by: Rev. Dr. Anna Hall
Close your eyes and imagine your congregation in the year 2075. When you consider what your faith community will be like in fifty years, what do you imagine? What about spiritual life in general? How will people be living out their spiritual lives in 2075?
If you consider the picture your imagination just painted, it is made up of many elements:
- What we think about the future of our local community, country, and world.
- What we think about the trends in spiritual life in the 21st century.
- What we hope and dream for our own spiritual lives over time.
- What we wish for our congregation to be in the future.
Do you have a moment? Take a piece of paper and write down how those elements informed your picture of your congregation in 50 years.
In the field of Futures Literacy, these elements are called “anticipatory assumptions.” You may have been unaware of some of your assumptions about the future. Writing them down or simply imagining them can bring them to light. What did you notice? What surprised you?
It’s important to identify our assumptions about the future because they guide our actions, which then create the future in small and large ways. You can probably picture this more easily in other areas of your life. For example, if you anticipate several long trips in the car this week, you’ll likely purchase a full tank of gas; conversely, if you’re flying out of town, you won’t. This action directly affects the amount of gas in your car. Similarly, if you assume the stock market will rise, you will invest in one way. If you assume there will be a downturn or recession, you may invest differently. Your resulting investment action then contributes to the outcome of those investments.
What does all of this have to do with congregations?
When we hold anticipatory assumptions about our faith communities, it shapes the way we engage, lead, and guide their evolution. We can also change our anticipatory assumptions if we practice reflection in this area, especially when we do so in community with others.
Many of our assumptions anticipate the continuation of current trends, or at least hope they will. Others may assume trends will change. Very rarely do these assumptions allow us to imagine a completely new thing that will occur or evolve. Christians in medieval times would have had difficulty imagining the ways the printing press and Reformation would change Christianity forever. Jewish people in Nazareth before Jesus was born would have had trouble imagining the church of Acts, the church of Constantine, and the church of today. Would anyone in those eras have imagined a virtual church that meets over Zoom?
Reflecting on these assumptions in community is crucial, as research suggests that it is the most effective way to raise our awareness of our assumptions and make room for imagining completely novel ideas that might lie in our future. Communal reflection also provides a supportive environment for admitting our assumptions and working to change them, if so desired.
There are additional benefits to this work. Futures Literacy can also increase the ability of individuals and organizations to act consistently with their values and aspirations. It can interrupt our current patterns of thought and behavior and overcome a poverty of imagination. Futures Literacy can move us from overwhelm to action.
Would you like to build the future of your faith community? The work starts here. Convergence provides Futures Labs to congregations and organizations seeking to change their assumptions to change the future. Are you ready? Reach out to us using this link. We are ready to dig in.