Creating an Environment of Growth

Creating space.  Creating environments. Curating the content.  The way we go about doing it will determine what world we create. 

Do we create a life-giving or a life-sucking environment?

The choice is entirely up to the architect. 

The challenge is that most of the architects creating space in our churches today are institutional thinkers. That's not entirely a bad thing. Institutional thinkers have an ability to understand some of the large scale leadership obstacles that need to be considered. 

But the potential downfall may be greater. 

Far too often we answer problems through the wrong means. We peer through the wrong lens. We come from an improper perspective. 

Too often we find an institutional answer to a relational problem. 

 

People want relationships. Authentic ones. They don't want a program or an organization in which they are merely a number. 

The greatest human desire is to know and be known. 

 

In our efforts as church leaders to create space for that to happen, let's be mindful as we make decisions and help facilitate space for growth, that we don't unintentionally kill the very thing we are attempting to nurture. 

Let's be mindful that many of the problems we attempt to solve are relational problems. And relational problems require relational solutions, not institutional ones. 

People connect with people. Not with products and systems. 

Learn your audience. 

Find out what matters to people.