The emerging road
The Pilgrimage of Adaptive Change
by Kara Markell
“Walker, there is no road,
The road is made by walking.”
[Antonio Machado, from Proverbs and Songs #29]
The religious landscape in the United States continues to change in complex ways. Declining religious affiliation and the corresponding rise of the “nothing in particulars,” increasing threats of Christian nationalism, and social and economic inequity, religion’s role in violence and politics, and the lasting effects of Covid-19 have all had an impact on local religious communities. Leaders in these communities (professional and volunteer) often feel ill-equipped to meet the challenges they face. Many religious leaders sense that internal change is needed, but struggle to determine the necessary steps to adapt in ways that will allow their community to thrive.
In its simplest sense, adaptive leadership is the ability to mobilize a group to handle difficult challenges. While most people hope for a quick fix or one-size-fits-all program to create a sustainable, just and missional community, adaptive leaders know these kinds of programs rarely work long-term. The truth is that lasting adaptive change depends on the particular context and requires sustained energy for what is typically a lengthy process. In this work, it can often feel as though, as the poet suggests, there is no road. Rather, we are walking on the road as it emerges.
Photo: Unsplash
There is a spiritual practice, common to diverse religious communities, that holds wisdom for adaptive leaders living with hope as they embark into an uncertain future: pilgrimage. Traditionally pilgrimage is defined as a journey to a sacred site. However, the stages and practices of pilgrimage can be a useful metaphor for the process of adaptive change and the skills necessary for adaptive leaders.
A pilgrim is one who seeks and the pilgrim way is a path of continual becoming. Pilgrimage is an archetypal pattern which resonates deeply within the human soul. From the Hero’s Journey to the Hajj or Camino de Santiago, pilgrimage is an outer and inner sacred journey that leads to transformation. Leading a community in developing adaptive capacity or making adaptive change is also a sacred journey that requires leaders to continually seek understanding and check their assumptions as they make decisions with and for the community in a dynamic, shifting world.
Responding to the Call
The first stage of pilgrimage is the call. This is the sense that something is not working, or that what has ‘worked’ in the past is no longer effective. It is sometimes an inkling that another way is possible. It can come from within, in conversation with others, or through lived experiences of disruption. When the call is first heard, many have no idea what they are being called to but know that they can’t stay where they are now.
Responding to the call requires discernment and courage. It may take time for the call to be heard within the community, and some may resist it. During this period, it’s important for adaptive leaders to remember that resistance is rooted most often in fear of loss, not fear of change. Taking time for ritual, prayer, or other authentic expressions of your tradition can normalize and alleviate fear and grief, creating a safe space for the community to discern the call and take the first few steps down the new path they’re embarking on.
When the call is confirmed, it is time to begin building adaptive capacity. This is something leaders should always be doing, but the need is especially critical in this moment. Building adaptive capacity is like the training one engages in to prepare for an extended journey, strengthening the muscles needed for the demands of the road ahead. The work of this time is internal and somewhat diagnostic in nature. It may include building resilience, learning new skills, collecting data, mapping assets, dreaming, and visioning.
Photo: Kara Markell
One Christian congregation in the Northwest experienced a call come from outside of their congregation from the larger community. This church, which had a history of caring for the most vulnerable in their city, was invited into conversations to create a new kind of day shelter. This shelter would be in their church building. The invitation resonated deeply with the congregation’s mission, so the leadership said yes, not knowing for certain where the path would lead.
Taking a Leap of Faith
The second movement of pilgrimage is separation. Answering the call to something new requires stepping onto an uncertain path. Adaptive leadership can be disruptive, some within the community will doubt, some will actively resist stepping onto this road. At this stage of separating from what was, while still discerning what will be, the sense of risk becomes acute. Some exhibit the impulse to go back, so adaptive leaders must be keenly aware of the energy in the community and the appropriate timing of separation.
When doubt and resistance arise, the adaptive leader has some tools at their disposal to mitigate the effects. The leaders can find ways to honor the past with appreciation and gratitude. Appreciative Inquiry is a useful model for this kind of reflection, inviting storytelling from community members and providing opportunities for creative expression of the community’s past. Patience is a virtue of adaptive leaders, one which they must exercise with resistant community members, without allowing the obstacles to derail the process.
Taking a “leap of faith” is a common thread in many sacred stories. An adaptive leader can find affirmation in these stories – Abraham’s covenantal journey (Judaism), The Siddhartha Gautama’ quest for enlightenment (Buddhism), Muhammad’s flight to Medina (Islam), the Disciples on Pentecost (Christianity) – and communities can be strengthened by them, illustrating how their own journey is part of the larger story of faith. Opening to new possibilities and taking the courageous leap is easier when one know others have done it before.
The congregation referenced above knew at the invitation that they had to say yes. At the core of their identity was a commitment to working for justice and engaging in social action. Their faith and sense of vocation moved them across the threshold, not knowing what the eventual outcome would be, only that they wanted to be part of effecting positive change in their neighborhood.
Embracing the Journey
The journey itself is the third stage. This is the actual process of discerning a specific adaptive change. This segment of the journey can be long and requires sustained energy from the community and its leaders. Like a pilgrimage, there are times of ease and challenge – sometimes it will feel like walking downhill and sometimes like climbing up a mountain; the weather may change at any moment; you’ll need to balance when to rest and when to push on. The greatest skill an adaptive leader can possess in this stage is the ability to hold steady, providing a sense of stability and confidence along the unknown path. The pilgrim knows that no one can predict or control the challenges that will arise along the way, so it falls to the adaptive leader to carry the vision that moved the community across the threshold. It is essential to have companions, allies, and confidants along the journey who can offer a listening ear, insight, encouragement, and personal affirmation.
As the church moved onto the path of change, they were met with a number of community partners who participated together in an iterative dialogue about possible ways to meet the needs of unsheltered people in their neighborhood. They learned more about other religious communities, nonprofit and civic organizations which may participate in this shared commitment.
Photo: PickPik
The moment in pilgrimage when one finally attains the wisdom they were seeking is the Encounter stage. It can be an encounter with the divine, the sacredness of a place, or an enlightening realization. However it arrives, this is the moment in adaptive leadership when a breakthrough is clear, that something has shifted in the culture of the community. Encounter generates wonder, awe, and openness to something new. This is the creative, generative moment when new possibilities begin to crystalize into real action and the energy necessary to bring the new thing to life is born.
Through these conversations and explorations, the congregation discerned a possibility worthy of embodiment in their place. They called it a “day spa”, a day shelter which not only attended to the practical and physical needs of individuals, but also to their social and emotional needs. In integrating their learning and implementing this new ministry, the congregation experienced a renewed sense of self and vocation.
Returning to a New Beginning
The journey culminates in a Return. But the important thing to remember about pilgrimage is that it’s a journey of transformation, and one never actually returns to exactly where they were. The world is different because the pilgrims are different. Return begins a time of reflection and integration, unpacking the wisdom collected on the journey and synthesizing it into the daily functioning of the community. In the adaptive process, this is when the new thing is embodied, activating an iterative cycle of action, experience, and reflection. The community continues to engage in their context with a new understanding of their meant-for-ness and the resilience and wisdom acquired on the journey. By doing so, when a new call is heard, they have the capacity and experience to move forward with confidence.
Machado’s poem continues, “As you walk, you make your own road...” Trust that the road for this sacred journey will emerge. The pilgrimage of adaptive change can be arduous and uncertain. It is can also be joyous and life-giving. Most importantly, it is always transformative and always worth taking.
Header Photo: Kenneth Spencer, CC 2.0 BY NC SA