Double Loop Learning and the Emerging Church
The emerging church's is a good start on Double Loop learning.
Folks associated with the conversation are often very good at questioning the Governing Values / Variables of the church. However, they are not as good about building action and strategy around those governing values.
Viewing from afar Doug Pagitt seems to have intuitively been able to connect a new set of Governing Values to New Action / Practices.
For example, his book on Preaching is a questioning of what most people consider a a standard normal practice in church. Then he takes something of a new action in it's place.
In my experience most churches who call themselves emerging are simply changing the strategy /action plan, by adding the infamous coffee and candles for their emergent service. this is fine, but it's very different from what Doug is doing.
I'm really curious if I'm making sense?
This is applicable to all organizations by the way, not just churches.
What's clear? What's fuzzy? Do you even care about such things?
Folks associated with the conversation are often very good at questioning the Governing Values / Variables of the church. However, they are not as good about building action and strategy around those governing values.
Viewing from afar Doug Pagitt seems to have intuitively been able to connect a new set of Governing Values to New Action / Practices.
For example, his book on Preaching is a questioning of what most people consider a a standard normal practice in church. Then he takes something of a new action in it's place.
In my experience most churches who call themselves emerging are simply changing the strategy /action plan, by adding the infamous coffee and candles for their emergent service. this is fine, but it's very different from what Doug is doing.
I'm really curious if I'm making sense?
This is applicable to all organizations by the way, not just churches.
What's clear? What's fuzzy? Do you even care about such things?
Labels: emergent, Systems Thinking
posted by mark at
5:54 PM
4 Comments:
I'm really curious if I'm making sense?
I'm curious, too...
Ok, let us see if I am tracking. For example, it has been a widely held belief that people learn well in the lecture, or preaching format,(i.e. one way communication). Upon realizing its increasing ineffectiveness in a particular setting, a leader taking a single loop might shorten the talk, attempt to include more practicality or relevancy, come off the stage and into the crowd to give the impression of being on the same level, and actions of that nature, changing the action or strategy. A double loop approach would question the validity of the claim that lecture format learning is effective and take actions such as attempting dialog, or communal learning experiences.
Yeah Joe, that's basically it. But it's tricky. because the governing values are things we take for granted as "the way the world is".
So it's not always just a practice.
For instance using your example.
Another Governing Value might be:
that Education changes lives
or
Learning goes one way, from older to younger.
or
There are experts who are trained who must teach the rest of use, non-experts.
or
Learning / teaching is the best way to disciple teens
etc.
I have found an excellent model for changing governing values in churches...though its got a steep learning curve and I'm not great at using it yet.
You'll find it in, "Practicing Discernment With Youth," by David F. White. If you want, you can scratch out the word, "youth" on the cover and insert whatever word you want.
His model focuses on changing the basic assumptions and values held through a specific process of listening, thinking, and dreaming. This model, I think, can get us away from the closed loop of action-reaction.
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