One of the things that keeps a local church 'stuck' - unable to innovate effectively, move forward and engage with younger generations - is an unspoken tendency to prioritise the voices of older, well-established insiders.
1/

People who do this never think that's what they're doing. They just disregard out of hand the voices and opinions of those who CAN'T know as well as they do because those people are, well, younger, newer or outsiders.
2/

This is not to say church leaders, councils, etc ignore the voices of older, well-established insiders. It is to recognise that those are the voices who ASSUME they should be heard and will therefore speak louder. So, the risk is that those voices drown out all others.
3/

To have a truer picture of how God might be at work, of what effective, connected mission and ministry might look like, I think leaders almost have to have a bias away from those voices.
(I know that sounds bad!)
4/

Because the voices of older, well-established insiders can be so loud, you have to discipline yourself to seek out other voices. Remind yourself there's a whole world out there whose voices are not represented in the leadership team, council meetings unless you represent them
5/

It's not about ignoring anyone, but it is about understanding and attending to the power dynamics of how decisions get made and whose interests are most often served.
6/

Over the years, in multiple contexts, my approach has been to attend to the opinions, views and voices of:

OUTSIDERS as well as insiders
THE YOUNG as well as the old
NEW PEOPLE as well as those who have been around for years.

7/

I'm not as good at it as some people. As a proper Vicar, I have to 'hold' all those voices and can't ignore any of them. Yet, I see so many churches in hock to older, well-established insiders. They stopped listening to their communities years ago and are slowly dying off.
8/

It's extraordinary to me how this little formula (practised for years, but distilled over a coffee yesterday) has served me and the churches I've been involved with so well.
9/

Listen to the Lord and listen to the people he has sent you to as you discern vision for the way forward.

But ensure the voices of those who aren't 'in the room where it happens' - younger, newer, those outside - are heard.
Represent!

Fin/