Not long ago, I did one of those crazy ‘no caffeine/no sugar/no white flour/nothing remotely nice’ 10-day detoxes. On a detox like this, you notoriously feel pretty dreadful between days 2 and 5 – headaches, lightheaded spells, fatigue – as all the pesky toxins leave your body. Although it’s pretty awful in the middle of it, by the end your body is “purring” at the happiness of being recalibrated, reset, feeding only on lovely, wholesome goodness (see www.danielplan.com for a great, Christian focussed detox).
You have to plan a little ahead to do a detox like this. Over-schedule, and chances are you’ll turn into a crabby monster or give up altogether (or at least, I knew myself well enough that these would be the inevitable two possible outcomes). Big change – recalibration – really, really requires you to build some slack into the system.
I would say this is the same for any big change in our lives. When you have a new baby, you don’t make any other plans for several weeks. When you go through a bereavement, you build space into your life to grieve and mourn. Social plans go out the window when you have a big home renovation project. When you start a new job, you take some time to readjust before settling into a new rhythm. All change requires building in some margin.
I have been reflecting that this is the same for parish renewal too. Here, we’re talking about long-distance, slow-burning change. This is no 10-day detox (if only)! This involves a recalibration of so many attitudes and assumptions we’ve been conditioned to expect as normal. There is so much “junk” we are detoxing from:
- Our default, inward-looking maintenance
- Our inability to see the outsider or think of the non-believer
- Our reticence about speaking of Jesus
- Our hidden, clericalist expectations of priests
- Our propping up of dead, lifeless structures and systems
- Our lack of expectancy that God does change people’s lives – powerfully – today!
So many of these attitudes and assumptions we have been breathing in, in the oxygen of our parishes, since we were brought to church as babies. They are part of the culture we imbibe. Change requires us to step outside the box. Here are some ways:
- Go and see what fruitfulness looks like – visit churches and parishes where people encountering Jesus is the norm and see what it looks like
- Read, read, read some more – books that will challenge assumptions and give a different perspective: I recommend books by Patrick Lencioni, Bill Hybels, Growing an Engaged Church, books which help grow healthy team culture like Crucial Conversations, books on church growth like this, books on good management like One Minute Manager, and I love inspiring stories like this one which show how God works today
- No time is dead time! Use car journeys or gym sessions to listen to podcasts. You know what helps me through my thirty minute run without even realising I’ve done it?! Listening to the Divine Renovation podcast ! There are so many gems, so much wisdom in this podcast, and the team now releases one a week. Also check out fantastic leaders such as Carey Nieuwhof.
- Go to conferences that will blow open your perspective. I recommend the Leadership Conference, DR18 and the UK-based Divine Renovation Day in May.
- If you are a priest, build time in your diary with other priests who are also taking steps to move their parishes towards mission. Never before have priests more needed support of their brother priests to pray together and share experiences!
You know what? All of this involves an investment of time (and in some cases money). If we are going to invest time and energy into a new vision for how our parishes can be, it will mean kicking some other things to the kerb. Maybe things we have been doing habitually but which are not producing fruit. We may have to drop other commitments or reprioritise our calendar. But all of this is in the name of the “great detox” and I can’t think of anything more worthwhile.
Build slack into your calendar!
