Have you ever felt you were neither here nor there, yet know you are here and need to get there; don’t know in what ways, how long it will take, or if it will ever happen. Welcome to the liminal space.
One of the definitions of liminality that I have found helpful and instructive to pastoral leadership is the story of the Hebrew people’s journey out of Egypt into the Promised Land (Old Testament Book of Exodus). The uncertainty of the journey through the Red Sea, leaving the normal and familiar behind, into the future, the lack of trust in Moses as their leader and in God, led them to many wrong choices, and unanswered questions led them to make hasty decisions on their own at a cost. Imagine having to wait forty years to see a promise come to fruition! Taking the time to reflect, pray, envision, and discern may seem futile and even a waste of time when answers were due yesterday and solutions are needed now. During anxious times, costly mistakes cause irreparable or irreversible damage.
Susan Beaumont1 is the author of How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going: Leading in a Liminal Season, and I researched some of her work on liminality from her book, which I included in my dissertation. Beaumont defines liminality as:
- When the old way of doing things no longer works, a way forward is unclear.
- When tradition’s continuity disintegrates, uncertainty about the future fuels doubt and chaos.
- In a liminal season, it simply is not helpful to pretend we understand what needs to happen next. But leaders can still lead.
- Feeling stuck “in between” fuels anxiety. People try to return to the comfort of a previous era’s status quo or look for ways to leap dramatically forward.
- As dangerous as liminal seasons can be, they can also be transformative. A malleable situation invites experimentation and risk-taking. We are free to question tradition, which can make space for originality, generativity, and creativity. All truly great innovations are incubated in liminality. God’s greatest works occur in liminal space.
Throughout my spiritual and pastoral journey, I have learned that liminality occurs in the spiritual, emotional, mental, physical, and even in our social life, whether in family systems, church life, and life in community. Something like what our church and congregation are going through today.
In his book, Not Just Sunday, Jevon Caldwell-Gross2 helps the reader “reimagine the reach and rhythms of the church” in the community and context it serves. Caldwell-Gross argues that the church today is living in a changed world and offers some “ground rules” to navigate from what once was to what lies ahead by inviting us to “learn from anywhere and anyone, don’t copy and paste, and be curious.” (pp. 23-26) Caldwell-Gross further challenges us with questions for reflection. One of the questions was very intriguing: “Why do you still believe in the future of the church?”
On Sunday, October 19th, at 9:30 am in the Sanctuary, we will have a congregational retreat led by Rev. Gina Yeske, Associate Superintendent and Pathways and Bridges Programs champion and coordinator. “In Bridges, we will explore tools to foster a strong connection with church and neighbors, identifying spiritual practices embodying love for God and others. Together, we’ll extend these practices beyond church walls to foster spiritual growth, communal well-being, and meaningful engagement with the world around us. Our congregation will be doing this work as a team, led by the pastor. (https://www.gnjumc.org/pathways/bridges/)
I hope you will be as excited as our leadership team. Thus far, our team comprises Pat Inglis, Laura Weingartner, Lori Shepard, Julie Artim, Kevin Newland, and your Pastor Iraida. I look forward to seeing more join us to brainstorm the new vision of the United Methodist Church (“The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections”) and the vision of Butler United Methodist Church together.
Have a blessed October!
In Christ,
Pastor Iraida
1 Rev. Beaumont is an ordained minister within the American Baptist Churches, USA, a consultant, coach, author, and spiritual director.
2 Jevon Caldwell-Gross is a teaching pastor at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Associate Director of Church Development for the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, supporting underserved populations.