It's time to make friends with change. Most of the change literature of the 1980's and 1990's speaks of change as a problem to be solved or a challenge to rise above. Implicit in the arguments is a negative valuation of change. But change is neither good, nor bad — change just is. If we view change as problematic, we will set ourselves at odds with change. If we embrace change as a natural — and positive —part of life, then we ally ourselves with an incredible force for growth. This is the thesis of The Seven Life Lessons of Chaos: Timeless Wisdom from the Science of Change. John Briggs and F. David Peat present seven "lessons" of change from research in chaos theory. These lessons help readers better understand the nature of change and enable them to adopt a positive stance in relation to change. The seven lessons are: (1) the lesson of the vortex, (2) the lesson of subtle influence, (3) the lesson about collective creativity and renewal, (4) the lesson about simple and complex, (5) the lesson about fractals and reason, (6) the lesson about fractal curl and duration, and (7) the lesson about the tide of a new perception.

The Lesson of the Vortex

When water in a turbulent stream hits an object, it leaves a vortex in its wake. The vortex is a self-organized order in the midst of chaos. The lesson of the vortex teaches that in times of great turbulence, there are places of stability, order, and safety. Effective leadership in a time of turbulent change creates a vortex, adapting to shifting conditions and providing stability and order. Rigid, unyielding systems cannot adapt to turbulent change, and they get swept away. Self-organizing systems are flexible and responsive, allowing the vortex to emerge.

In churches where the structures and processes are rigid and tightly controlled, there is little adaptability. When change comes, it is threatening, frightening, and sometimes destructive. When churches are flexible and responsive, change simply motivates self-organization to a new, more appropriate form. The key is learning how to see through the turbulence to the place of greatest potential for the vortex to occur. One resource that teaches how to see through chaos to order is Dewitt Jones' Everyday Creativity. (See the video review and discussion guide.)

The Lesson of Subtle Influence

Physicists now realize that influences as subtle as a butterfly flapping its wings in China may result in significant shifts in weather patterns halfway around the world. There is no such thing as an "insignificant act." The smallest cause may yield the most incredible effect. This is the lesson of subtle influences. Subtle influences are unpredictable, small, often unintended acts that move us to new places. When we are aware of subtle influences, unexpected change ceases to be unexpected. Change is natural, and we are better able to respond to every new contingency.

Subtle influences in the church may take the form of a misunderstood word or phrase, a simple change in a pattern or process, the loss or gain of a single member, a need within the community, or any of a thousand other factors. Leaders in the church gain much when they remember that there is no such thing as a casual comment or an insignificant act.

The Lesson about Collective Creativity and Renewal

Dealing with chaos and turbulent change is more than most individuals can handle. Collaboration, cooperation, and the pooling of intellectual and material resources are essential for navigating our chaotic world. Adaptability depends on a deep well of experience, creativity, and variety from which to draw. Collectively, we possess much more than any one individual. As we share thinking, feelings, visions, and ideas, we generate the kind of creativity needed to adapt to chaotic change. Better yet, creativity breeds creativity. When collective creativity is at the center of our organizations, then we create self-renewing systems. Chaos demands continuous improvement and renewal, which is impossible without dynamic creativity. Leaders play a dual role in creating an environment that supports collective creativity and renewal. First, leaders identify the constraints that hinder creative thought; and second, they establish processes that promote idea sharing and collective vision.

In the church, it is important to challenge continuously the "we've never done it that way before" and/or the "we've always done it this way" thinking that is often so pervasive. Set patterns and rigid rules are the primary impediment to creativity. It is also helpful to create "what if?" exercises to use in our meetings, classes, fellowship, and worship experiences. Merely asking, "What if money were no object?" or "What if we had all the time we needed?"" or "What if we were a brand new church in this community?" can open the way to a wealth of collective creativity.

Organizational theorist Margaret Wheatley examines the forces at work in self-organizing systems, and asks helpful questions that invite creative response. She has written two valuable books, Leadership and the New Science (Berrett-Koehler) and A Simpler Way, (Berrett-Koehler) and has created a series of videos that powerfully explore these issues.

Lesson about the Simple and the Complex

In the face of the complexities of life, many people hunger for a way to simplify. This assumes that simplicity and complexity are opposites. Chaos theory states that complexity and simplicity are two parts of one whole. Things are not either complex or simple, but they are both simple and complex to some degree. The lesson about the simple and the complex help us move away from "either/or" to "both-and" thinking.

People are caught in a paradox of behaviors. We tend to make some things more difficult and complex than they need to be, while oversimplifying other truly complex issues. Making things harder than they need to be results in stress and frustration, while oversimplification yields prejudice, labeling, and a tendency to make assumptions and jump to conclusions.

