05 September 2025

Succession Part 2 - Planning to finish well

Earlier this year I walked the French Camino. According to my pedometer app I took 1.25 million steps over the course of 33 days from St Jean Pied de Port in the south of France to Santiago in the west of Spain (officially its about 800km). The preparation for that  journey required  some physical conditioning, some soul searching and literally hundreds of planning tasks.  I reckon I developed a type of OCD in the months prior to the walk which I called "Obsessive Camino Disorder." I developed a neurotic concern for backpack, footwear and clothing selection and their weight (down to the gram). I agonised over weather protection, hydration, first aid supplies, security, communications, navigation, transportation, insurance, finance and on and on. If you need a camino coach, I'm your guy!

But all that preparation made for a wonderful journey that profoundly impacted my life. Most of my fellow pilgrims were equally prepared but not all, in fact some people seemed to be clueless about everything I'd obsessed over - no physical conditioning, dodgy shoes, denim jeans, no hat and a backpack from junior high school! Miraculously, most of these amazing people also made it to Santiago, but golly they had a rough journey and lots of blisters.

If one metric of good leadership is a healthy succession, then the journey to that outcome needs careful, intentional planning. So where do you begin in planning to finish well? Here in part 2 I want to explore lets call it, the leadership mindset and planning sequence. In part 3 I'll conclude by exploring the personal journey. 

I'm going to offer a number of suggestions about this planning process but I acknowledge that there are many variables and assumptions at play. Firstly I am thinking primarily about organisational contexts though the principles apply in many settings, even for instance, the family business. Also I am assuming you are in a position of senior leadership within that organisation. You may not be the head of entity, but you might be one day and you have influence now.  Lastly I'm writing with an underlying value for longevity in the organisation. I know people are now far less likely to stay in one organisational context for decades, but the shorter the tenure the harder it is to both shape culture and do succession planning well. Regardless of how long you'll be there, or wherever you sit in the organisation, if you love something enough to want it to continue on after you, then read on.

Start at the beginning. In part 1 I asked you to estimate how many years out you think you are from leaving your current role or organisation. If you just arrived you are not off the hook. The early years of a role are about establishing the mission (if its not already there), the culture you want to outlast you, and developing a stewardship and succession mindset. This might include thoughts like:
  • I am choosing to be here for the long haul,  but I am not here forever.
  • I want to leave the organisation healthier and more fruitful than I found it. 
  • It's not all about me and I am not indispensable.
It is also a good time to be asking:
  • How do I build (or contribute to building) an organisation that is so desirable to work in?
  • Who do I have in my leadership pipeline and where are the gaps?
  • How can I prioritise the emerging generation now?
Leadership development will be a priority at all stages and while age is not always a factor, typically the priority is  developing people younger or those whom you lead. Your organisational context will dictate this to some degree.  For example, in the naturally multi-generational church space, we have a unique opportunity to start really early giving children and teens invaluable leadership opportunities. But in most organisational settings you are only working with employees or adult volunteers so in reality these people may be anywhere from 5 to 25 years younger. They may not report to you directly but you are intentional about engaging with them, listening to them and observing their work, and where possible creating opportunities to stretch them.

