Several
years ago I ran a program in which I trained and supervised citizens to
advocate for children involved in abuse and neglect proceedings in
family court. The volunteers needed to interact
with many different types of people and various large systems. These
advocates had the most challenging volunteer job I have ever known. They
had to collaborate with lawyers, judges, social workers, foster care
parents, parole officers and psychologists, in addition
to the parents of the children, who were usually poor and often had
mental health and/or addiction problems. The extensive months of
training I provided were often inadequate. When they were
struggling I often found myself saying to them, “Remember, you
are the keeper of the questions.” As long as they kept the long term
health of the children in mind and kept asking the important questions
in a timely manner, they were doing their jobs; they were keeping others
on track.
I
like the title, "Keeper of the Questions." In the fantasy world of Kathy
McGowan, the Keeper of the Questions has a place of high status. It is a
position to be respected and honored. In
our congregational lives, this role falls to our leaders. In order to be a
Keeper of the Questions in our Unitarian Universalist context, we are
required to get up off the dance floor, so to speak, and move onto the
balcony where we have a better view of what
is happening. Once we have acquired a balcony view, we can then find out
which questions need to be asked.
Leaders
are often involved in decision-making that requires this kind of
exploration. It takes a solid leader to be able to stop and say, “Are we
asking the right questions?” Often we come
to the decision-making process from something that happened on the dance
floor. It can seem like a logical next step to make a decision, but if
we have not gotten that “bird’s eye view,” it is likely that we have
missed a key element about how this decision
might effect the entire system of the congregation.
Once
the good questions have been asked, you might be surprised at the
answers you get. If the questions are strong enough, and the process
clear and thorough, the thinking generated can take
you far. Do not be afraid of the creativity that is unleashed. Embrace
the Keeper of the Questions.
