Constraints can be beautiful
Part 1 of a multi-part series on how to embrace them.
When I am working with churches on moving forward into a new normal, occasionally I will ask those present to connect all the dots in the image below with four straight lines but without lifting their pens or retracing any lines.
For anyone who hasn’t done this exercise before, it can be a real stumper. I won’t totally spoil it for you, but I will tell you that the trick is not to think just within the square created by the dots. The goal is to help participants realize that sometimes we put constraints on ourselves that simply aren’t there.
Sometimes, though, the constraints truly exist. Recently a new colleague and friend introduced me to the book A Beautiful Constraint: How to Transform Your Limitations Into Advantages, and Why It's Everyone's Business by Adam Morgan and Mark Barden. The premise is that if we are set on who we are (values) and what we’ve been put here to do (purpose), then the tension between those convictions and our constraints can be launchpads for creativity.
There is so much food for thought in the book that is applicable for the Church in this season that this article is just the first installment in a multi-part series. To get us started, though, I want to share the kinds of constraints Morgan and Barden line out that have the potential to be beautiful instead of defeating:
Foundation. This kind of asset is usually seen as something we must have in order to succeed. A limitation of foundation in the case of church, then, might be not having a pastor or a permanent location.
Resource. This kind of asset could be money or members. A limitation of resource in the church world, then, might be a shrinking budget or declining attendance.
Time. This kind of asset is self-explanatory because we all feel its pinch! A limitation of time in church life could be fewer members-in-ministry hours, which translate to a lot of open seats on boards and committees.
Method. This kind of asset is having options for how to get things done. A limitation of method, as a result, could be having to do things in a very particular way. If the only time all your church members are together in worship, for example, you might need to find ways to accomplish both the primary goal of worship as well as other functions essential to congregational life (e.g., visioning, decision making, community building).
I think most church leaders can recognize the challenges they face in the kinds of constraints above. To my mind it is very helpful to break down the kinds of constraints, though, because then it becomes more possible to envision ways forward instead of the impediments feeling like a tangled mess.
Step one to seeing the constraints as beautiful is actually naming what the constraints are. We won’t automatically embrace them as the gift they could be, though. For that we have to move through stages in our relationship to the constraints. That will be the topic for next week’s article.