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Appreciative Inquiry and Religious Community

In The Power of Appreciative Inquiry (2004), Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom define Appreciative Inquiry as “the study and exploration of what gives life to human systems when they function at their best.” A bookshelf of wonderful material has been published about this new discipline in the past five years, and now three recent arrivals address Appreciative Inquiry and religious organization.

Susan Star Paddock’s Appreciative Inquiry in the Catholic Church (Thin Book Publishing, 2003; www.thinbook.com) came first, largely due to the Diocese of Cleveland’s attention to the innovative work going on at Case Western Reserve University in the nineties. Paddock offers a remarkable short course in AI juxtaposed with stories from a variety of Catholic groups, including Catholic Relief Services, that have flourished with this new approach to community.

Last month The Alban Institute (www.alban.org) published Memories, Hopes, and Conversations – Appreciative Inquiry and Congregational Change by Mark Lau Branson, faculty member at Fuller Theological Seminary. It is a more ambitious project, focused around one story – the revitalization of a Japanese-American Presbyterian Church in Altadena, California. Branson is a master teacher and weaves his compelling story into an extraordinary exposition of the new discipline and the appreciative possibilities for bringing to life congregations that seem on their last legs.

Even more ambitious is Birth of a Global Community – Appreciative Inquiry in Action (Lakeshore Communications, www.lakeshorepublishers.com) by Charles Gibbs and Sally Mahe. The 350-page text is a history of the formation of United Religions Initiative and a remarkable case study in creating an international interfaith organization utilizing the gifts of an appreciative perspective.

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