5+ years out - Continue culture building and leadership development plus a focus on organisational fundamentals - mission, vision, governance and structure. In as much as you have authority, these need to be a high priority to ensure organisational resilience. So here are a few suggestions:
  • Do the important collaborative work of forming or renewing the 'Why' of the organisation - its mission and vision. This serves not only to bring clarity and unity to the existing team but engage those who may be the ones to champion it into the future.
  • Optimise your governance effectiveness. Is board renewal needed?  Is upskilling needed? Are they relationally healthy and effective in their work? How about core documentation - constitutions, policies and procedures etc? Are there leaders you need to expose to the governance environment? A strong board is vital to a healthy leadership transition and they will need the capacity and skill to guide the process to its conclusion in the future. This all takes a lot of time so start now. Finally, start talking about the principle and value of succession planning across the whole organisation. As I've been suggesting, succession is your responsibility, but ultimately it is the board or bishop or governing authority that has the task of preparing and executing succession processes for its senior leaders. They need to know not only their responsibilities, but how to carry them out. 
  • What about your organisational chart? Does the structure of your organisation need renewing? Does your structure support your mission and vision? Does it encourage staff leadership development? Does it create room for people to advance and does it provide a way in for new recruits?
48-24 months out - Focus on organisational health and development of key people.
  • How is the atmosphere? Are there lingering staff issues? How about the finances? Are the key performance indicators trending down or up? Are there major projects that could become major problems or distractions if not completed?  
  • This is the time when you are becoming clear on who your potential replacements are and if you don't have them, it's getting late to source them so you better get cracking. Raise the bar of responsibility with your key staff. Work more closely with a few and delegate more. Modify your role in ways that begin to take your hands off the wheel and place other hands on it.
36-12 months out - Beginning the conversation
  • Your planing is now becoming concrete and you are beginning to think about the transition
  • You have one or two people now carrying significant responsibility. 
  • You have the conversation with your board about your eventual succession intentions without being specific about timing. This gives them time to both acclimate the prospect of change without having to suddenly fly into action. Note this is a delicate moment and wisdom is needed here as to if, and how you have this conversation without it backfiring. 
  • Personally you are now considering timing in more deliberate ways, discussing it with a spouse, mentor or close friends. Perhaps you are praying for guidance and wisdom around when to press 'go'. It's soon but not yet. 
  • In this period you may also be considering what you might like to do after you finish (like walk the Camino!)
12-6 months out - Shifting from succession planning to transition planning
  • Going public - At some point you have to inform your board of your intention to formally resign and how much time you are prepared to stay on after the announcement. In some contexts it may be the minimum requirement whilst in others you may offer the board as much time as they need to affect a smooth handover to a successor. This is ideal but not always practical.
  • You can give too long and too short notice. Too long and it drags out for everyone and you become a caretaker leader. Too little time and you create unnecessary chaos somewhat souring the good finish. Any way you look at it, once you go public, everything quickly changes. 
  • You are now shifting from succession planning to transition planning. This  phase relates specifically to the detailed sequence of communications and preparation the organisation needs for your departure as well as the recruitment of your successor. And to be clear, in most organisational settings this is not your responsibility. In fact you will increasingly step out of the room at this point because the board or its delegated group will now engage their  own search and recruitment processes. Anticipate that their focus is going to quickly shift away from you as the leader to the critical task of finding your replacement. Don't take this personally.
  • Your leadership of the organisation will take on a different posture now as people process both the emotion and the implications of your announcement. You still have influence but you do not have the same positional power you had prior to the announcement.
  • You will focus now on continuity and the key people ensuring that, as best as you can, the incumbent has what they need to start well. You'll need to work out now what a good handover will look like.
  • And finally, don't skip the actual finish. This is a significant moment for everyone so say what you need to say, thank those you need to thank, repair any relationships you need to repair, and celebrate all that you are able to be thankful for.
I can already hear you say "it's all way more complicated in my context!" - to which I totally agree. If nothing else, my goal in writing down this retrospective on my own very imperfect journey is to encourage you to think about your succession journey. And whether its a year or a decade away, to avoid the blisters of a lack of preparation, and recognise that you can be intentional from day one, till your farewell party. Your organisation will thank you for it and you will expereience the elation of a job well finished.


31 August 2025

Succession Part 1 - Letting go.



'What’s become of my ring, Frodo, that you took away?’‘I have lost it, Bilbo dear,’ said Frodo. ‘I got rid of it, you know.’ ‘What a pity!’ said Bilbo. ‘I should have liked to see it again. But no, how silly of me!

