139. Disequilibrium and the Mission of God, with Markus Watson

Spiritual Life and Leadership

Eric Hoffman said, “To dispose a soul to action, we must upset its equilibrium.” In this episode, we’re going to talk about the state of disequilibrium that so many of us find ourselves in—what used to work in church leadership and ministry doesn’t seem to work anymore. And we’re going to talk about why that disequilibrium is actually a gift.
THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

• We live in a time of great disequilibrium.
• When we talking about disequilibrium, it is helpful to think of it in the context of a “complex adaptive system.”
• A complex adaptive system is a network of organisms, relationships, and connections that interact in such a way as to maintain some kind of balance.
• Complex adaptive systems want to remain in a state of equilibrium.
• Disequilibrium happens when something in the system changes.
• The dodo bird went extinct because it had lived in a state of equilibrium for so long that it couldn't survive changes in its system.
• In Surfing the Edge of Chaos, the authors argue that "prolonged equilibrium is a precursor to death."
• But when a system experiences disequilibrium, it has the opportunity to become stronger, more resilient, and healthier.
• For about the past 1700 hundred years, the church in the West has existed in a state of relative equilibrium.
• But the culture changed and now the church exists in a state of disequilibrium.
• The church needs to embrace the disequilibrium because that will make it stronger, more resilient and healthier.

RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:
Books mentioned:

• Surfing the Edge of Chaos, by Richard Pascale, Mark Milleman, and Linda Gioja

Online courses and cohorts:

• Leading Your Church Through Change
• Adaptive Church Leadership Cohort

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