An optimist, a pessimist and a realist walk into a bar….

1. An optimist, a pessimist and a realist walk into a bar…. What terrible luck!” exclaimed the pessimist, “It appears my glass is half-empty!” “Shame,” replied the optimist, “mine was half full.” The realist replied, “I just got some beer, good enough for me.”

4. An optimist, a pessimist and a realist walk into a bar…. The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” William Arthur Ward

5. When you think about your church, are you an optimistic, pessimist or a realist? Do you see what you lack or what you have?

7. Asking Questions If we get the right answer to the wrong question, we have the wrong answer. Do we really want to know…What’s wrongwith our church? And how to fix it? OR What’s right with our church? How can we build on that and make it better?

8. Asking Questions Asking the RIGHT question is asking the GOD questions not the church questions. For example: Instead of, How do we get young families to come to our church? Ask, What is God up to in the lives of young families and how can the church join in?

10. TOP TEN less helpful QUESTIONS asked by church leaders today. • How do we get more volunteers to serve on the church council? Committees? • How do we get more money in the offering plate to keep our church going? • How do we get more people to come to church on Sunday? • How do we get new members to join our church, serve on committees and put money in the offering plate? • How do we get parents to drop their kids off for SS AND come to church? Keep confirmation students from dropping out of church?

11. TOP TEN less helpful QUESTIONS asked by church leaders today. • What is the quick and easy way to sweep this conflict in our church under the rug? • What time do YOU think we should have worship? • What style of worship would YOU like? • How can we preserve OUR ethnic heritage? • How do we raise money to repair or remodel our crumbling 100 year old building?

12. / Who’s to blame? What can we learn?

13. Positive questions lead to positive change.

14. The questions we ask matter. Most questions are deficit based: What’s wrong? What needs to be fixed? What are the challenges?Appreciative Inquiry (AI) focuses on what works. What is the positive core? What do people really care about? What is the useable past that will help move us forward into God’s future?

15. Ap-pre’ci-ate1. valuing; the act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) 2. to increase in value, Synonyms: VALUING, PRIZING, ESTEEMING, and HONORING.

16. In-quire1. the act of exploration and discovery. 2. To ask questions; to be open to seeing new potentials and possibilities. Synonyms: DISCOVERY, SEARCH, and SYSTEMATIC EXPLORATION, STUDY.

17. Positive questions lead to positive change. Ask “GOD” Questions.

18. What are God Questions What might God be up to here? What might God be saying to us? How do we sense God presence? What does God really care about? How might God be leading our church to join in something God is already doing? What might be God’s will here? How might God want us to care for our neighbors??

19. Outline for a council retreat using appreciative inquiry questions 8:00 pancake breakfast 8:30 Song, prayer, Dwelling in the Word 9:00 TOP 10 QUESTIONS What are the questions you have about leading your church forward?

20. Outline for a council retreat using appreciative inquiry questions 9:30 The Conversation Two by Two When in your life have you felt most spiritually alive; connected to God at church? What was your most deeply felt God moment at church? 5minutes alone to write 10 minutes share

21. 10:30 God Questions • What might God be up to here? • What might God be saying to us? • How do we sense God presence? • What does God really care about? • How might God be leading our church to join in something God is already doing? • What might be God’s will here? • How might God want us to care for our neighbors??

22. 11:00 Neighborhood Walk/Pray Walks • 11:30 One-to-One Visits in the neighborhood and among church members • 12:00 Process and NEXT Steps • 12:30 Go in PEACE or….

23. 12:30 Discover-WHAT IS-appreciate the best of “what is” What works NOW. Remembering what worked in the past. WHAT IS BEST? 1:00 Dream-WHAT COULD BE-using the past success to imagine what could be, new possibilities. 2:00 Design-WHAT SHOULD BE-Best of what IS+ what might BE=what should be. 3:00 Destiny/deliver-WHAT WILL BE-How the design is delivered

24. 5D cycleof AI: • Definition - selecting the right topic; • Discovery - focusing on the best within that topic domain; • Dream - envisioning possibilities; • Design - creating prototypes of what should be; • Destiny/Delivery - innovating and improvising fresh solutions.

