Right after Sunday school I jumped into the car and headed down to Harrisonburg, Virginia, home of Eastern Mennonite Seminary.  I made it just in time for the beginning of the conference “The Promise and Possibility of Anabaptist Organizing.”  I was part of a panel of “Pastor Organizers” on Monday, and was also there as an eager listener.  It was a rare occasion for Mennonite organizers to step back and reflect together.

Multiple speakers discussed three approaches to organizing.  One is Structure-Based, or Broad-Based organizing.  BREAD in Columbus is an example.  There are similar organizations in (mostly) urban areas around the country with established structures and memberships addressing specific issue areas.  A second approach is Mass Protest/Movement/Mobilization organizing.  Mennonite Action is an example, with many of the core leaders present at the conference.  The No Kings events across the country this Saturday are another example.  A third, less expounded-upon category was referred to as Cultural/Relational.  This focuses on (I think!) long-term relationship building and cultural change, loving people in non-transactional ways (beyond just getting them to attend an event).  It sounds like the sweet spot of everyday congregational life to me.  Consider yourself a Cultural/Relational organizer.

One speaker talked about “The Ecosystem of Social Change.”  An ecological approach recognizes that rather than a singular best approach, organizing involves a whole ecosystem of all-of-the-above.  Leaders and groups each bring their own strengths.  I find this ecological approach very helpful and wonder what might be the Mennonite or CMC or my personal spirit-animal or plant in this ecology.

During the “Pastor Organizers” panel I emphasized that I have always approached pastoring, to borrow a medical analogy, as a general practitioner.  Good pastoring requires a wide range of competencies and ability to move between the inner and outer life of communities, across the life spectrum.  When done well, pastors are always pushing up against the edges of our competencies!  In other words, most pastors aren’t specialists, and organizing is one of those specialties.  Rather than overly-identify as an organizer, my angle was to encourage pastors to take our cues from organizer specialists, bringing our own gifts into the mix as needed.

A major thread running through the conference was our present political threat of authoritarianism.  It’s a scary time, and not just in the US.  It’s a time that calls forth the full ecosystem of grounded living, skilled leadership, and strategic action. 

Another thread was wrestling with Mennonites’ ambivalent relationship with power.  We know firsthand about the abuses of power, especially state power, but we aren’t yet very comfortable claiming alternative forms of power that organizing organizes.  This is power-with.  It is people power.  It is real power that affects change for the common good.  Put another way, it is partnering with God in the power Jesus demonstrated.

This is a live conversation.  Look for ongoing reflections in Mennonite publications.  And ponder where the Spirit has situated you in the ecology of organizing for the common good.        

Joel