ORGANIZATIONS ARE CONVERSATIONS

Somewhere along the line I read the statement that “organizations are conversations”. I wish I can remember who wrote those words or in what context they were written, but I cannot. What struck me at that moment was not only the truth of that statement but that it can be applied to any organization including, perhaps especially, to the church, both the larger church as well as the local congregation.

One of the main reasons why conflict arises in any organization, including the church – yes, even the church is not exempt from conflict, he says with tongue firmly planted in cheek – is that conversations do not take place or they take place where they should not: parking lots, in the corner at coffee time, anywhere but where they should. Open conversation is the lifeblood of any organization, including the church.

When organizations fail to communicate, problems arise. When the communication is one-sided or is not open to all, problems eventually arise. Even when everything is going smoothly, when no problems have surfaced, conversations still must take place: real conversations, in-depth conversations and not just those around the coffee machine or water cooler or even coffee hour.

Successful organizations are those where conversations are going on and ongoing all over the place and not just in the board room or the vestry conference room. Furthermore, good conversations, conversations that produce growth, are, again, vital not just for the wellbeing of the organization but for the wellbeing of everyone who is part of it. If there are those who feel left out, who believe their thoughts and ideas and even they themselves are not important, then the organization is less for it.

There is an art to conversation, good, meaningful conversation. And that art has to be learned, even taught. Some of us are good listeners and some of us have a hard time listening to anyone but ourselves. Some of us are good talkers; but if the only ones we talk to are the proverbial “choir”, then we are wasting our breathe and their time. That, of course, is not good.

Good conversation can only take place, however, when everyone from top down to bottom up is both willing to speak and willing to listen and, even more importantly, change when that is the outcome of the conversation. Change: change one’s mind, change one’s way of doing things, and even change one’s heart because what needs to be changed is for the betterment of the organization.

There are times when we do not want to enter into conversations because we see no need because we like it the way it is. But honest conversations may reveal that the way it is the way it should be, at least for now.

For us in the church, we must never be afraid to enter into conversation, to always be in conversation. It is the only way to be church. It is the only way for us to be about who we are and who we are called to be. It is the only way to be.