What a talk about pensions taught me about making change

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A room full of clergy learning about changes to their pension fund is the last place I’d look for inspiration.

And it’s a pretty safe guess you wouldn’t look there, either.

But a funny thing happened.

simple
Inspiration can grow from the funniest of places

You don’t need to know anything more about the situation than that. It’s the sort of place which suffocates inspiration.

I will also say that all things being equal, ours is a pretty sweet deal. And given how many are souring their deals, ours continues to look all the sweeter.

But the talk.

The changes they’re making are minimal.

Such as changing part of the formula for determining what we’ll receive in the end. Eliminating a program with 5 enrollees. And they’re consolidating options which have grown unseemly.

You have to stretch to find much of anything objectionable in these changes.

And that was when it hit me.

How hard do we work to find something objectionable?

All the decisions the Church Pension Group made will make things easier. Every change consolidates or builds new opportunities.

Most importantly, the basic premise of the process was to make things better. To find a way to be both more generous, easy to use, and more consistent for the future.

Everything.

It was well-designed and thoughtful.

They considered each group and didn’t let the few prevent the nearly-all have a better future.

And yet, in spite of this, there will be objections. Not sound ones. Not thoughtful ones. Just objections.

Objections because they made any changes. Objections because the thing they know has new guidelines.

That’s all.

This literally affects thousands of people for the better.

And I promise you at least two of the five people taking advantage of the graduate subsidy will be upset. Even as the replacement may be more beneficial to them.

But there I was, sitting among these clergy, listening to a presentation about as interesting to me as water-dripping. And as sleep-inducing. A presentation which was

thorough
well-planned
thoughtful
simple

and I realized how easy it is object. How easy to make everything harder. To concoct elaborate, imaginative scenarios to why this was none of those things. All based in fear, hurt, or selfishness.

I also realized how beautiful change can be when we center it in priority. A priority of

inclusive,
stronger,
simpler

because the values showed through. And honestly, there is nothing to which one can object with integrity. Not when our priority is present in both the change and the implementation. That same priority for our families, churches, and communities.