Good evening, and I hope that you were able this weekend to find time to be thankful for the joys in your life and work.

I've been reading a very interesting book on change in religious communities called "The Sky is Falling" by Alan Roxburgh. In it Roxburgh notes two 'tribes' in organizations.

One is the "liminal" group, who have been trained to manage and lead in certain ways and means. He writes, "We're good at it and we have a suitcase full of special tools to accomplish this task. We have letters after our names that validate our skills, and titles that identify us as certified experts. The only problem is no one cares anymore."

The other is the "emergent" group. "These are people who have never known anything but change in their lives. Weary of fighting internal battles about meaning, control, and power, they've all but given up on existing ... structures, believing them to be institutional, archaic and out of touch with the demands of today's postmodern culture."

What has interested me is how these descriptors can help us understand the people in our organizations a little better. In changes in your organization, who are the liminal folks, whose years of wisdom can help with lessons learned, and who are the emergent folks, interested in pushing your organization in new and exciting ways. Our challenge is to keep the two groups talking to and learning from each other. And to note for ourselves, which group we fall into. Are we hanging on to old ways because that is where we're comfortable with, or are we ignoring possible wisdom as we 'revolutionize' our organization.

May this week be one filled with learning for you from both the liminals and the emergents in your organizations.