Canoeing the Mountains – Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory

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Canoeing Books 1 Introduction to Paddling: Canoeing Basics for Lakes and Rivers By American Canoe Association

For Christendom trained leaders, perhaps the most encouraging realization is that uncharted territory does not make our experience, education, and expertise irrelevant, just incomplete.” What training and education do you have right now that can benefit you down the line?The ultimate how-to guide to the exciting water sports for both novices and more experienced intermediate-level paddlers, with techniques for mastering flat water, white water, open water and the sea.

Adaptive leaders don’t simply impose their own “great idea.” Instead, they observe the new reality, collectively develop multiple hypotheses about what is going on, and try possible solutions. Like Lewis and Clark, we must stay on course with the same goal, but be ready to change how we’re going to get there. The real challenge though is recognizing and persisting through sabotage, which Bolsinger believes can be expected when leading in uncharted territory. That was an eye-opener. What does pastoral leadership look like in a dramatically changing (and largely unknown) cultural context? This is the question that Tod Bolsinger set out to answer in his 2018 book Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory. Bolsinger is currently Fuller Seminary’s vice president for vocation and formation—and assistant professor of practical theology—and was a pastor for nearly thirty years in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Using an analogy from the famous eighteenth-century expedition of the vast Louisiana territory by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Bolsinger urges Christian leaders to get off the beaten path and set out on uncharted territory as the Church faces considerable new realities.Over the last ten years, I have had one church leader after another whisper to me the same frustrated confession: “Seminary didn’t train me for this. I don’t know if I can do it. I just don’t know . . .” This new 40 th anniversary edition has been completely updated in line with the latest sea kayaking developments by Wayne Horodowich, a longtime friend of Hutchinson’s and the founder of University of Sea Kayaking. Bolsinger says that ministry on the map is about solving “technical challenges.” Their solutions are based on best practices, offered by an expert. For example, how to lead a Bible study or set up a fund-raiser. Bolsinger splits his wisdom into five parts. First, in “Understanding Uncharted Territory,” Bolsinger emphasizes that good leaders in this age recognize that the world in front of them is nothing like the world behind them. [2] For the church, the environment in which we pastors led churches in the past was to open a building and put out a sign; this is all it took for people to come. People were favorable to the church. But now, Bolsinger warns, we live in a post-Christian society, where people are suspicious of the church and unwilling to give up a good Sunday. His point? If we lead with the methods we used in the 1950s, we will be quite upset about the declining results. Bolsinger also notes that a large number of pastors are leaving ministry behind each year because they do not have the tools needed to lead in the church of the twenty-first century. Seminary did not train them to lead, but only focused on skills necessary to preach, serve in hospitals, lead weddings, etc. Many pastors were trained in a setting where they could assume people would come to hear and respect what they had to preach, but people in our society simply do not care anymore about our message. These changes in the world ahead are only more evident in a society marked by Coronavirus. Second, I appreciated Bolsinger’s discussion on mission versus methodology. Rightly so, Bolsinger emphasizes that it is the mission that should rule everything, not the methods. Leaders and organizations often neglect their mission in favor of formerly successful methods; churches will go through a split before giving up a method that is no longer fruitful. Again, tongue-in-cheek, Bolsinger highlights that the mission of Lewis and Clark was to get to the west coast, not to canoe there. As soon as their method was not helpful for the mission, they left the canoes behind. Unfortunately, in my own experience, leaders are very reluctant to give up old successful methods of doing things (the glory days), even if they cannot take you into the next stage.

Finally, if you are heading out for a full day or multi-day plan your food stops. There are many pubs along the way that provide food and drink, but most paddlers choose to bring a picnic and have a lazy meal on the riverbanks.

This concise guide, written by Registered Maine Guide and inveterate paddler Michael Daugherty, features 50 of the best sea kayaking adventures along the New England coast, from Maine’s Bold Coast south to the mouth of the Connecticut River. These are trips that can be done in a day or turned into an overnight, perfect for beginner to intermediate kayakers looking to explore the storied coastlines of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. The book includes day trips near large northeastern cities like New York City and Boston. Each of the trips features a full description and map of the route, plus bullets on distance and time, where to launch, tide and currents, “plan B” routes, and nearby attractions. An at-a-glance trip planner and a selection of nature and history essays round out the offerings in this essential sea kayaker’s guidebook. I would have liked to see this leadership model rooted in scripture. Lewis and Clark certainly were singular leaders, and the book invokes good leadership theory. I can't help but wonder what one might draw from the leadership of Moses, of David, of Jesus, and of Paul, each who in some sense led in uncharted territory. The conflict situation of Acts 6 strikes me as a marvelous example of a system that wasn't working, and of leadership that exhibited relational, and spiritual competence linked to clear missional focus while adapting to problems associated with expansion, resulting in a transformed, rapidly growing church and an enlarged and diversified leadership nucleus. They arise when the world around us has changed but we continue to live on the successes of the past. They are challenges that cannot be solved through compromise or win-win scenarios, or by adding another ministry or staff person to the team. They demand that leaders make hard choices about what to preserve and to let go. They are challenges that require people to learn and to change, that require leaders to experience and navigate profound loss. [6] He also reminds the Christian leader continually that people do not like the uncomfortablility that comes with change. "People do not resist change, per see. People resist loss." (138) In this changing world, we need to add a new set of leadership tools. And this applies equally well to Christians serving in leadership beyond the parish. The challenges of a changing world come even more rapidly in business, education and nonprofit leadership. And while this book’s primary audience is congregational leaders, I have added some material specifically for Christian leaders in other contexts.

From Lewis and Clark we will learn that if we can adapt and adventure, we can thrive. That while leadership in uncharted territory requires both learning and loss, once we realize that the losses won’t kill us, they can teach us. And mostly, we will learn that to thrive off the map in an exciting and rapidly changing world means learning to let go, learn as we go and keep going no matter what. Andrew is Director of Communications for the North American Lutheran Church (NALC), and was ordained a deacon in the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) in 2019. He currently serves as assisting clergy at Incarnation Anglican Church (State College, PA), and has served as a lay minister in Lutheran and Baptist churches since 2010. Andrew received a Bachelor of Science in Religion degree from Liberty University (Lynchburg, VA) and a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry and the North American Lutheran Seminary (Ambridge, PA). In May 2022, he completed his Master of Sacred Theology degree from Trinity, where his thesis explored positive and negative missiological practices used by Anglican missionaries to the Samburu tribe in northwest Kenya, particularly surrounding inculturation, gender, and indigenous leadership. He is married to Shannon, and has a son, Ephrem. They live together in Boalsburg, PA where they enjoy walking outside on nice summer days. When what you are doing isn't working, there are two things you cannot do: (1) Do what you have already done, (2) Do nothing." (108)

Bolsinger says that transformational leadership does not begin with transformation. It begins with competence. Before a team will follow a leader into uncharted territory, there needs to be a sense that the leader has already done a good job stewarding the resources on the map. How have you in your ministry done the following: “Encouraging...diversity in your leadership pool means greater diversity of thought, which, in turn, leads to improved problem solving?” (197) Thanks to JK Jones for this recommendation. Took me a while to get to it. Wish I had read it earlier. Briefly interacting with the Lewis and Clark story, Bolsinger writes about leadership that actually transforms the organization (read: church, school, non-profit, etc). His principles are powerfully laid out. His insights are helpful and cause a number of light-bulb moments.