A Different Line of Inquiry

An alternative to this approach is found in "appreciative inquiry." This process, rather than identifying and diagnosing problems and suggesting solutions, or identifying past shortcomings and suggesting remedial action, seeks to focus on the experiences that have created breakthrough energy, collaborative and synergistic thinking, and experiences that have advanced the mission of the congregation.

This approach allows the whole system to engage in a shared quest to discover and articulate who it wants to be and where it wants to go, based on where it has been. Because the process is grounded in real experience and shared history, it allows participants to affirm the very best of the past and generate the new directions it needs to take in the future.

Rather than understanding evaluation as a method of problem identification and an approach to generating solutions, appreciative inquiry seeks to focus on the best of "what is," envision "what might be," develop agreements on "what should be," and innovate "what will be."

This approach invites a different line of inquiry. Based on appreciative inquiry, the following sample questions could lead to a deeper conversation between clergy and congregational leaders. These questions are intended to set the context for evaluation by inviting dialogue regarding call, self-knowledge, and the prophetic role.

Questions of Call

1. How would you describe your sense of calling?


2. How have you honored your calling during this past year?


3. What have been the constraints to your living out your sense of call?


4. If you were to live out your call more faithfully, what would be added to your ministry; what would be deleted?


5. Describe a time when you experienced a high level of congruence between your vision of your call and your role in ministry.

Questions of Self-Knowledge

1. What are your unspoken hopes and constraining fears and what does this tell you about your leadership role?


2. Where do feedback and self-assessment converge to confirm your self-perception and where is there a disconnection?


3. What are the developmental edges for you, for the congregation?


4. In what ways do you avoid difficult issues and what is going on inside you when this happens?

Questions of the Prophetic Role

1. How do you understand your prophetic role and how does this role find expression in your work and the congregation’s ministry?


2. What are the risks God may be inviting you to take now?


3. What is your vision for a new social order and how do you promote it?


4. How have you and the congregation given leadership in the larger community in the interests of the common good?

These questions are intended to set a different tone and direction for assessing the work of the clergy leader and the congregation. It is also intended to encourage mutuality in addressing the spiritual underpinnings of our ministry. By establishing conversation time and making normative the exploration of deeper questions, we enrich our learning and deepen our understanding of the journey we share. We also avoid a superficial and potentially destructive appraisal of the person as leader or of the congregation as community of faith.

Metaphorically, spiritual windsurfing requires a certain agility. It requires a willingness to get wet, to lose control, to be surprised by the shifting wind. It is a multi-disciplinary experience, combining the skills of sailing and surfing, of balance and strength. It requires sensitivity to one’s environment and a willingness to test one's capacities and limits. Exploring our call, seeking self-knowledge, honoring our prophetic role, and living the mystery of this journey is to sign on for an exhilarating ride.