In the last scenes of the LOTR trilogy a frail Bilbo Baggins is wistful about "the precious" Ring of Power, that he'd spent so much of his life coveting. The ring, infused with dark power would corrupt and distort the heart of its bearer, even almost, an ordinary hobbit. And though now destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, it's lore still bore a magnetic power over the failing memory of Bilbo.

Power sometimes has a beastly way of doing that to ordinary people - it takes a hold of us and then we can't let it go.

Now power and leadership are not the same thing but leadership involves many kinds of power. No matter its form, the challenge of all power, and by association leadership, is not merely in the attaining or managing, but in the relinquishing - casting it aside, letting it and yourself be unplugged from it.

Which brings me to a subject I've been personally close to in the past few years, that of leadership succession. We typically think about leadership in terms of ascension, more likely to celebrate that upwardly mobile promotion than the demotion. People never seem to post on their LinkedIn profiles that they gave up their senior role for something less commanding. We are told to climb corporate ladders, not leap from them because by nature, we esteem that courageous climber, the celebrity, the winner.

It all looks like a one way street but the further I get into the middle third of life the more I think planning your replacement, is essential, not optional to good leadership. 

I think, the last great gift you give those you are leading, is to get out of their way!

Yet in the thick of our lives, and leadership roles, we tend to ignore our replacement like we ignore our death, somewhere in the distant future and we have too many urgent things to do in the present to concern ourselves with the important stuff that isn't happening any time this year. But then, all of a sudden, its too late. We miss the window of opportunity to leave well and those we led bear the consequences.

Pope Francis apparently had his resignation letter written long before his death, though his intention was always to die in the role as is papal tradition. I loved that till the day before his death Francis was greeting world leaders and common folk in church, and then he went home to Jesus, with the affairs of his replacement a very distant concern.

Maybe a pope can get away with this but for the rest of us, it poses an important question around planning our endings and succession. As leaders we usually don't plan to die in the role, but neither do we think much about handing it on to the right person at the right time through the right process.

When it comes to succession, I think I've been more deeply formed by those who did not do it well, than those rare individuals who did. I've watched admired pastors lead their churches into decline or stagnation because they did not make succession a priority. Maybe it was a bit of a messiah complex, maybe they just loved their work, maybe they were afraid of what comes next, or maybe it was good intentions mixed with bad planning. Whatever the reason, this culture of non-succession is one of the greatest blindspots in leadership. Much focus is on professional development of leaders to lead well, but we don't develop them to leave well.

And what might leaving well look like? 
For starters, it may very well look like 1. a clear, well paced and communicated plan,  2. ideally with real internal successor option(s) in the wings, 3. in a fundamentally healthy organisation. Of course its never that simple and every context will demand some variation within these three aims.

I love how in LOTR, the story doesn't end with Frodo destroying the ring of power and then The End. The ending feels especially long and unhurried as the reader comes to terms with not only the rings final destruction but the ending of its fellowship. Frodo was leaving with Bilbo, and Sam's story would continue without him. It is as though Tolkien wanted his reader to end well also.

I also love how, as Tim Keller illustrated in one of his stellar sermons, J R R Tolkien, saturated in Christian thought, chose to make a radical departure from the historical plot line of all other great legends  and quest stories in antiquity. Tolkien does this in Lord of the Rings by making the central figure at the heart of of the story (Frodo), triumphant not because he was powerful nor won something precious at the tale's climax, but because he gave up something precious, even if it cost him his life, for the sake of others. And by letting go he truly won. That is of course the heart of the gospel story, and the kind of counter cultural vision of power, leadership and success that Jesus exemplifies - and the template for in all of us who aspire to lead.

In this past week I've felt the deep gladness of completing my own succession journey, gathering with my church to commission my replacement, Ben, a young(er) man who I've had a role in nurturing for the past decade. He is in my estimation a superior leader in every way and he will, under Christ, take the church further than I ever could have. 

