At yesterday's Strong Catholic Families: Strong Catholic Youth in-service, Dr. Sean Reynolds discussed the difference between technical change and adaptive change.  Technical changes are quick fixes, limited in scope. Adaptive changes are paradigm-shifting, long term movements of re-thinking the whole enterprise.  An example may help:  If the "problem" we face is parents who are less engaged in our parish and faith formation than we'd like them to be, then technical changes may be re-formulating the Parent Meetings for sacramental preparation (to make them more dynamic), creating a parent section on the parish web site, or sending more resources home to parents.  On the other hand, adaptive change asks questions like:  How can we structure parish life so that everything we do is aimed at helping parishioners anchor faith in their home?  Can we transition from a system of sacramental preparation that allows people to "receive sacraments" to a parish life that invites people - especially families - to live sacramentally?

Larger questions?  Yes.  Harder to do?  Yes.  The only true option to consider if we want our church to survive and thrive in the future?  Yes.  (At least I think so!)

Without adaptive changes, we are living Einstein's definition of insanity:  Doing the same things over and over again, and expecting different results.  It's clear that many of our current systems aren't working for us.  And playing the blame game (blame the youth, blame the parents, blame the media) is even worse and gets us nowhere fast.  Systems and methods from the past worked . . . in the past.  But we are no longer in the same situation we were in as a church or society fifty years ago.  It's time for leadership that adapts to the current culture and current situation. 

What will these new systems look like?  I don't think any of us knows exactly.  The only way to figure that out is to begin venturing into them.  We don't have blueprints to follow - this is uncharted territory.  Adaptive leadership takes courage, takes risks, and demands a tolerance for ambiguity and discomfort.  Not easy stuff.  But Jesus never said it would be easy - that's why he sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide and advocate.  Jesus promised that he would be with us, until the end of the age.  To give in to fear and doubts and uncertainty is to believe that Jesus is going back on that promise.  I don't buy that for a second.  So the only option is to listen to the beckoning of the Spirit and follow.  The hard road of adaptive leadership is ahead.  I'm in.  Are you?