Overcoming the Gap Instinct in Church Leadership

In our latest series on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast, we have embarked on an exciting journey—exploring "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling. Today, our focus is on the 'gap instinct' Rosling identified and how it plays out in our church leadership roles. Affecting almost everybody, this instinct tends to categorize the world in stark contrasts: an 'us versus them' mentality.

The Gap Instinct in Church Leadership

Commonly, we stumble into conceiving the world as divided—saved and unsaved, faithful and fallen, good Christians and bad ones. While some of these divisions hold truth, we often create mental gaps without recognizing individual stories or struggles. Even within our church, divisions erupt over theological differences, worship styles, and socioeconomic backgrounds, neglecting our unique gifts and perspectives.

The gap instinct can be harmful, leading us towards stereotypes, prejudices, and potentially obstructing us from genuinely seeing and loving others. It may hinder bridge-building efforts and nurturing genuine community, fostering a sense of complacency or superiority, focusing merely on the perceived gap between us and them, rather than on our growth and transformation.

Overcoming the Gap Instinct for Healthier Churches

To overcome this gap instinct, Rosling suggests looking for the majority— recognizing the vast middle ground usually existing between extremes. In a church context, this means recognizing people's stories and diversity both within and outside our congregation and resisting the urge to stereotype or judge others based on superficial differences.

Here are practical steps to help you challenge your gap instinct within your ministry:

• Reflect on your assumptions and categories.
• Actively seek diverse perspectives and question your existing norms.
• Display empathy and understanding.
• Focus on building bridges, not walls, by connecting with others and fostering understanding.

Remember, we're all on this journey together. Instead of falling into an 'us versus them' mentality, let's see each other as fellow travelers in faith, appreciating everyone's unique stories and struggles.

For deeper insights on overcoming the 'gap instinct' and fostering healthier communities in evangelical churches, tune in to today's Healthy Church Staff Podcast episode. We explore different cognitive biases and how they impact church staff leadership, highlighting practical steps to handle them effectively.