Guide on the Side

From Edu-Blogged news and specifically Will Richardson, I read how teaching is changing because of the web. Rather than the teacher serving as the authoritative voice and primary source of class content, students look to the web for resources. In response, teachers may either ignore this reality, fight against it, or serve as a "guide on the side". Even further, teachers may encourage and facilitate the web's use. In this case, teachers serve as connectors rather than content providers. They bring their students to the information that the teacher finds most helpful and they provide contexts for working through the material. As I am fairly new to the teaching scene, these thoughts are quite sobering. I get strokes when I get to be the 'sage on the stage'. Moving to the side changes the way I think about teaching completely.

As I think about churches, I realize the web will or ought to change the way we do church and leadership. Rather than the pastor or leaders serving as the one source or even the primary source of information for the community, church members will be looking to the Internet for resources regarding their faith. Leadership as the single funnel or portal of information will cease to be workable. Leaders will have two options -- to control the information, which will become increasingly difficult, or again, like the new type of teacher, to serve as a connector rather than a content provider. Leaders will come alongside to help gather, interpret, start conversations, and build the community around helpful content.

I believe if we work with this cultural change rather than fight against it, we will see wonderful life come to our faith communities. I've heard some leaders respond, when I ask them who the leader of their community is, 'hopefully the Holy Spirit". I believe this shift creates an opportunity for a move in this direction, i.e. to an egalitarian spirit-led community. Although it may feel like a chastened role for the leader, I do believe "leader as connector" creates a space for the Holy Spirit to serve as the primary leader of our communities.

Technorati Tags: Leadership, teaching, technology

Comments

[Graham Doel]

I agree. We can bemoan the changing culture or engage with it. The struggle for the hard pressed leader of the local chruch is that they are so busy propping up the institution they have little time left for innovation.

[brodie]

great thoughts. I think this also revitalised the shepherd motif for leaders. Why - cause most people I know who are gathering info from many sources want someone to help them process all this stuff. Thus we as leaders need to lay down the "control" structures we've build so we can pick up our "compass" and help guide and instruct those we seek to lead.

[tk]

Thanks for the thoughts. I agree with what you are saying. Leaders as guides on the side could also facilitate the move away from a Sunday morning focus and make this journey more of a 24/7 thing. Obviously, corporate worship is important. But focus on a weekend service and a single communicator, often lets us off the hook from doing our own homework.
I'm sure this isn't a new idea but I really like the thought of a community working on the same homework or general topic or verses or whatever during the week. Then take what would have been the traditional "teaching time" and let it be a discussion or sharing of what folks discoverd during the week.

[Rhett Smith]

Thanks for this post. It makes me wonder about this concept of moving ourselves right out of a job. I think the Church would change more for the better, if everyone wasn't so afraid about job security. But who am I to talk...I rely on a certain amount of job security. Which makes me realize that we must begin, as pastors, to more and more adapt to the context of our situations, and to gain other skills so that we can be out in front of change, rather than holding up in the back.

[fernando]

with this post and the last one, i think you are onto a very fruitful and necessary line of thought. the whole question and "culture" of leadership needs to be rethought in the light of changes in access to information, knowledge and opinion about matters of faith.

[Ryan Bolger]

I like this convesation -- yes, I agree, if the church practiced 'guide on the side', it would mean revolutionary changes...