Tension is present in every community. Though I would like to say that Christian School communities might get a break in managing it, Christian schools are not exempt from experiencing tension.
On the surface, a Christian School attracts families that want the same thing for their children and therefore should be of relatively like mind. Even so, we find many points of disagreement.
These disagreements may surround practical matters: Which curriculum best fulfills our mission? What colour should the library carpets be? What route should the bus take through this neighbourhood?
Or, the tension surrounds larger issues: Who gets to attend our schools? What is the school’s position on [a given theological topic]? Is the $__ million capital campaign a good idea?
Disagreements tend to divide staff groups, families, and communities, especially in a societal context where winning over an adversary is praised. Our social media feeds are filled with examples of rage-baiting content that delights in making the other side look dumb: “Watch as ____ gets owned by this takedown argument!!” Local, state, provincial, and federal politics don’t help in this regard, polarizing us more and more each day. The issue is rarely the point; the side you take is what matters most.
Good tension
I’ve been spending more of my time in Windsor/Detroit lately, as one of my children is attending university there, so this area has become my preferred Canada/US crossing. Along with the locals, I am eagerly anticipating the opening of the new Gordie Howe International Bridge. A modern engineering, financing, and partnership marvel, the bridge symbolizes “good” tension:
- The suspension design is built on principles of balanced cable tension to distribute and carry a massive load across a considerable distance.
- The project has taken approximately eight years to build. It has been funded by a public-private partnership, intended for joint ownership by the governments of Canada and Michigan. This shared venture is no small feat given the current trade tensions between the two countries.
So what does good tension look like? When different sides listen, collaborate, and cooperate, tension can persist and may even be needed to carry and fund the overall structure. Good tension is a win-win. Without the cooperation of the opposite side, a suspension bridge can’t carry the load across the entire span. … The other side is needed to counterbalance the load. Without partnering with border services on either side, the trade route wouldn’t do what it was intended to do: allow goods to flow both ways.
Bad tension
Notwithstanding the example above, there are many instances where tension can become damaging. My dome camping tent is a great example. When properly set up, the tension in the fibreglass or aluminum poles is just tight enough to support the tent’s structure without sagging. When anchored properly, it can withstand a good amount of rain and wind, providing comfortable shelter against the elements.
When setting up in the dark one evening, I miscalculated and attempted to insert a long fibreglass pole into a spot that was too short to accommodate it. In my rush to set up camp, the tension was too great, and I snapped the pole. The load was greater than the pole was designed to carry. (Duct tape and some DIY engineering temporarily saved that trip.)
The team-building game “Yurt Circle” is another example of good and bad tension. When leaning simultaneously against a rope circle, the participants can trust that the counterbalancing weight of others will hold them up. This trust works until someone in the group stops playing along and is in it for themselves, either leaning too hard against the others or not leaning at all. When the proper amount of tension is lost, or when it is exerted with too much force without regard for the others, the structure collapses. In this case, if any one person “wins” in a battle against the other, the structure will fail.
Tension in balance
In preparing this article, I brainstormed areas where good tension should exist in the daily operation of a school:
- Revenues and expenses. In a for-profit venture, one might attempt to maximize profits, but in a non-profit organization, huge profits are an indication that you either aren’t fulfilling your obligations by “cheaping out” on your expenditures, or you are charging too much of your donors and constituents.
- Support and accountability. If our staff and faculty receive high amounts of both support and accountability, they will be empowered to thrive in their work. Pulling back on either is a losing proposition.
- Work and play. Too much of work or play will either burn us (or our students!) out or render us unproductive.
What other examples of good tension do you have?
This operational balance can be extended to our community relations as well. If we trust one another and focus on our shared commitments, we can actually lean into difficult conversations.
Tense Times
As a school leader, I’ve participated in and facilitated three or more major school community conversations over the past decade. At times, it felt more like I was caught in the middle of them.
In each case, tensions ran high, and early on, the conversations were marked by people and positions who were clearly trying to win. The tension, left to its own devices, was ready to either collapse the community into division or snap those supports designed to keep the structure structurally sound.
I remember commenting to a colleague that, figuratively, it felt like my arms were sore as I tried to keep the community together. (I was one of the supports being put under too much tension.) There were many others, and I’m thankful not to have been carrying the entire load myself. Had solo support been the case, my fate would have been like the abovementioned tent pole.
How did our school community survive what was developing into “bad” tension without being harmed? The turning point was always when wise people (often well-placed board members) stepped in with curiosity and humility, really listening and attempting to understand the issues at hand.
When we, as a community, started to work to understand those with opposing viewpoints and what was most important to them (a process often requiring dozens of phone calls, meetings, community surveys, and community conversations—a tip of the hat to the expertise of The Colossian Forum!), we could forge a way to bring the tension back into healthy territory. As a school community, we began to look like a well-supported suspension bridge again. The tension isn’t gone, but it’s generally a collaborative tension where there’s both give and take.
Setting aside a mentality dedicated to winning against others and instead working toward healthy tension is not only productive but also biblical. Christ admonished His disciples for arguing over who among them was the greatest (Luke 9), and Paul called both the Corinthian (1:10) and Galatian (5:13-15) churches to seek unity through service and sacrificial love for one another amid their disagreements.
As communities called to bear Christian witness, let’s work toward good, healthy tensions. Let’s bear the weight of our leadership responsibilities with curiosity, humility, and mutual love.
