As I am reading Margaret J. Wheatley’s book, Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic world, I cannot help to think that she is on to something when she talks about the notion of invisible fields impacting our lives. In a Newtonian worldview space was perceived largely as empty. Wheatley notes, “Newton’s world of cause and effect, of force acting upon force required great expenditures of personal energy to get someone else moving, vast regions of space to traverse to get something done” (50). However, with breakthroughs in science and particular in quantum theory the perception of space has changed. She notes, “No longer is it [space] a lonely void. Space everywhere is now thought to be filled with fields, invisible, non-material influences that are the basic substance of the universe. We cannot see these fields, but we do observe their effects” (50). Thus the world is a lot more interconnected then Newton perceived.
These new insights from science provide us with a new way to contemplate space. Wheatley then uses the notion of invisible fields to reflect deeply on the spaces organizations create. She discerns invisible fields that we find in organizations in order to better understand what invisible fields create the desired behavior and atmosphere. Wheatley describes how to discern these invisible fields by writing:
“We can never see a field, but we can easily see its influence by looking at behavior. To learn what’s in the field, look at what people are doing. They have picked up the messages, discerned what is truly valued, and then shaped their messages, when only contradictions float through the ethers, this invisible incongruity becomes visible as troubling behaviors.” (55) Thus the visible behavior of people give us clues as to the invisible fields operating in their lives.
She also applies these new insights to our understanding of organizational vision. Instead of perceiving of vision as a destination or our engineered future, it is better to think of vision as an invisible field that exerts influence. Wheatley notes, “If vision is a field, think about what we could do differently to use its formative influence. We could start by recognizing that in creating a vision, we are creating a power, not a place, an influence, not a destination. This field metaphor would help us understand that we need congruency in the air, visionary messages matched by visionary behaviors. We also would know that vision must permeate though the entire organization as a vital influence on the behavior of all employees. And we would feel genuinely threatened by incongruous acts because we would understand their disintegrating effects on what we dream to accomplish. We would become an organization of integrity, where our words would be seen and not just heard.” (55-56)
Wheatley’s notion of invisible fields is a reflective tool that can be applied to our ministries. Since I serve as a youth minister, I am reflecting on invisible fields in our church and particularly in our youth group.
Here is a couple of rather general ways in which we can reflect on the invisible fields in youth ministry.
One invisible field to reflect on is hospitality and the culture of hospitality that is present within the youth ministry. My desire is that every person that steps into our room is welcomed as you would welcome an honored guest in your own home. How do you create such a field within your youth ministry? If only the leaders welcome newcomers you have a very weak invisible field. If leaders and the teenagers within your group welcome newcomers because they authentically care and are interested in people, we have an invisible field that shows love and care for every person stepping through our door. Thus, one essential invisible field to reflect on for youth ministry is the question of hospitality.
Another invisible field that exerts influence on the youth ministry can be seen in how the adult part of the church relates to the teenagers. What does the congregation communicate implicitly and explicitly about teenagers? Are they welcomed in the church or are they not? Does the church send mixed messages? This is one area in which the youth minister can step up and address issues where needed.
Several other questions could be examined through the notion of invisible fields. For example: Is our youth ministry a safe environment? Does our youth ministry create a space for connecting with Jesus, self and others?
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