The future is here and it's not what it used to be. Our lives are increasingly characterized by uncertainty, precarity, and a deep loss of faith in the methods and ideas that once seemed to help us understand the world about us. In spite of the many challenges of changing times, the horizon of possibility lies within reach if we relieve ourselves from the burden of carrying unnecessary baggage from the past. The future is here and now and how we engage it will have direct impact on the work we are trying to do.

Christianity looks very different these days. The digital era has significantly changed the way people think about and practice the sacred. What we need now are not just better and more diverse models for the future of Christianity, but a sense of history that we can draw from as we reinvent ourselves again and again. Knowing where we have come from is key to thinking about where we might be going.

Autocratic, bureaucratic and authoritarian models of leadership which defined the modern era are no longer viable in a more interconnected, pluralized and often divided world. Leadership values rooted in deep awareness of the cultural conditions, in which we lead, guided by understanding of human desire and longing, and avoiding the pitfall of trend-driven techniques that offer the veneer of innovation, are key to contemporary leadership.

Our new normal is that there is no 'normal.' The world continues to change at rapid pace and places new demands on us. And the new rules of engagement in this environment are dependent upon the creation of new ecosystems built around flexibility, resilience and prediction. Not static theories, but new ways of looking at life and faith which foster a creative and deeply compassionate platform upon which to build transformative and transforming communities of practice.