Mission Rift

closed power systems exist by permission of the rest of the congregation.

Noxious Nellie and Norman to describe particularly caustic personalities that may be part of the trouble in deeply conflicted congregations.

on that of antagonists.

“Anxious Annie and Andy”—people who, in order to cope with their own anxiety related to change, exert their influence as best they can to quell the changes that pose a threat to their status quo.

Entitled Edward and Edith may be motivated by anxiety, but if so, they hide it under the auspices of long-tenured and powerful influence. By virtue of their self-proclaimed entitlement, their behavior borders

under stress, we regress. And it affects all of us—whether we realize it or not.

High Control = High Anxiety = High Insecurity

It is an illusion to think that a person can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.

X is the symptom or symptom bearer of something else going on in the relational systems of the congregation.1