And isn't that a great thing!  Isn't that the kind of KPI we leaders should be judged by? At the right time, letting go, casting off our power so that something or someone greater than us can truly flourish. My succession journey was in no way perfect, but it is such a joy to  let go, and finish well. 

May you finish well too.

.......

In part 2 I'll get more specific about good succession planning but for now, if you are a leader in your context, have a go at answering the following questions:
1. If you had to guess, in how many years will you be departing your current role?
2. Have you started thinking about your succession? If not why not?
3. If hypothetically, you left your organisation on this day in three years time, what steps would you take from today to ensure both leadership continuity and momentum in your organisation?
4. Who are you actively training to potentially replace you?
5. If you weren't doing what you are doing what else could you do?



 

Image: Unsplash


28 July 2025

Do Disciples need Disciplines?

As a Christian, I've been living in or around the theme of spiritual practices since I was a boy. As a pastor, I've been spruiking rhythms of prayer, scripture reading, gathering, serving, giving and a smorgasbord of other practices for half a lifetime! These activities are the bread and butter of Christian spirituality - as in many other religions.

Despite my love-tolerate relationship, I still know spiritual practices are essential to Christian vitality and becoming. Though, I do feel the need to qualify such a claim because the same spiritual practices that animate one person's life, may be hollow rituals to another. The power of the spiritual practice is not simply in the activity but in the way it allows the Spirit to access the head and heart.

I think about spiritual practices as intentional actions with internal consequences..... resulting in external consequences. Animated by the Spirit of God, spiritual practices, do three basic things:
  • embed the love of God in our hearts (Psalm 18,139)
  • move us toward greater self awareness and awareness of others (Psalm 139)
  • illuminate the way of God for our everyday lives and direct our responses (Psalm 25:1-5)
The first is the most important. Spiritual practices are not an end in themselves, but exist to nurture familiarity with the God who makes himself personally knowable. Not "the universe", not some animistic force or amorphous mishmash of all religions, but the divine person of Jesus who really lived with us, really died for us and overcame real death so we could have real life. 

And Jesus promises his disciples that even though he will leave, he will not leave them like orphans. Jesus says "I will come to you"..."I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever"...."the Spirit of truth who Jesus says lives with and within you" (John 14.17) It is the Holy Spirit who makes the relationship personal and the spiritual practice more than self-help or trying harder because in Christianity, we simply can't think our way to God or work our way to holiness. Real change and renewal of the heart and soul is the work of the Holy Spirit.

And yet, there is no avoiding the personal commitment necessary to embracing a life of spiritual practices with God. Perhaps thats why more historically we've referred to "spiritual disciplines" implying something more deliberate, committed and costly. Though not an obligation, authentic Christian spirituality is undoubtedly a (shared) commitment to a way of living regardless of the ebb and flow of my feelings and gratifications. Spiritual practices are a structure we build for all those times in life when our feelings falter and the benefits don't flow our way.

All this to say YES disciples do need the discipline of spiritual practices. Thats the principle at least.  

But my experience  personally, and as a pastor is that a large proportion of Christians experience ongoing cycles of confusion, frustration and guilt associated with their misapplication of this principle. For example prayer may feel hollow, scripture confusing and Sabbath rest an impossibility. If our spirituality needs spiritual practices, what becomes of all the people for whom they are so hard to establish or maintain? Are they just not trying hard enough or is there more to this? 

My own conclusion is that there is no universal technique or curriculum for Christian formation and spirituality.  Indeed there are many kinds of spiritual practices because there are many kinds of people living at many stages of life and faith. To illustrate, around 5% of Australians have been diagnosed with some form of ADHD and God knows how many people are undiagnosed. So for all those people who struggle to focus for more than 5 minutes, how do they navigate conventional spiritual practices that are typically contemplative and stationary? What about rambunctious teenage boys or just anyone born in the past 20 years who only know life through a digital lens?  What about tradies who leave for work before the sun rises, or mothers juggling work, marriage and three kids? How about people with ASD or those with social anxiety? What about those with learning difficulties or  Downs Syndrome? What if you just aren't wired for rhythms and disciplines? You might think I'm only highlighting minorities but all those minorities add up quickly.

