Thanks for following the “Of Mouse and Church” series, reflecting on the Disney Institute‘s professional development courses. I hope you are inspired with their content as much as I am! I encourage you to find out more about the courses at their website: www.disneyinstitute.com.
The focusing question of this series is this:
What would it be like for people to have a faith formation experience so extravagantly welcoming; with such radically inclusive hospitality; and so deeply Spirit-centered in God’s love that they were already excited and planning to return for another experience before they left the building?
I think there’s a lot of wisdom contained in Disney’s guest-centered experience that can help us live out our calling to follow in Christ’s Way of welcome. This is Part Two of a a multi-part post on the first of the Disney Institute’s Three Pillars Approach : Leadership Excellence.
Values into Vision
The Disney Institute’s thesis on leadership is this:
Leaders establish, operationalize, and sustain the values and vision by which organizations thrive.
In the first post in this series, we looked at the origins of our values and where they drive our vision. It’s good to keep in mind how the values remain foundational: remembering the original sources. They are as important as the regualr review of the “now.” They help us whom who we are and what we stand for. And maybe, they will help to tell us why we’re going where we’re going. Our values help us “explain the why” of what we believe and do.
For example, one of Jesus’ first “values” statement comes from his first words out of the desert:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Right off the mark, the value of sharing the Gospel’s good news to the poor (in Gustavo Gutierrez’ words, a “preferential option for the poor”). That comes from freedom for the imprisoned, renewed sight for the blind, and the release those who have been crushed. And why is this the case? Because it is time to proclaim the year of God’s favor. So, Leaders/Disciples, how do we engage our Progressive Christian values with this vision to celebrate this?
Operationalizing our Values
Knowing the “Why?”, we turn our attention to the “How”: the vision.
Disney Institute has a great concept on moving from “Why” to “How,” from values to vision, called the Leadership Lens. They say beginning with consistent values, and expanding the vision to the present, and planning for the future, an organization can “build a culture by design.”
They emphasize that this “culture by design” happens when leadership and the organization have values that are aligned with each other. It starts with the proactive presence of the values. It changes in application to a given situation (as we can see in the Epistles of Paul and others). Even with this situational awareness of circumstance, the leaders are there to staunchly defend against potential threats to the values.
Finally, Disney Institute shares this belief:
“Everyone should be considered a leader.”
This is one of the parts of their leadership model that I find compelling for faith communities. The idea that everyone is equally invested is exciting! The belief that every member of its community are leaders shapes the lived ownership of the future. It creates a culture, by design, that acknowledges the unique giftedness that God has knitted into their being. What a great acknowledgement of their personhood!
An important lesson from Venn Diagrams
One of the repeated themes in the Disney Institute’s sessions on Leadership is this: “Tell your story.” By sharing who we are as people, and what our values are and where our values come from, we can help others understand where shapes our vision.
The idea is that when a person’s values are integrated within their “local” working area, and the values of that area are integrated with that of their larger organization, the aligned values will shine out. People will know what you believe, and what you stand for.
Note: This diagram is modified from the original (leader, unit, and organization) to reflect our focus on leadership in the church.
When a leader’s values are aligned with that of their organization, that is when the magic happens. This is key, as we’ll discuss in a moment. While local values may differ, they should still be aligned with the larger organization. In the case of churches, it helps others see what we believe and how we live in Christ’s Way every day. And, it helps us to demonstrate that our words and our actions match our values.
Telling our Story
One of the great things about our faith tradition is the dependence on Telling our Story. Jesus’ love for parable and storytelling is one of the tools that allowed the Gospel’s good news to spread fast. We have a great example of a value-sharing story in Matthew 13. I find it fun that the Disciples ask Jesus, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answers them with a story: The Parable of the Sower.
“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you have ears, hear!”
Matthew 13:3-9 (NRSVUE)
What can we learn from the Parable of the Sewer and our Venn Diagram on “aligned values?” Play with this story, and the tree parts of our Venn Diagram:
- It happens when a leader’s vision for ministry is strong, and aligned with the denomination’s values, but not in sync with the local congregation’s heritage. That creates a tension within the vision that breaks the relationship between shepherd and flock–an “Us and Them” relationship. The seeds on this path dry up, since the only place they are fed is where the pastor can tend them.
- And it also happens that the leader’s vision is not aligned with the denomination’s values, but the congregation holds tightly to their identity within the denomination. That creates a different tension within–a separation due to a “We and You” relationship. Here the thorns grow among the wheat, with competing visions vying for the available resources.
- Third (since there are three parts of this Venn system), it happens that the leader and the congregation have a mutual vision, but that vision does not align with the denomination’s identity. Part of me wants to say that this is the most distancing relationship. It cuts off the wider heritage and relationships that helped form a faith community’s original values. This tension–an “Us and only Us” relationship–is the seeds on rocky ground. No roots matter, only the moment’s most passionate vision.
But, listen with your ears (hidden Mickey moment!): When each of us as Leaders in our Churches, and Disciples of Christ’s Way, ensure that our values are aligned If all three parts are aligned, that “good earth” moment happens! It creates an ambitious view of the future that everyone can believe in, and promises a future that is better than what now exits.
A Vision for Today
Let’s keep these things in mind:
- It’s all about Relationships, the “business” of being church is discovering who is our neighbor. It takes us, the people, to make the dream a reality;
- Leadership is Discipleship; and Discipleship, Leadership. And every person, member and guest, leads in their individual giftedness within the church; and
- Telling our Story helps everyone understand who God has called us to be and do. We can help others understand what we believe (our values) and where we feel God is calling us (our vision).
In the next post, we’re going to get super-practical on this (because while some folks like theory, others prefer the practical. It’s two different ways to tell the story! We’ll see how these seeds grow from the fertile earth of our Spirit-inspired minds!
What’s Next?
I invite you to join me in prayerful discernment on how God is calling us to understand our Leadership, Engagement, and Service. And I invite you to help form the language that best speaks about these areas from our heritage and values.
This series will be posting out over the next week, and I’d love to hear what you think about seeing the church through Mouse-shaped glasses. Do leave a comment and add to the conversation.
Until next time, friends. Hope to see you real soon!
-HEF
Note: You can read about the inspiration and the foundations of my 2024 Sabbatical by following this link.
