Engaging with Institutions as Living Entities

I was grateful to receive these reflections on the spirit of institutions from Michelle Bizek. I liked them so much that I wanted to share them here:

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It seems to me that the term “institution” could be synonymous with a living entity composed of living, interactive systems and that the simplest expression of this living entity is the individual and more complex expressions include groups (i.e. churches, social clubs, Boy Scouts, etc.), businesses, governments (local, state, national), nations, and finally, humanity.

Each of these living entities has a spiritual ethos and I think if we look at the simpler human system and what influences and shifts it toward a healthier expression then those principles can also be applied to the larger systems. For example, we know that personal change is more efficient when we receive permission and agreement from the subject. Of course we can intercede and practice aggressive prayer for a person, but the effecting of change, most of the time, comes more readily when the person expresses permission for your influence and agrees to work with you toward change. It is like the difference between walking around the block praying for the person in house #123 or knocking on his door, going inside, and opening dialog
with him. Once you are inside talking with him you learn what he believes, how he thinks, what he values, his habits, how he makes decisions, his history, his fears, and his dreams. Now you can pray with greater specificity and he knows you are connecting to what is relevant to him. You are engaging the spirit of the man, freeing him from the “illusions spun over” him.

Taking this to the institutional level, I think that learning these same things about the institution will reveal the spirit of the institution. Once that is identified, abberations in the dominant
characteristics and expressions reveal “ the demonic…arising within the institution” and give us the specificity for targeted prayer for change as we “recall it to its divine vocation.”

Spiritual discernment will help us differentiate between the spirit of the man, the institution, the demonic, and the holy, and the information provided by each; this is essential for efficient prayer.

- Michelle Bizek

The Transformation of Elk River, MN

Did you know that a small city in Minnesota is seen by thousands of people across the world as a model for how the spiritual transformation of a city can happen?

I recently met with Stephanie Klinzing, the Mayor of Elk River, MN. The city is 35 miles NW of Minneapolis, and has a population of about 23,000. Since 1996, pastors, business leaders, and government leaders have met weekly to pray for Elk River. Many things have grown out of the prayer and relationships. For example, a local bank was started that offered prayer as a free banking service. In 2004, the New York Times wrote a 10 page article about that bank and Elk River, as an example of the faith at work movement. Many churches in Elk River began seeing their congregation as not just their members, but everyone in the city. Churches collaboratively worked together to reach and care for everyone in the city. In 2000, a network called Love Elk River started to provide "individuals and families with spiritual and physical needs by offering them a relationship-based network of support." Earlier this year, they had a contest to see how many random acts of kindness people in Elk River could do in one month.

Those involved talk about how Elk River used to lead the nation in its per-capita teen suicide rate. After the prayer network had been active for a few years, there was a stretch of years where there were no teen suicides. The Mayor also talks in detail about the economic and safety benefits of this movement. But the primary indicator that the group is aiming for is "the elimination of systemic poverty."

I don't agree with everything about the approach that informs the Elk River movement. My approach would be more interfaith. At the same time, I know that I have a lot to learn from it. I'm especially drawn to prayer, relationship-building, and cultural change that works for the elimination of systemic poverty. Most spirituality in the U.S. is so individualistic and focused on the benefit to individuals. I'm excited about this approach, which also focuses its spirituality for the benefit of cities and nations. I'm very interested in helping connect folks in Elk River with researchers interested in tracking indicators in the city and helping evaluate the influence that this movement is having in the city. If you are interested, please let me know.

What do you think about the spiritual transformation of cities? Are you scared? Ready to call the ACLU? Curious? Inspired? Ready to sign up?

Returning to praying for the healing of organizations

When I first felt motivated to take a sabbatical, I said to myself and a few others that I wanted to learn about "praying for the healing of institutions." It has now been about six months since I left my job, and recently I've been describing what I'm doing as learning about the connections between spirituality and organizations. Both descriptions are true, but last week I was drawn back to the original intention, of praying for organizations. I'm hesitant to talk about praying for organizations because I don't want people to think that I'm trying to convert anyone to particular beliefs or actions. Here are two recent experiences that have drawn me back to the language of prayer:

Last week I did two presentations at Minneapolis Friends Meeting about spirituality and organizations. The night before the first presentation, I took my kids swimming. After about an hour and a half of swimming, my son came up to me and said, "Daddy, I think Grace's lips are purple." His observation that his sister was turning into a popsicle let me know that my quiet time was over. While watching them swim, I had a contemplative time (maybe too much so), and I found myself feeling pulled to pray for the people and organizational life that made up this Quaker Meeting. Without knowing the details of their community's life, I felt tender and open towards the brokenness and the love that is a part of their community. During that time I realized that my main responsibility in doing this talk was not to tell them about spirituality and organizations, but it was to pray for the healing of their organization. During my talk the next day, I described this opening I felt, intending it as a prayer for their community.

One secular nonprofit organization that I did consulting with recently was struggling with conflict, financial stress, and many layoffs. During the time I worked with the organization, a Quaker friend and I met a few times to pray together. Each of the times we met, at least one of us found that this organization came to mind during the prayer time. During one of those prayer times, I felt an inner nudge to ask one person in the organization I was working with to meet with me and talk about our spiritual lives and how they connected to the organization. I had barely talked with this person before, and we'd certainly never talked about anything spiritual. I eventually got up my courage to ask him to have lunch with me. I affirmed the ability that I saw in him to remain centered in stressful situations, and I asked about how he saw spirituality and work. He told me that he was a part of a small group at this organization which met to pray together. Sometimes they would pray for the well being of the organization and for other people there. I had no idea that this prayer group existed. It was a reminder that my prayers and intentions for the healing of organizations are joining with many other unseen prayers.

I have tendencies to be detached and judgmental in how I relate to groups and organizations. The prayer that I feel drawn to might be primarily about softening my own heart in relation to organizations I work with. I know that my own needs for healing are often intertwined with my prayers for organizations. To talk about loving and praying for co-workers and organizations feels uncomfortable, and it is hard for me to explain. Yet, if I am honest with myself, this is at the core of what I feel drawn to do.

Do you have stories and thoughts about prayer and organizations? I'd be grateful to hear them.

Greg Boyd: Theology applied to institutions

I sometimes say that Greg Boyd is my "online pastor." He is the pastor at Woodland Hills Church in the Twin Cities, and he's written several books. I often listen to mp3s of his sermons, but I'd never actually met Greg before this interview. I have found his ideas about how to live out Jesus's example of "power under" leadership within corrupt systems to be quite helpful. He has shown up on CNN, the New York Times, and many other places for his challenges to some of the directions the Evangelical movement in the U.S. has gone. Here is a video excerpt from our conversation about theology and institutions:



In this clip, Greg talks about 'power over' and 'power under' in organizations. He says, "Always understand that 'the Powers' are trying to play you."

How about you? How do you think spiritual forces impact organizations?

Al Quie: Spirituality and Leadership

Today I was fortunate to interview Al Quie about his experiences with spirituality and leadership. Al Quie was formerly the Governor of Minnesota and a U.S. Congressperson. He's also been involved in prison ministries for more than 30 years. Here are some excerpts of our conversation, over orange juice at Perkins:

The realities of the invisible and learning the language of the invisible

Listening to God is like deciphering a bad accent

Going to prison for the first time

Asking another congressman to pray & praying with Gerald Ford when he was appointed President

Moving towards those who don't have power. God wants us to pay attention to those we neglect.

Institutions can provide justice, but not love.

Discerning God's will in secular groups

Leaders set the tone for organizations

Most organizations are fearful of sharing what went wrong