Sola Gratia Case Study

In thinking about the dynamics occurring at Sola Gratia, I would say that culture and change play many parts in the dynamics occurring at Sola Gratia. I would say culture plays a primary role and change plays a secondary part in the dynamics occurring at Sola Gratia. This is because the changes occurring at Sola Gratia are a result of a shift in the cultural dynamics. Furthermore, I believe it is rather difficult to differentiate culture and change in the dynamics at Sola Gratia because they are somewhat synonymous and interdependent upon each other.

Initially, the culture of Sola Gratia could be described as a traditional church experiencing an economic decline, failing schools, and deteriorating housing in neighborhoods along with an inability

Though I can draw connections from many of the readings we have done, I will focus primarily on connections found in Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces That Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland. One important connection I draw is the notion of self-serving biases presented in chapter six of Disunity in Christ. Self-serving biases “help us to naturally interpret the world in ways that make ourselves look good.” Both the “new” and “old” members could use an understanding of this concept in order to better address each other in the conflict at Sola Gratia. Another connection I draw between the readings and the case study is the fact that Sola Gratia was “finding its identity in less meaningful groups rather than forging on toward its truest identity as members of the body of Christ.” This feeds into Christena Cleveland’s statement that, “Our separation is tantamount because it indicates that we still have not settled on out true identity.” Sola Gratia was in the midst of trying to define its identity. One final connection I make between the case study and the book is something that was missing at Sola Gratia. This is, “If we answer the call to adopt a common identity, our lives as we know them will be destroyed.” No one was prepared for this aftermath of making the decisions to change the culture of Sola Gratia. There could have been better preparation for what was to come from both Rev. Johnson and the congregation’s leadership so that members would be prepared for the seemingly imminent conflict that was to