Mental Models: Real Work, Real Impact

By Nora Johnson, Pastor of Silver Creek Reformed - a CLC Congregation

You Say tomato. I say to-mah-to. You say potato. I say Po-tah-to. These minor differences in language are obvious, but we often don’t realize there are hidden, various, and deep difference between folks, even those who seem to be like us. It is these hidden differences that can trip us up or lead to misunderstandings.

Our CLC team has seen the value in unearthing those differences in our work. We were discussing how important mission is to our congregation, but as the conversation continued, it was clear that each of the four of us had different understandings of mission. We became curious about this. If we had different understandings of mission, how many more ideas about what “mission” means would our congregation have? So we asked them; “what is mission?”

I had no idea so many different understandings were possible! My experiences going on mission trips in high school, serving on my church mission committee allocating mission funds, and serving as a teacher in a community where many of my students were experiencing food and housing insecurity had influenced my beliefs about and understanding of mission. But many in my congregation had been taught about and experienced mission differently than I had.

 Many different mental models of mission were unearthed in our congregation through our survey. Some people thought mission was done by missionaries while others said they engaged in mission in their own neighborhood. Some believed mission had to include sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ while others included "helping people with whatever needs they have.” For some, mission included sending money where as others emphasized doing things for others.

As our team put into action what we were learning through the CLC Primer on Mental Models, we saw that when we talked about mission with others, they were all hearing slightly different things due to their own understanding of mission! We could see what fertile ground such differences were for misunderstandings and conflict. Having a common definition of “mission” would be necessary for us to communicate a clear message.

On November 11, Nora will continue this story in our webinar! Join us to hear more about the importance of unearthing and getting clear about mental models for lasting change.