Last week leaders from 41 WCA Member Churches gathered with Gary Hamel for a 2-day workshop about church innovation.“If we can learn from some of best minds in the world we can spark continuous change and innovation,” said president of the WCA, Jim Mellado, “Transformation and leadership development doesn’t just happen two days at the Summit; it happens over a the course of a year.”
One of the unassuming topics at the event was the idea of leaders as anthropologists. While engineers are working on concrete ideas, anthropologists go out and sit by streams, think, and then discuss their thoughts. Anthropologists see what humans really do and develop a deep understanding of them.
Pastor Elliot W. Sands from Church on the Hill in San Jose, CA wrote about seeing his world though anthropology:
“The gathering with Gary Hamel was another outstanding event offered by the WCA. I left encouraged to come back and look at our church with fresh eyes. One aspect of the event that settled in with me is the need to see the world through the lens of an anthropologist.
“As a Pastor I often think I know what is best for our people, but I haven't asked them. I haven't stood in their shoes. Being an anthropologist allows me to bring different perspectives into the conversation. When change happens, it's from the top and announced to our congregation on a Sunday morning. If we can bring people into the conversation early, not only is there a better chance of acceptance toward change, there’s also a higher likelihood of getting it right.
“We want to do everything we can to communicate Jesus’ Word and help people live out what it means to follow Him.”
All church leaders can learn from Hamel’s latest thinking on church innovation, when he joins Bill Hybels and Jim Mellado for the Leader’s Gathering webcast on March 17, 2010. You can participate at a Summit host church site in your area, or view via the WCA website.
by: Nancy Gruben (@NancyGruben)
Communications, WCA
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