25. Positive Psychology-Appreciative Inquiry Define – What is the topic of inquiry?Clarify the area of work to be considered. “What do we want to focus on together?”

26. Positive Psychology-Appreciative Inquiry Discover– Appreciating the best of ‘what is’ – Discovery is based on finding ‘what works’. It rediscovers the churches successes, strengths

27. Positive Psychology-Appreciative Inquiry Dream– Imagining ‘what could be’ –Imagining uses past successes. Identify dreams for a church; having discovered ‘what is best’. They have the chance to project it into their, hopes for the future.

28. Positive Psychology-Appreciative Inquiry Design– Determining ‘what should be’ – Bringing the ‘best of what is’ together with ‘what might be’, to create ‘what should be – the ideal’.

29. Positive Psychology-Appreciative Inquiry Deliver/Destiny– Creating ‘what will be’ – identifies how the design is delivered, and how it’s embedded into the church

30. Positive Psychology-Appreciative Inquiry Define – What is the topic of inquiry? – It is important to define the overall focus of the inquiry (what the system wants more of). Definition is used to clarify the area of work to be considered. In spite of being the starting point of the cycle, it’s a recent addition – the 5Ds were originally the 4Ds, including discover, dream, design and destiny. Definition defines the project’s purpose, content, and what needs to be achieved. In this phase, the guiding question is, “What generative topic do we want to focus on together?” • Discover – Appreciating the best of ‘what is’ – Discovery is based on a dialogue, as a way of finding ‘what works’. It rediscovers and remembers the organization or community’s successes, strengths and periods of excellence. Dream – Imagining ‘what could be’ –  Imagining uses past achievements and successes identified in the discovery phase to imagine new possibilities and envisage a preferred future. It allows people to identify their dreams for a community or organization; having discovered ‘what is best’. They have the chance to project it into their wishes, hopes and aspirations for the future • Design – Determining ‘what should be’ – Design brings together the stories from discovery with the imagination and creativity from dream. We call it bringing the ‘best of what is’ together with ‘what might be’, to create ‘what should be – the ideal’. Deliver/Destiny – Creating ‘what will be’ – The fifth stage in the 5Ds process identifies how the design is delivered, and how it’s embedded into groups, communities and organizations. In early appreciative inquiry development, it was called ‘delivery’, based on more traditional organizational development practice. The term ‘destiny’ is more prevalent now.

34. 5 Principles of AIAppreciative Inquiry • Positive anticipation of the future • Positive attention to the present

35. California Model-Living the Resurrection • Step one 4 I cycle • God question----where do you see God? • Value question----what do you treasure the most about this faith community • Future question---What do you think God is calling us to do in the future? • Follow up question—look for the three relationships God, one another, neighbor…

36. 4 I • Initiate • Inquiry • Imagine • Innovate • WE don’t see the world we describe • Our words create our reality. • There is power in how we name things. • Appreciate the words people use and pick the most passionate words, the positive words. Write down the words, don’t interpret, ask what do YOU think this mean

37. 5-D or 4-I of Appreciative Inquiry • Initiate • Inquiry • Imagine • innovate

38. Value voting • Dot stickers to vote on…most passionate about…. • Stuck • Provocative proposal---possible partnership • Because our congregation is passionate about this and our neighborhood is passionate about that therefore we will -------- • Shared meal, homelessness on our porch, our neighbor is worried about the homeless, one day drop in center for the homeless…. • Because ______ is our passsionate and our neighborhood, • Is passionate _______ therefore we propose to ________... • Listening to God

39. Neighborhood Interview • What do you value about this neighborhood? • How can we work together to strengthen this neighborhood? • What are you passionate about in this neighborhood? • What are your dreams for this community?