"May your kingdom come. May your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

– Matthew 6:10

The front doors of a church thrown wide open

About Open Doors, New Futures

What does God want to do here? It’s the central question in a life of faith. Many churches are mystified that what they used to do no longer works. While we know that, we don’t know what to do differently. We are in between the past and the future. In Open Doors New Futures, through multi-level conversations within a church, and in dialog with its community, God’s leading into the future emerges. God speaks to us in our experiences of community exploration, with sparked imagination in conversation, prayer, scripture study, and compassionate listening, opening possible partnerships and new directions. God brings these pieces together into a new pattern specific to each church and calls the congregation into its new future mission. No two will be exactly alike. When we truly seek to discern God’s desire, heaven and earth will move to see it done, and it is wonderful to be a part of God’s love and flow of abundance in the engaged world around us.

Open Doors New Futures is an adaptive change process rooted in the work of the Harvard Business school and adapted for churches by Susan Beaumont in her book, How to Lead when You Don’t Know Where You Are Going: Leading in a Liminal Season. Discernment asks us to open hearts and minds to God and be willing to move from:

  • from knowing to unknowing,

  • from advocating to attending,

  • from striving to surrender.

All so that we can let go of preconceptions, and authentically ask the central question:  What does God want to do here?


 

    The Open Doors New Futures process consists of two parts:

    Priest with hands raised looking out on congregation

    Clergy Search

    Open Doors New Futures Clergy Search is for congregations seeking a new clergy partner for common life and ministry. Open Doors New Futures Clergy Search does the foundational work of building a listening heart and the practice of personal discernment prayer and community discernment which are used for the call of clergy.

    After the call, in partnership with the new clergy person and all of their skills and capacities, the congregation’s discernment practice prepares them to engage in the Open Doors New Futures Mission Search to discern God’s call for their work together.

    Two people holding hands

    Mission Search

    Open Doors New Futures Mission Search is the second half of the Clergy Search seeking a new chapter together with all the combined capacities of priest, people and neighborhood that brings them into new partnerships with their community to develop a five-year long range plan.

     Open Doors New Futures Mission Search is also for settled clergy and congregations seeking a new chapter. Best practice preparation for the Mission Search is to learn discernment prayer using the book and resources of Grounded in God: Listening Hearts Discernment for Group Deliberations by Suzanne G. Farnham, Stephanie A. Hull, R. Taylor McLean. Discernment is essential to hearing God’s call for congregations, and there are several avenues of exploration and practice of discernment in the preparation appendix in the Mission Search Clergy book.

     

    We have the people to help you!

    Open Doors New Futures can help you seek and find God’s vision and empowerment in both clergy and mission searches. Our consultants will work with your leadership in carefully crafted engagements inside your congregation and with your community. They have both local and national training and are ready to share all their gifts and skills with you. Typical engagements cost $2,000 for a Clergy Search, and $3,000 for a Mission Search, payable in installments over a two year period.

    Getting Started

    For Congregations in Clergy Search, download these handbooks:

    To begin the Clergy Search, contact the Rev. Cn. Landon Moore, Canon for Vocations and Congregations.

     

    For Congregations in Mission Search, download these handbooks:

    To begin the Mission Search, contact the Rev. Canon Claire Woodley, Consultant for Open Doors New Futures at cwoodley@dioceseli.org.

     

    For Consultants (skilled process leaders):

    To view the full collection of Open Doors, New Futures resources, click here.

    Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so

    guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so direct our

    wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to

    you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always

    to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord

    and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

    Book of Common Prayer
    Prayer of Self Dedication p. 832

     

    Open Doors New Futures was developed over a three-year period with contributions from wardens/vestry, congregations, newly called clergy, Bishop’s staff, consultants, and Interim clergy to create a process to help congregations discern God’s Holy Spirit leading to a life giving plan for the future.