The U.S. military created the acronym VUCA right after the Cold War. While the war was going on, the battle lines of the world were pretty much set in place. But after that, the situation was volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. And our situation right now is pretty much the same. We want to lead through this season well because we want to give our people courage, clarity and a pathway forward.
VOLATILE
When something is volatile in the church, we want to respond with vision. No one will follow us if it happens too quickly, if they don’t know where we are going, or if it seems unpredictable. We want to cast vision for change and promote the why before we promote the what.
UNCERTAIN
When something is uncertain, we must respond with understanding. People fear the unknown, and there is a lot right now that we don’t know and can’t be known right now. But there is also a lot that we do know, so we can display understanding that will help us find clarity to move forward.
COMPLEX
The next thing is complexity. We get new information day by day, sometimes hour by hour. It seems like there’s so much complexity, so we want to respond with clarity. If our purpose or vision is clear, then the people will follow us even when things are complex or uncertain. But we need to do our best to bring clarity.
AMBIGUOUS
When something is ambiguous, we must respond with agility. We need to be willing to make changes and do whatever it takes to make things clearer. We can’t implement one solution, set it, and forget it. We need to come around and hone our ministries until we figure out what the new normal is.
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This article originally appeared on NewChurches.com and is reposted here by permission.