strategic Posturing” by Pr. Scott Simmons of Lydia Way on Saturday, October 31st, 2020 from 9am-12pm via zoom. Register for this meeting here.

The world we live in, the culture we move in, and the church we love and serve is caught up in a long and troubling season of transition and challenge. Everything seems to be changing, from the institutions we depend upon to the truths we hold as immutable, from the rhythms of work and life and worship to the very nature of family and community. 

Everything is changing. So how do we, as Christian leaders, navigate this foundational shift? Is there a way forward?

It’s not a question of theology. As Lutheran Christians, particularly, we proclaim and practice a rich and beautiful understanding of how God works by Christ, in and through the Holy Spirit, to love and forgive, reconcile and renew us and all creation.

It’s not a question of faithfulness, either. Or effort. Or, even, intention. 

But it might be a question of how faith communities are prepared and positioned to live and act and respond to the challenges of the day. More specifically, it might have to do with the practices and strategies used to guide and shape how we respond to God’s call to “be” the church in the world. 

For decades. the church has borrowed from the world of business - adopting strategic planning methods and corporate visioning approaches to inform and guide our future actions and directions. But all too often, these processes stall and falter, because they focus so much on our own desires and wants that the Holy Spirit’s activity and call is either obscured or altogether outside our narrow view. What’s more, conventional strategic thinking isn’t even helping the business world navigate the challenges of the future anymore. Why should we assume they will continue to help guide the future of the church?

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a way forward. There is…by refocusing on God’s activity in the world, and letting our strategies emerge from the activity and call of the Holy Spirit around us, beyond us, and within us.

We call this process Strategic Posturing - a set of spiritual practices that help faith communities identify their gifts, discern the Spirit’s activity and call in their particular context, and step forward in trust, even when the future is unclear.

What’s more, these practices can help congregations remain agile enough to pivot faithfully, innovatively, and confidently when God shows up in the most unexpected ways.