" Door Set Open" by Peter Steinke: A Review

Having heard Dr. Steinke at a recent meeting of church officials, I was intrigued to read more of his work.  His knowledge and perspectives caught my attention and he seemed worth the time for more study.  A Door Set Open: Grounding Change in Mission and Hope (The Alban Institute, 2010) is a relatively short book (141 pages) and easy to read, but offers some engaging ideas.  Dr. Steinke is a well-known congregational systems consultant and has worked with many conflicted organizations (churches and denominations).  Although he leans heavily upon the psychological work of his mentor Edwin Friedman, he also engages the biblical text for additional insight.  As a Lutheran he predictably quotes Luther at selective intervals, but appears to prefer non-Lutheran theologians for their perspective, especially the work of N.T.Wright.  Contrary to my expectations, he did not go down the predictable path of more church growth rhetoric, and was even critical of some of the dependance on this model for the renewal of the church, especially as it encouraged the church to find solutions through easy and quick efforts.  Real change takes time.  His emphasis throughout the book held true to the subtitle:  Grounding change in mission and hope.

While one could argue that certain aspects of Steinke's book do not go deep enough (theologically, in particular), and that he may be too dependent on psychological theory, the primary purpose of his book was obviously to challenge the church to change its perspective, not to develop an exhaustive treatment of the subject.  Personally I gained from reading this book, especially as one who not only pastors a congregation, but also as a church official charged with working with conflicted congregations and those going through times of transition and change.  Several points at the end of the book serve well to summarize his theme:
  • The challenge of the change for leaders is to keep one's eye on the ball (stay focused), take the heart (remain calm), stay connected (talk and listen), and get a good night's sleep. 
  • The purpose of the local church is to invite people to be part of the true mission of the church. 
  • The church is a school for developing agents of the new creation from among those who are beneficiaries of God's grace. 
For anyone who pastors a church that is stuck in conflict, Steinke's book would be worth the read.  And even for the many traditional Lutheran churches that too often turn inward and lose sight of the bigger mission to which we are all called.  In many ways his call to be in mission seemed to echo President Harrison's work on mercy.  Mission is lived out in concrete ways.  Love for people should have real connection with the community.  Steinke shows that for the church to be renewed and vital in the world it has to live out the Gospel entrusted to it.   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Historical Roots of the Warham Guild Hood

Image
In doing just a little checking on the internet, it's interesting to see how the Warham Guild hood, which I have as part of my STM degree attire, is actually a throwback to the Medieval hood. One article notes "the work of the Warham Guild in its imaginative renderings of medieval hoods" (reference is from here ). Again, here is my hood: The Medieval hood, which was originally a very practical outer garment to cover a person's head and shoulders, protecting both from the elements, bears striking resemblance to this revived form: This hood was also a part of the garb of monks in that era. The Medieval hood, in some cases, also had what is known as a "liripipe," a long tail hanging from the back of a hood. You can see the modern stylized version of this on my own hood. From an article on "Academic hood development" we read that "By 1463 the favourite dress of doctors was the hood with round bell-shaped cape, and the lir
Read more

The Firefighter's Cross

Image
[Note: A similar article to this will be shared with my department at their next meeting. During this Lenten season when we are meditating on the significance and meaning of the Passion of our Lord and the Cross at Golgotha, it seemed like one way to offer a witness to the department that captured their interest and yet was not too heavy.] [Editorial Note: In response to a recent comment on this article I have made some changes to the original version of this article especially in regard to references to the so-called St. Florian's Cross. For any confusion the previous unreferenced information may have caused I apologize. I hope that the changes are satisfactory.] THE STORY OF THE MALTESE CROSS In many ways the familiar symbol to the right requires no explanation. It is the universal insignia of firefighting nationwide. Yet the precise origins of this symbol are less clear. The most popular explanation proposes its beginning in the far distant past of medieval Crusaders fi
Read more

KFUO-FM Sale: Editorial from Board of Directors

October 9, 2009 Letters to the Editor St. Louis Post-Dispatch 900 N. Tucker Blvd. St. Louis, MO 63101 RE: “Missouri Synod agrees to sell KFUO” - Oct. 7, 2009 Dear Editor, The ongoing news coverage of the sale of KFUO-FM has been disappointing in its lack of completeness. There is significantly more to the story than has been reported. The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s (LCMS) Board of Directors is elected by convention delegates and is responsible—on behalf of the 2.4 million members of the church—for conscientiously evaluating the assets of the church to determine how best to use those assets to further the proclamation, mission, and ministry associated with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Synod’s board has been open about its intentions regarding the disposition of its FM station. Since as early as February 2008, this item has been on the board meeting agenda. Board minutes are made public by posting on the LCMS Web site and summaries are reported in the board’s insert “Board
Read more