This sounds kind of geeky. Who talks like this? I guess I do when I want to sound smart after reading a book or article written by people smarter than I in a certain area of study.
Recently, I came across a study titled “Evaluating an Adjunctive Mobile App to Enhance Psychological Flexibility in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy” by Michael Levin and Jack Haeger. Full transparency: I did not read the entire study. I don’t know what an “Adjunctive Mobile App” actually is.
Regardless, they appear to be one of the first originators of the “Psychological Flexibility Dashboard.” I found it fascinating. I pray you do as well.
STEP 1: “What and who is important to me?” (Hunting Meaning)
STEP 2: “What unwanted thoughts, feelings, memories, and bodily sensations am I experiencing?” (Escaping Pain)
STEP 3: “What am I doing to reduce, avoid, or control unwanted mental content?” (Escaping Pain)
STEP 4: “What am I doing or could be doing to chase my values?” (Hunting Meaning)
I think this dashboard is a helpful tool when walking through challenging problems or situations. Let’s start by examining the two “pulls” as we walk through challenging problems or situations—hunting meaning and escaping pain.
Humans hunt meaning. We try to make sense of what is going on around us. This happens often at a subconscious level. We’re constantly “positioning” based on our identity and the story in which we’re playing an active part. We see the world through story. As Christians, we find our ultimate meaning in the God who tells us we’re meaningful by faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is one of the primary indicators that we’re made in the image of God.
Humans also desire to escape pain. Humans know the world is hard. If something or someone is causing us pain—psychological, spiritual, relational, physical—we immediately want it gone. Isolate, narrow, destroy. That is our perspective toward pain.
In summary, humans hunt meaning and seek to destroy pain.
I think the Psychological Flexibility Dashboard could be used to help unite us in the LCMS. I have been publicly open in listing what I think are the two greatest struggles in the LCMS: 1) running tests to try to solve our pastoral leadership development struggles; and 2) gaining transparency on the prior approval process for synodical leadership positions (CUS and seminary presidents, administrators, and professors).
I also believe the Dashboard could be used to help you work through inevitable challenges in your local context.
Identify a dysfunctional problem in your ministry. As an example, I’ll work through the struggle in raising up local pastoral leaders.
STEP 1: “What and who is important to me?” I am hunting for meaning.
I deeply believe it is important for the local congregation and pastors to be involved in discovering, developing, and deploying men for the work of pastoral ministry and women to support the office of pastoral ministry. I believe this is the model Jesus and the apostle’s left us. I believe our seminaries would grow if leaders openly started to partner with local churches in this effort. I am not against residential seminary education. I simply do not believe our current models are going to meet the needs of local congregations looking to grow, especially in rapidly growing contexts. This is important to me…and, I believe, to Jesus.
STEP 2: “What unwanted thoughts, feelings, memories, and bodily sensations am I experiencing?” I also acknowledge the side of me that desires to escape pain.
I could be prone to make seminary and synodical leaders into my enemy. They are not. They are my brothers and sisters in Christ. We want the same thing—more people to know and follow Jesus. I could be prone to simplify what is a complex adaptive challenge in the midst of a liminal season—we’re not where we were…and we don’t know how to get where we want to go. Tests, patience, peace, and perseverance are going to be needed in this season of the life of the church. Any emotion that leads me away from the fruit of the Spirit is to be given to the risen Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
STEP 3: “What am I doing to reduce, avoid, or control unwanted mental content?” I still acknowledge I am trying to resist pain. I also acknowledge that some of these attempts may not be healthy.
I could be prone to isolate myself from those with whom I disagree. I could be prone to create my own echo chamber, filled with “yes” men and women who will never challenge my way of thinking. I have found this works for a time—but only for a time. If I entertain this attempt at eliminating pain, I’ll find myself walking down the prideful path of power and control. I can walk this path, but I don’t find Jesus on this path. He’s calling me to the humble, open, honest, adventurous path.
One note in our LCMS context. I do believe LCMS leaders at every level have little knowledge we’re stuck at step three. Our struggle to talk and deeply listen to the “various sides” of arguments, especially the two struggles listed above, is one indicator of our “stuckness.”
STEP 4: “What am I doing or could be doing to chase my values?” Finally, having assessed by attempts at eliminating pain, I must return to hunting meaning.
For example, the ULC has been running a “long test” in raising up local church leaders. Instead of waiting around for potential changes at the every three-year Synodical Convention, we’ve started to actively chase our strong value—leadership development is our passion. To do otherwise would be inconsistent with the stated value of our congregation.
Here is what I’ve noticed: The LCMS has a strong pull to “resist pain.” This often leads us toward passive inaction and an inability to think creatively, within the boundaries of Scripture and our Lutheran Confessions, about how to solve our adaptive challenges.
I believe we can do better. We must do better, by the Spirit’s power. I believe the Psychological Flexibility Dashboard could be one tool to help us toward that end.
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