Our desire to make things simple in the church have led to some of the most convoluted and complex organizational structures imaginable. At the same time, some of the most multilayered and complex issues of faith and ethics get reduced to black-and-white dichotomies that force well-meaning people to draw lines and choose sides. Church leaders assume the important role of clearly identifying both the simplicity and the complexity in every issue and practice. The challenge for today's leaders is to learn balance. Michael Gelb and Tony Buzan have written a helpful book for those seeking to learn this balance, Lessons from the Art of Juggling (Harmony Books).

Lesson about Fractals and Reason

Another holism that we tend to reduce to dichotomy is the relationship between similarity and difference. Fractals — the recurrent patterns that appear in both nature and mathematics — are beautiful, graphic reminders that in the midst of great diversity, there is striking similarity. Awareness of our fractal universe helps move us to a deep understanding that truth and beauty, art and science, world and spirit are not extreme points on a flat line, but are interweaving parts of the web of life.

One of the most divisive forces in the church today is our tendency to separate the sacred from the secular. Hard lines are drawn to divide the good from the evil, the acceptable from the unacceptable, and the holy from the profane. These divisions may make decisions simpler, but they do nothing to breed real understanding. Ezra Earl Jones offers a helpful reflection when he asks, "What part of our world did God not create?" The extent to which we see the world as hostile, unacceptable, and evil will deeply affect our ability to receive it within our doors to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and move forth into it to live as Christian disciples. Bart Kosko presents a compelling argument for "both-and " thinking in his book Fuzzy Future: From Society and Science to Heaven in a Chip. (See the book review and discussion guide.)

Lesson about the Fractal Curl of Duration

Does time progress in a linear, chaotic, or cyclical manner? The answer — taught by the lesson about the fractal curl of duration — is "yes." Time does not move in just one way; it moves in many ways — probably more than we can imagine or conceive. Our obsession with measuring time and living our lives by the clock robs us of the ability to truly experience the fullness of time. Each person experiences time differently, even though the second hand sweeps around the clock face in a regular and uniform manner. For one person, a meeting may pass quickly; for another, it drags on endlessly. Engrossing conversation can make hours fly by. Who hasn' t awakened in the night, checked the time, then fallen back to sleep to be abruptly awakened by the alarm clock hours later in what seemed like a mere few minutes? Our perception of time is elastic, while our measure of time is static. Too often we fill time with our lives instead of filling our lives with time.

The fractal curl of duration should be a comfortable concept for Christians who often speak in terms of "God's time." The entire premise of heaven depends on a state of being that transcends the normal bounds of measurable time. Mystical Christianity and the history of ecstatic experience aims to lift people from the confines of the now into the presence of the eternal. Leaders in Christian community might explore experiential alternatives that create their own time instead of conforming to the time limits imposed by human means. How is it possible for true worship to take exactly one hour each week? How can we set a ninety-minute time period for Bible study week after week? What if our soul needs only ten minutes for worship, or what if it needs three hours? What if the questions of our faith require us to sit and talk for hours on end? Why must the clock determine the limits on our faith formation? These are questions that chaos theory challenges us to wrestle with as we examine fractal time as opposed to clock time.

Lesson about the Tide of a New Perception

North American culture has defined itself around power and control throughout most of its history. Conquest of the elements, enemies, obstacles, and the weak has differentiated the haves from the have-nots. This world view is dependent on the establishment of an "us-them" dichotomy. Those defining themselves as "us" strive to master and control "them." Ultimately, this world view is the source of unbelievable pain and hardship.

A basic tenet of chaos theory is the interconnectedness of all life. The passion to control is a destructive passion that denies this unity of life. What we do to the planet, to another people, to another generation affects us all. Life is not ours to control, but to understand. Our role in this world is to make life better for all. Learning to be adaptive, creative, conscientious, and whole is much more important than attempting to control what cannot truly be controlled. The human tendency is to try to control what we fear. Most people fear chaos. When chaos is understood as a natural, normal, and necessary part of life, we are free of the need to control. We enter chaos with a new acceptance, learning the critical lessons of adaptability and interdependence.

In the church, the need to control often prevents the majority of our members from entering into meaningful ministry and service. Control destroys the spirit of creativity, risk-taking, innovation, and participation. Systems thinking expands our sense of church to encompass the whole people of God. When we ask ourselves how everyone fits into the community of faith we shift focus to relationship, away from structure. We look beyond our patterns and processes of control to explore new possibilities of creativity. In the life of the church, where people are the primary source of chaos, it is inappropriate to rely on control. In the arena of relationships, adaptability and understanding are the most appropriate means to lead us to the kingdom of God.

Seven Life Lessons of Chaos is a nice beginner's level introduction to chaos theory and the fundamentals of change. It underscores the important truth that our perceptions and knowledge are always incomplete. Only fools are certain. All too often, we rush to answers when the real value is in the questions. Chaos keeps us from getting too set in our ways. Briggs and Peat do a fine job explaining the scientific theory of chaos as a new cultural metaphor that describes where we really are.

Click here to see the discussion guide for Seven Life Lessons of Chaos.

Dan R. Dick is a former staff member of the General Board of Discipleship.

(originally posted February 17, 2000)

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