Sometimes I wonder if we do more harm than good corralling people onto generic programs and pathways. I'm  slowly figuring out that:

Connection with God matters 
but prayer takes many forms. 

Belief matters 
but learning takes many forms. 

Serving matters 
but "ministry" takes many forms. 

Thankfulness matters 
but worship takes many forms. 

Immanence matters 
but encounter takes many forms.

Confession matters 
but accountability takes may forms.

Faith matters 
but courage takes many forms.

Obedience matters 
but  sacrifice takes many forms.

Koinonia matters 
but community takes many forms.

Self-awareness mattes 
but examen takes many forms.

Self-denial matters 
but fasting takes many forms.

Rest matters 
but Sabbath time takes many forms.

And in their exploring lies our adventure.

My point is there is a distinction between  essential principles and ultimate forms. I'm not arguing against the principle just the overly prescriptive definition of the form. I know well the tension between getting clear and becoming prescriptive. In research I conducted in 2024 with 20 evangelical pastors across several denominations I found about half had a rough plan for their congregations discipleship and a further 30% said they had a clear plan that was "more in theory than practice." But, when asked, all wanted a clear executable plan recognising that neither ambiguity nor hollow aspirations represent good leadership. Which is true! I've been that leader for years tinkering with these tensions and the dream of cracking some ultimate discipleship code.  

As pastors we are all attempting to find the best way to lead the largest number of people into deeper waters. And the larger your church the more you want to systematise your discipleship models so that they are concrete enough to communicate and deliver to everyone you are shepherding. But the shepherding analogy falls short in as much as people are not in fact sheep who all think and act the same way. Every person is unique and this makes the whole enterprise of discipleship so much more challenging, especially today in a hyper individualistic culture. 

Ok so what's the alternative genius? It'd be a bit hypocritical to now offer a sure fire solution to this discipleship dilemma, and I don't have one. But if I was a pastor starting out or starting again I'd think about reframing the practices and rethinking the strategy. Such as....

When it comes to spiritual practices:
  • Continually normalise the diversity in how people connect and experience God.
  • Offer people more options than you think they need - and look beyond your denomination.
  • Celebrate curiosity and experimentation with regular storytelling.
  • Embed spiritual practices in ordinary daily life as its happening.
  • Prioritise relational connection over content delivery... as Jesus did with his disciples.

When it comes to discipling people more generally:
  • Scrutinise any and all sacred-secular language, structures or practices in your context.
  • Prioritise empathic understanding of the lived experiences of people in your context.
  • Normalise the challenges and struggles people face in life, and as disciples.
  • Make everyday life the principal context and curriculum of Christian spirituality, not Sunday. 
  • Communicate the vision of discipleship but resist prescribing all the steps to get there.
  • Customise discipleship for every individual but minus the vibe of individualism.
  • Reinforce the vital role of commitment to the body of Christ in spiritual formation.
  • Invest more effort into coaching and storytelling, than preaching the theory.
  • More tools less techniques. More permission less prescription.
  • Curate contexts for catalytic experiences.




03 May 2025

From Popes to Politicians - What is good leadership?

 

I voted yesterday at the local pre-polling booth and it seemed like half the electorate had the same idea.  While I waited, two men stood together in a small pop up cabana near the front of the line handing out flyers as the endless line of voters shuffled impatiently past them, looking away, suddenly fascinated by their phones or maybe a glance saying "no thanks mate" or muttering something else less kind. 

