The Church is a lot like Nike

Can its past, present, and future make things better, not worse?

Chances are that you have heard the news:

Nike has ousted its (outsider) CEO John Donahoe.

The Board has brought back from retirement (insider) Elliott Hill — a longtime Nike executive.

On first glance, it seems like a case of leadership mismatch. They hired someone who could not maintain the traditions of an institution. So, they had to replace him with someone who could restore that respect.

But, to me, the super long article from Bloomberg Businessweek entitled, “The Man Who Made Nike Uncool,” shows what is really happening:

Nike, as an institution, has trouble doing well with new things (because it is saddled with the expectation that its old things will always do well).

I. Convergence

Remember, like Hill, Donahoe was brought in by the Nike Board to replace an existing CEO, Mark Parker — to do something that Parker had trouble doing:

To succeed in digital and distribution.

Through the COVID lockdown, Donahoe’s efforts at digital worked. But, what ultimately led to his downfall was how upstart competitors were all coming up with new shoes that were becoming popular.

At some point, some were even calling for Nike to bring back Parker (more of a product leader) to replace Donahoe (more of a process leader).

II. Resonance

The Church is a lot like Nike:

It keeps saying that it needs new things, so it brings in new people and tries new things.

But, when it gets to a point where those new people and new things run out of steam, the Church yearns for a return to an idyllic, more “authentic” past.

This kind of institutional amnesia leads to decline of not only the Church’s size and standing, but also that of the efficacy of the Church’s prescription for the world’s ills.

III. Emergence

I believe that it does not have to be this way.

In fact, what I mean by “regenerative” is a way to do both well — where the past, present, and future all make each other better, not worse.

When applied to The Church, the task is to de-emphasize “practices” and to focus on “moments” — the skill of the healers of our time is in guiding people to interpret the purpose of a moment.

Interested in learning more?

Sign up — free — for an upcoming webinar on The Regenerative Church that I have been putting together.