in a particular environment. It can be used in
many situations when a person or group enters a new situation, or when new
dynamics are at play in an older situation. The process can go in either direction.
The possibilities for the use of this model are almost endless:
• A
new neighborhood
• A
new job
• A
new school
• A
new congregation or pastor
•
A church attempting to reconnect with
its community, etc.
This model is also useful in assessing the
attitude of the community. What is our church’s reputation in this community?
What have we been doing or not doing to earn this reputation? How can we
improve our standing?
Ask how the people they know feel about the Church
in general. Ask about your Church’s reputation in the community. After they
tell you, ask yourself in which of Loewen’s quadrants your church is located?
Ask what more you and your church can do better to serve the community.
The
Vertical Axis
The vertical axis is the cooperator-competitor
continuum. The question is, “Does this person or group cooperate or compete
with the community (context)?” “What is our standing with the community and
what needs to happen to improve it?”
• A
reputation needs to be worked on
• People
to be worked with
• Values
to be adhered to
• Tasks
to be done,
•
Relationships to be developed
The question is: “Does this person cooperate or compete
with us, our purpose, and our values?”
The model is dynamic. Each individual or group is
placed anywhere along the continuum, based on whether that person or a church
is competing or cooperating with them and their needs. Using interviews, we can
learn the needs and views of the context. As the picture becomes clearer, what
is needed to access a more advantageous position becomes more apparent.
The
Horizontal Axis
The horizontal axis measures the insider-outsider
component of the model. It seems to be fairly straightforward to plot someone
either as an insider or an outsider.
A few questions help to clarify. “Do the people of
your church live in the community?” “Is the demographics of the community
reflected in the church membership and leadership?” “Is the church actively
involved in meeting the needs of the community?” The answers to these questions
alone will tell you a great deal about where on the insider-outsider axis your
church resides.
I have been in situations where I knew I would
always be considered an outsider based on who I am. You have been there as
well. The question then is what can you do to get as close as possible to being
considered an “honorary” insider? As you work on it, you may be surprised by
the results.
People who are normally insiders can become
outsiders. For example: Roman Catholics who are excommunicated; or family members
who are disinherited. Contexts are constantly changing. Churches that have been
in a community for fifty or one hundred years must keep their fingers on the
pulse and the needs of their community.
Each
of the Quadrants
Your church will be found somewhere in one of Loewen’s
quadrants. The church found in the lower right quadrant is seen as both an
outsider and a competitor. Of this church it is said, “It does not belong here
and must be avoided.” The Church in this quadrant, whether knowingly or not, will
probably have no involvement in the community. Justified or not, it will also
be considered to possess attitudes or values which are in competition with the
community.
One example is when a community’s demographics are
changing and most church members move out. And the church does nothing to minister
to the community’s new make-up.
In the second quadrant, the Church is considered
an insider-competitor. People say, “This church may belong to our community,
but it cannot be trusted.” This church has often been in the community for a
long time. However, for some reason, it has not given the community enough
reason to trust it.
The third quadrant declares, “This church may not
be from here, but it has our interests at heart.” A scenario of a church in
this quadrant would be one that has at least begun to reconnect by asking the
community how it can serve their needs.
Finally, the upper left-hand quadrant is where it
is said, “They belong to the community, and can be trusted.” This is the quadrant
where the Church should aspire to be found. In this scenario, the Church is not
only cooperating with the community but the community is cooperating with the
church.
The church in this quadrant has been discovering
community needs and serving its people. This church has reconnected with the
community and is in the best quadrant.
The life-applications of Loewen’s model are almost
limitless, particularly in the complex culture of the workplace or the
community.
• How
your new colleagues see you when you start a new job.
• How
the members of a church evaluate their new pastor.
• How
another culture sees us when we attempt to minister cross-culturally.
•
How the general public views and feels
about the Church in general and/or your church in particular.
Without knowing how it is perceived in the
community, the Church will find it exceedingly difficult to know where it
should begin reconnecting.
How does your church perceive its community? Why?
Do you know how your community perceives your
church?
For more information and practical
projects you can do to discover the make-up of the complex culture in your
community, I would refer you to: Kauffman,
J. Timothy. Reconnecting the Church:
Finding Our Place in Complex Culture. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2010. It can be purchased at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com, the iBooks
Store, and Xlibris.com; it is also in Kindle and Nook format. Check it out.
[1] Adapted from
Kauffman, J. Timothy. “Reconnecting the Church: Finding Our Place in Complex
Culture,” Bloomington, IL: Xlibris. 2010, pp. 164-169.
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