These two men were not your regular volunteers, they were the sitting Liberal member and his young gun Labour counterpart. I've known the Liberal member for many years, a good man,  and I've also met  with his younger Labor rival. They both looked utterly shattered, pale and pasty in the late afternoon rush, as though both had run a two month marathon of smiles, handshakes and smalltalk. When I reached them in the line, I had 30 seconds to  shake their hands, thank them for their work and wished them well.....before I went to cast my vote on their political fate. Thats democracy!

In this unique week between a Papal funeral and a federal election a lot of us are pondering the nature of good leadership and how to get it. Seems most of the world judged Pope Francis to have been a good leader, and today we will make a judgement about our political leaders who, for weeks have been magically appearing in strange places, pumping petrol or cuddling kids at childcare centres hoping that by doing so, public opinion may tip in their favour as the best leadership option for the electorate.  

But we are a cynical mob when it comes to leadership, especially political. We carry unbelievably high expectations of leaders and low confidence they will deliver. We critique them more than we praise them, as if we could do a better job fulfilling the one utilitarian task we assign them all - raise our standard of living right now!

People rightly want good leaders in all spheres of life, be they Popes, PM's, principals or pastors. But it is worth pausing on this election day to recognise that good leadership is neither comfortable nor easy, for both the leader and the led. If you want a high approval rating, getting a job as a Santa or selling ice cream may be a better option. And if you want to be led well, anticipate discomfort.

Good leadership is tough for the leader and the led and perhaps thats why the leadership genre is a bit of a bottomless pit. The classical idea of leadership was leader-centric. By that I mean the power dynamic was almost entirely tipped toward the hero, warlord, commander & chief  or CEO  who autocratically influences people to do what they probably don't want to do (there are a few world leaders who seem to like this style at the moment). 

But in more recent decades, leadership has become increasingly follower-centric where the power dynamic has shifted toward the follower. Barbara Kellerman says that the social contract in the 21st Century, between leader and led has changed from “have to” to “want to” be led - though she admits this is still dependent on context and “carrot and stick” leadership will always be a factor in many organisational settings.1 

The digital age, particularly  social media, has been emancipatory for the majority handing people power and knowledge they could never have imagined in previous generations. As a consequence Kellerman writes "there is less respect for authority across the board—in government and business, in the academy and in the professions, even in religion. Power and influence have continued to devolve from the top down—those at the top having less power and influence; those in the middle and at the bottom having more. For their part, followers, ordinary people, have an expanded sense of entitlement—demanding more and giving less."2 

I think what Kellerman is saying is that everyone today wants to live like they are in charge, only without the burden leadership. 

Perhaps the art of good leadership is in stewarding power in both a directive and collective way simultaneously. 
  • Peter Northouse in Leadership Theory and Practice, notes four characteristics generally present in leadership. Leadership is a process, involves influence, occurs in groups and involves common goals.3
  • Similarly, Tod Bolsinger in Canoeing the Mountains writes “Leadership is energizing a community of people toward their own transformation in order to accomplish a shared mission in the face of a changing world.”4
  • Joseph Rost, defined leadership as “an influence relationship among leaders and followers who intend real changes that reflect their mutual purposes.” In this Robert Banks et.al  notes the four essential leadership elements: 1. that the influence relationship is multidirectional, 2. the influence is non-coercive,  3. it involves meaningful change toward a purpose, and 4. followers are active participants.5
The thing I note about these conceptions is the role of both leader and led toward common or shared goals. Good leadership is something we want but also something we participate in, and cultivate by prioritising mutuality over individuality. And in the political context, the role of a local member is to synthesise the goals, aspirations and needs of thousands of individuals into a collective vision and action plan which they all participate in. I think for all our negativity, our politicians are making a genuine attempt to do something infinitely difficult at a societal level.

By the time you read this, the election will likely be decided, but spare a thought for all those local members and candidates  - for every happy winner  there are many more feeling deflated. These men and women all show great courage I think, to put themselves in a highly vulnerable position where their local community can explicitly reject them. They should all be congratulated and encouraged no matter the side of politics. 

