…but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah [40:31] (NRSV)
If I can’t get it in two days (with free shipping), I don’t want it.
One of my favorite comedy series released only four episodes of its newest season. It will be several months until the rest of the episodes drop. I’m incensed (sort of).
Technology is great, but it’s ruining me. The bigger picture is that we’ve become a society that wants it now.
This wouldn’t be so bad if it were limited to shopping and entertainment. But it’s influenced nearly all aspects of life, including how we communicate, consume our news and even engage in politics.
In A Failure of Nerve, Edwin Friedman writes that one characteristic of a chronically anxious society is the desire for a quick fix.* We don’t want to go through the long, often painful, process required to create lasting change. So we look for the latest program, hire an “expert,” or search for a miracle drug and expect immediate results. We elect politicians who promise a quick fix and are disappointed when they don’t deliver.
Most worthwhile things take time. This is true for our health, spiritual well-being and vocation. It’s especially true for the bigger problems in life.
One example is my own denomination, The United Methodist Church (UMC). We have been at odds for decades over LGBTQ+ inclusion. Many thought that a 2019 special session of our legislative body, the General Conference, would solve the issue with a plan to enable The UMC to remain mostly intact. It didn’t.
Then a group of high-powered leaders worked to develop the so-called Protocol for Reconciliation and Grace through Separation. This plan seeks to enable progressives and traditionalists to part ways amicably. This was supposed to happen at the 2020 General Conference, but the pandemic has postponed it twice. Many are hopeful that it will be held this August and that some version of the Protocol will pass.
I’m in favor of the concept. My fear is that people are seeing this as a quick fix. It’s not.
If a plan passes it will be the beginning of a long, painful process for moving forward. It will require many discussions about whether individuals, churches and even annual conferences (geographic regions of churches) want to go with a traditionalist denomination or stay with a progressive UMC.
These will not be easy discussions. They will take time. If done well, they can lead to a fresh start. If not, they will be painfully destructive. Regardless, the process will take time. It’s not a quick fix.
Non-anxious leaders can help others be patient so they can do the hard work of effecting lasting change.
More importantly, they can model self-differentiation, which will encourage people to say what they believe while giving others the freedom to disagree. To me, the most important thing is that we are able to work our way through this while showing that the love and grace of God enable us to treat each other with courtesy and respect. It’s not a quick fix. But it’s a powerful witness.
*I write about the quick fix mentality in churches in my book, Anxious Church, Anxious People: How to Lead Change in an Age of Anxiety
