Using World Café Methodology for Affective Change

153 Pages·2017·1.34 MB·English

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Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project Concordia Seminary Scholarship
7-26-2016
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Stephen Rynearson
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin
Part of the Practical Theology Commons
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Rynearson, Stephen, "Using World Café Methodology for Affective Change" (2016). Doctor of Ministry
Major Applied Project. 51.
https://scholar.csl.edu/dmin/51
This Major Applied Project is brought to you for free and open access by the Concordia Seminary Scholarship at
Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctor of Ministry Major
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information, please contact [email protected].
USING WORLD CAFÉ METHODOLOGY FOR AFFECTIVE CHANGE
A Major Applied Project
Presented to the Faculty of
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis,
Department of Practical Theology
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Ministry
By
Stephen P. Rynearson
July 26, 2016
Approved by
Dr. David Peter Advisor

Dr. Thomas Manteufel Reader

Dr. Wallace Becker Reader
IN MEMORIAM RHODA J. RYNEARSON
De institionibus omnia ut sciam ex ea orioritur

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CONTENTS
TABLES ................................................................................................................................ vi
PREFACE ............................................................................................................................. vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................... viii
ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................... ix
Chapter
1.THE PROBLEM INTRODUCED ................................................................................. 1
The Problem ............................................................................................................ 1
The Purpose ............................................................................................................. 4
The Process .................................................................................................... 5
The Parameters of the Project ......................................................................... 7
The Content of Upcoming Chapters .............................................................. 10

2. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS ........................................................................... 12
Service in the Old Testament ........................................................................ 12
Service in the New Testament ....................................................................... 16
Joy and Service in the Epistle to the Philippians ............................................ 19
Decision Making in the Church ..................................................................... 22
3. LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................... 30
History of the World Café ............................................................................. 30
The Basic Design Principles of the World Café Methodology ....................... 32
The World Café in Other Contexts ................................................................ 36
Theological Reflections on World Café Methodology ................................... 38
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4. APPLIED PROJECT PROCESS ................................................................................ 41
Background to the Project ............................................................................. 41
Project Form ................................................................................................. 44
Final Steps .................................................................................................... 46
Conclusion .................................................................................................... 46
5. THE PROJECT FINDINGS AND EVALUATION ................................................... 48
Summary of Interviews Prior to the World Café Event .................................. 48
Summary of Follow-up Interviews ................................................................ 53
Analysis of Table Top Artifacts .................................................................... 57
Analysis of the Researcher’s Direct Observation Notes ................................ 60
Concluding Observations .............................................................................. 61
6. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................... 63
Results of the Project .................................................................................... 64
Recommendations for Using the World Café at Peace Lutheran Church ....... 65
Suggestions for Further Study ....................................................................... 66
Conclusion .................................................................................................... 67
Appendices
PRE-EVENT STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONS .......................................... 69
INTERVIEW RELEASE .............................................................................................. 70
TRANSCRIPTS OF THE FIRST ROUND OF INTERVIEWS ...................................... 71
WORLD CAFÉ EVENT QUESTIONS ........................................................................ 102
PERSONAL OBSERVATION NOTES OF THE RESEARCHER ............................... 103
TRANSCRIPTS OF TABLE TOP ARTIFACTS .......................................................... 105
iv
FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW QUESTIONS .................................................................. 114
FOLLOW-UP INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS.............................................................. 115

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 138
VITA .......................................................................................................................... 144

v
TABLES
Table Page
Table 1. Length of Time at Peace Lutheran Church .................................................................48
Table 2 Summary of Follow Up Interviews ..............................................................................53
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PREFACE
“There has to be a better way.”
That is the thought that I have been unable to suppress during the years of my ministry
with regard to decision making in the congregation. The use of parliamentary procedure,
with the consequent use of voting, often has left me wondering if there was a better way.
As the middle son of a Lutheran pastor, I have seen throughout my life how the
congregations of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod have made important decisions.
Sometimes instead of fostering peace and unity within a common vision for the
congregation, voter’s assemblies and committee meetings can degrade to a mere vote—with
winners and losers. While the winners rejoice, the losers sulk. If they don’t leave altogether,
they often quit participating in the discussion and decision process. On other occasions, the
desire to avoid conflict causes the voters to suppress their ideas, lest others be hurt. As time
passes, a congregation can easily splinter into many different factions, or descend into a
torpor.
There simply has to be a better way.
This MAP proposes another way. The use of the World Café methodology, first
developed by Juanita Brown and David Isaacs in 1995 seems to be a fruitful way to foster
discussion and to open up a constructive dialogue. This MAP proposes to use this
methodology to change the attitudes of the participants with regard to joyful service to the
Lord. While not altogether able to meet such a lofty goal, the World Café does bring diverse
people together for discussions around topics that matter. It may well serve alongside
traditional methods, as another tool in the tool bag of a pastor and congregation as it seeks to
serve the Lord.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With a deep sense of gratitude towards the Triune God for all his blessing, I wish to
also acknowledge those who assisted in the completion of the Major Applied Project:
First, to my wife, Linda, who has encouraged me every step of the way and to my
sons, Joshua, Andrew and Nathaniel, who have patiently awaited their father to finally come
home for church;
Second, to my parents, The Rev. Dr. Rodney Rynearson and Mrs. Rhoda J. Rynearson
who always stressed the importance of reading and education;
Third, to my congregation, Peace Lutheran Church, Hewitt, Texas for supporting me
throughout the long years both spiritually and financially. In particular, I wish to thank the
many members who consented to be interviewed with regard to the World Café event.
Fourth, to the various directors of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Concordia
Seminary, St. Louis who have fostered a place of growth for parish pastors, Dr. John
Oberdeck, Dr. Andy Bacon, Dr. David Peter and Dr. Wallace Becker;
Fifth, to my advisor, Dr. David Peter for his careful attention and gracious
encouragement throughout the writing of this MAP. Also, to Dr. Thomas Manteufel for
serving as the primary reader whose insightful comments made this MAP better.
Finally, to the late Fred Schaedig, who encouraged me to return to the seminary and
“get that thing done.”

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright © 2001 by
Crossways Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.

viii
ABSTRACT
Rynearson, Stephen P. “Using World Café Methodology for Affective Change”
D.MIN MAP., Concordia Seminary, 2016. pp.142.

The purpose of this MAP is to evaluate the usefulness of using the “World Café”
methodology in changing attitudes. In particular, the participants went through a World Café
to see if any change was made from the previous apathetic service to the Lord into a joyful
service. Also tested was the usefulness of the World Café methodology for congregational
decision making.
Among the topics discussed are: what constitutes joyful service in the Scriptures; what
other means are often used in making decisions; and how to plan a World Café for
congregational use.

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