We all want good leaders but I wonder, do you have a shortlist of things you'd look for? As I ponder both new popes and parliamentarians, I can think of 9 qualities I'd like to experience as a follower (in no particular order):
  1. Vision - a compelling idea of where they want to take people.
  2. Credibility - the technical skills and life experiences that engender confidence in followers.
  3. Courage - to lead with conviction in the face of inevitable opposition.
  4. Consistency - an integrity between their personal and public life.
  5. Compassion- to truly see people and work for their flourishing regardless of status.
  6. Wisdom - navigating complexity and competing priorities with acumen.
  7. Maturity- to emotionally manage themselves and their relationships well.
  8. Values - an epistemological foundation for the wisdom that orients and guides their life and leadership. 
  9. Humility - to selflessly serve and steward power always for the common good.
Much more could be said, but thinking about Pope Francis' exemplary life helped me focus in on a few key things.  And while I sure don't want the next pope to lead the country, I do hope all our incumbent leaders might express, just as imperfectly as even Francis, the same qualities of good leadership. 
I reckon only Jesus expressed these perfectly, but every leader has unavoidable choices around the kind of person  and therefor leader, they want to be becoming. As do we all because in the end, we all share in the vocation of leadership, even if only of ourselves and those close to us. 

_______________________________________

1&2 Kellerman, Barbara. The End of Leadership. 1st ed. New York: Harper Business, 2012.

3 Northouse, Peter G. Leadership: Theory and Practice. Ninth Edition. Los Angeles: SAGE Publishing, 2022.

4 Bolsinger, Tod E. Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory. Expanded Edition. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2018.

5 Ledbetter, Bernice M., Robert Banks, and David C. Greenhalgh. Reviewing Leadership: A Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches. Second edition. Engaging culture. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2016.

20 April 2025

Maybe Church?


I write these words as the sun dawns on Good Friday morning 2025. For as long as I can remember this day, and Easter Sunday has been a profound and special moment in the annual rhythm of Christian life for me. It is a time to gather with community, to reflect on the death and resurrection of Jesus and how our lives together are caught up in the great gospel invitation of redemption and resurrection through Christ. It's also been a day of adrenalin for me, and needing to be on point as hundreds gather to participate in something inspiring, creative and beautiful.

But this Good Friday and Easter Sunday I'm at a bit of a lose end. On purpose that is,  giving my church and old staff team vital time to find their feet apart from its old Senior Pastor, and if I am honest, myself time to find my own feet apart from the role. I finished my role at the start of the year and for most of the year I'm choosing a kind of social obscurity, stepping away from the platforms I've lived on, handing back the keys, and the microphones. It's weird, but I think wise.

Actually, I'm not missing much at all about my old role 3 months down the track. What I feel the most acutely is the intentional dislocation from community and community gathered in moments like Easter. I will visit a mate's church today and some friendly faces will be there, but they aren't my community so it always feels a bit like rocking up to a birthday party of your friend's close group of friends.  

Absence from my church community will last for much of the year while a new leader is appointed, and in the meantime I have an opportunity to experience first hand what dislocation feels like. Over the years I've witnessed so many people disconnect from church communities, deconstruct and sometimes destruct their faith. Covid catalysed much soul searching for people and for many, the search ended in ending their commitments to gathering with a specific community in a specific rhythm. 

And there were lots of reasons. In the thick of those Covid years I remember sitting down to write a list of all the reasons I'd been given by people for why our church was no longer necessary and in about 30 minutes I'd rattled off 50 reasons that my bruised heart has squirrelled away over the years. Some really valid of course, and some just sad.

I still think a lot about those who deconstructed or just reprioritised life away from the rhythm and discipline of gathering. Sometimes I blame myself, but mostly I just feel sadness, and sometimes a little anger if they had young children who then missed out on the profoundly formative gift of faith development in community.

