Photo by mauro mora on Unsplash
By Steve Matthews, FaithX’s Partner Relations Director
In this wild and crazy world of ours, wisdom can feel like a scarce commodity. Ever yearn for a truly wise person to emerge to walk alongside us as a guide to help us find our way? You know a prophet/ess kind of charismatic person with some major grounding who, with a few wise words or actions, can inspire and direct us in the direction of hope and justice. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Well, don’t hold your breath. It’s not that there are not some wise people out there, it’s just that the nature of wisdom is that it usually comes as a gift to us communally, not individually. If you think about the way the Spirit operates, doesn’t it make more sense that we discern the path(s) together?
In ancient texts, the roots of the word “contemplatio” always suggest discernment/ seeing/ observing for the sake of a community. It was about looking at various signs and honoring various perspectives in order to see a path forward.
At FaithX, we take the communal aspect of “wisdom” seriously. How well do we listen to one another? Whose voice/spirit is not being invited into the process? Have we considered our God-given assets? Have we asked for help and accompaniment? Have we gathered all the data we need? Most importantly, are we moving at the speed of trust with one another?
FaithX’s wheelhouse is data-based discernment. Communal contemplation matters to us, and we see all of these ways of seeing as “data.” This “seeing” is part of our consultations with faith communities and judicatories, AND hard data matters too. That’s why we offer the Congregational Vitality Assessment, the Judicatory Vitality Assessment, and MissionMaps for Faith Communities. These are tools that provide inputs into your gifts, challenges, and opportunities so you can contemplate your paths more fully and discern more wisely.
Within MissionMaps there are several super-valuable resources, and the Missional Context Report (MCR) is a vital part of what we offer our partners. The MCR is a demographic summary of communities with demographics similar to yours. It is meant to be a descriptive resource (“your community may share some of these characteristics”) not prescriptive (“this IS your community”). The tapestry of demographics is not woven by us, but we do add our “missional” spin and color as we seek to help congregations see the missional opportunity embedded in your communities.
Recently, I was working with a church, and their number one MCR sub-group was called “Savvy Suburbanites” (you can see the full MCR here). The MCR describes “Savvy Suburbanites” as “well-settled suburban communities of married couples, most with grown or nearly grown children. Residents work in management and finance, with dual incomes and solid investment portfolios, placing them firmly in the middle-to-upper-income tier. Homes are almost exclusively owner-occupied single-family properties, mostly built between 1970 and 2000, in both newer and established suburban neighborhoods. Community involvement is a priority — residents engage in local politics and fundraising — and when vacation time comes, beaches and national parks are favorite destinations.”
This tapestry segmentation represents 49% of the people within a five-minute drive time of this church. “Savvy Suburbanites” are families with middle school to college age kids. Here are some other data points and thoughts for this church to ponder from the MCR:
One of the most obvious data points for this congregation to contemplate is that this church is overwhelmingly retirees surrounded by younger generations. Is this a challenge or an opportunity? What unique gifts, assets, resources might they offer in service to their community? What assets/gifts are available to them as they seek to “know and be known”? What conversations will they have with one another and their neighbors? Each reflective moment and conversation is all part of their discernment as they seek to live into their mission to “Celebrate! Love! Serve!”
FaithX does not see the kind of age differences described here between church and community as automatic barriers to faithful ministry. The differences do invite more creativity and contemplation, however, AND their sense of their neighborhood would have been suppositional and anecdotal if they had not been deeply curious and willing to see the truth of their changing community.
What about you? Are you ready to engage a spiritual practice of seeing your community with new eyes and contemplating your next most wise step – together? If so, consider FaithX as part of your discernment team! Contact us at info@faithX.net.
