Listening for Differences

 

A PASTOR'S PASTOR ENCOURAGES INITIATIVE

inRESONANCE Advisory Board member Bishop David Olson retired in 2001 as Bishop of the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Bishop Olson served as a Pastor for almost half of his career of more than 40 years, beginning in Baltimore and also in Minneapolis, and interim service in three congregations in New England. In addition, he coordinated a group of congregations in Minneapolis, to assist them in meeting their common goals; he taught at Seminary; and he was assistant to a Bishop for three years before becoming a Bishop himself. Recently Bishop Olson has been called to serve as Interim Bishop for the Metropolitan New York Synod while New York prepares to elect a new Bishop in May 2008.

The Minneapolis Area Synod is the largest in the Church; in 2001 it comprised 174 churches, 630 pastors, and 230,000 members. How did you manage such a huge organization?

Lutherans are congregational, so each individual congregation manages itself. The Bishop serves as a resource to the clergy and congregations. He also will support congregations in maintaining their relationships to other organizations such as hospitals and seminaries. The primary role of the Bishop is to help congregations find an appropriate pastor.

The assemblies you serve comprise diverse groups with divergent needs. How do you create unity but still allow space for diversity to exist?

Diversity is absolutely central to the New York Synod. New York Lutherans have great pride in their diversity but it is a challenge. We are conducting a listening review among pastors and laity of the Synod, because they will be electing a new Bishop in May. In the Lutheran Church, Bishops are selected by democratic election. We are hearing that people want the Bishop and the staff to be their Pastors, listeners, supporters.

I read something recently about listening and leading, how they go together. My way of listening is to hear issues and voices, differences that may have to be negotiated. I try to begin the conversation with no particular solution in mind. What usually happens to me is, as soon as I start listening, solutions start coming to me, but I often have to hold back because I haven’t yet listened enough.

The coalition I advised in Minneapolis was a group of 16 congregations that came together to see if they could cooperate including obtaining grant money to accomplish something together that they could not accomplish separately. There is a very large Lutheran population in Minneapolis, and there are very old, established neighborhoods with many Lutheran churches in close proximity. This was a group of neighboring churches in a weakened state, due to dwindling congregations of aging members that were, in a way, competitors. They needed to find ways to cooperate. We brought several proposals to vote that did not succeed at the time; it was a lonely effort. Fifteen years and two Bishops later, some of those ideas are being adopted. Change was slow in coming.

This Advisory Board seems to be a departure for you. Why have you chosen to become involved with inRESONANCE?

My involvement with inRESONANCE is interesting because it’s completely different than what I am used to. I enjoy this vantage point. I find it interesting that Kevin has such a humanitarian vision for the company, a vision of drawing people together, of providing expertise in technology to nonprofits and schools.

At my first meeting of the iR Advisory Board, last fall, I enjoyed learning about how the company is continuing to build its base of excellent products. I wasn’t sure how I fit in to the effort. Then, as I learned more about iR’s broader purpose, about its community-strengthening vision, I began to see how I could contribute.

Many of iR’s clients are nonprofits that will undoubtedly grow as they find success in meeting their missions. You have worked with organizations of all sizes. What do you find to be the secret to successful management?

Management of most organizations will succeed if you pay attention to the needs of the people at subordinate levels. If you encourage initiative and self-reliance, you will get a better result than you would through management by edict from above.

As a company, inRESONANCE is committed to sustainability, the sharing of resources, and the artful use of technology. Its clients are a diverse group of schools and nonprofits, all working for good. How might this group come together to share resources?

inRESONANCE, as an expert in technology, has some ideas about sharing resources. Groups can come together if they share an identifiable need. In this case, the central need is obvious. iR is bringing together people who need good technology, good education, and good support to accomplish their goals.

 

Follow this link for more information about the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.