Appreciative Inquiry Redux

ONE MORE COMMENT ON MUTUAL MINISTRY REVIEW THROUGH APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
While the Appreciative Inquiry method does not accomplish everything, I have never known a Mutual Ministry Review using Appreciative Inquiry NOT to produce a plan of action for the coming year or so that addressed concerns of all present. I have never known the process NOT to bring the majority of the participants closer together and in better relationship with one another than previously, so that the likelihood of their working together productively was improved. These are helpful and positive results, but they might not be exciting, and they certainly might not resolve all issues. That is not their goal.
The process does not always satisfy everyone, particularly in settings where there is significant and deep conflict, usually of long standing. When people come to a meeting “loaded for bear,” they are predictably disappointed if they do not have the opportunity to designate and shoot a bear. Bear-hunting, though a traditional practice, is nevertheless unproductive to the healthy functioning of a congregation. The very fact that people crave it indicates that the level of conflict in the organization is high. Nothing positive is gained from a session in which an emotional explosion takes place and antagonists square off to blame one another for all perceived failings. No real resolution occurs: combatants bide their time to fight another day.
One person’s “truth-telling” is another’s “venting” or “scape-goating,” and there is a distinction to be made between stating facts and expressing opinions, which can be lost in the heat of an angry and alienating exchange. There is a time for the truth-telling aspect of that, though—in the calmer and safer environment of the Conflict Resolution process, led by an experienced and competent facilitator. A Mutual Ministry Review through Appreciative Inquiry is a short-term activity to be done occasionally as a check-up on how the organization is functioning. Conflict Resolution is a longer-term and more involved project.
Appreciative Inquiry, then, is not Conflict Resolution. It is a way of stepping outside conflict to accomplish some positive change. It can help a congregation move forward, even while preparing to deal more directly with its conflicts in a deeper way.