In a recent NCLS aritcle exploring findings from their annual Australian Community Survey and research from the Scanlon Foundation found that people who worship together have
• Higher social cohesion across all domains
• Higher levels of civic engagement,
• Higher levels of subjective wellbeing.

People think more collectively, they behave more selflessly and the feel more positive about life. Im not surprised about these findings because they are precisely what I've witnessed throughout my life in faith community.

Its easy to miss the forest of goodness for the few trees of challenge in the rhythm of Sunday church. Yes people can be irritating, pastors can disappoint, relationships strained, Sundays may not do it for you, and serving can be a drag sometimes. Yes the preacher may be not be all that engaging and the band off key. Yes the coffee might be weak and the parking lot full. Yes a sleep in sounds brilliant and a room full of people sounds stressful. 

Yes church might be all that. But its much more than that, and indeed all those niggles are not problems to resist but parts of the curriculum for our formation and maturation. Sure things can to some extent be done better, but the point of being church is being a community of people whose entwined lives and loves are being progressively reoriented away from self toward the love of God, one another and world. And in that place, people experience a different kind of flourishing and goodness in life that your sporting team or smashed avo at the cafe or sleep in can only try and mimic.

Some of the latest research from McCrindle is indicating a quiet return to Christianity by people who had walked away in recent years (see also here). Nearly 785,000 Australians who identified as having no religion in the 2016 Census listed Christianity in 2021. The statistical decline in Christianity in the past few decades is often presented as evidence for a societal shift away from faith toward secularity. But perhaps all it really reveals is that cultural Christianity is finally dead in Australia and people only tick the Christian box because they have a genuine conviction to identify as Christian.

Over 55's, according to McCrindle, are the largest age bracket returning to churches as are millennials and younger who are becoming increasingly disillusioned with post-modern relativism, the limitations of science and technology, and dwindling hope of economic prosperity in their generation. McCrindle notes that the majority of young people want to have spiritual conversations as they search for a sense of identity, meaning and purpose beyond these. 

Anecdotally I'm constantly hearing pastors say that new people keep showing up on Sunday and many are returning after a hiatus of several years of non attending any church.  I suspect the social cohesion of community, the engagement of purpose beyond self, and the reorientation of life around a commitment to spiritual formation and worship - is something the church uniquely offers and with it a life of renewed significance, purpose and  flourishing. 

Perhaps going it alone wears off.  It's already worn off for me and Ive only been absent for 12 weeks! Absence makes my heart grow fonder.

Hey if you've read this far in my Easter ramble, maybe this weekend is a good time to take a chance on a local evangelical church near you? Maybe it's one you left long ago, or its one you've driven by a hundred times? I guarantee it wont tick all your boxes, and it will feel awkward. 
But it might also be the start of something beautiful.


23 March 2025

Update - 2025


Hello! I've neglected writing for fun (here) over the past few years, mostly because my attention has been consumed largely by the constant process of writing for preaching, and by the research and writing connected to the Doctorate that I've been labouring in since 2022. These two commitments have certainly consumed my imagination and my energy for extra-curricular composition.... till now!

In the first months of 2025 I concluded my role as the Senior Pastor and primary preacher at Georges River Life Church and, I also finished the first full draft of my thesis and sent it off to my supervisors. So within the space of a month, the two largest writing commitments have abruptly ceased, and I am coming to terms with a wide open diary in which to look back and think forward.

For me, writing is my best avenue for thinking well and paying attention to what is happening in and around me. Writing or journaling is a spiritual practice to order and articulate often incomplete and confused thoughts and feelings. To quote American author and poet Jim Ferris, he said "I dont know what I think till I read what I have to say." I think that's me too. 

If you want to reach out, best to get me on my gmail email account: revscomo@gmail.com

Warmly
Scott

Old friends returning on my farewell Sunday...

Pressing send on my thesis (draft) ....


Preparing for a very long walk in June...