Wising Up: Rediscovering the Ancient Power of Congregational Wisdom
What a Fool Believes — Final Installment
“Well, that’s just your opinion.”
It’s the conversation-ender of our time, a verbal shrug that floats through family dinners, church debates, social media exchanges, and national discourse alike. In the post-truth era, facts are negotiable, and science is suspect. We inhabit increasingly fractured realities reinforced by algorithms and ideological echo chambers.
But wise people, truly wise people, pause and ask themselves: “What if I’m the one being fooled?”
Throughout this series, we’ve wrestled with the institutional malaise afflicting much of church life today. We’ve named the folly of outdated metrics, nostalgia-fueled models, and the compulsion to cling to forms that no longer fit the world we live in. But in this final installment, we turn to what might be rising from the ashes, not just critique, but the rediscovery of a constructive alternative: congregational wisdom.
Defining Foolishness
Let’s revisit the question that opened the series via the Doobie Brothers: What really does a fool believe? Is it possible that foolishness has become so normalized in our culture, and even in our churches, that we no longer recognize lady wisdom when we see her?
If wisdom is the Spirit-led ability to discern context, reflect humbly, and love well, then what is its opposite?
In both sociological and theological terms, foolishness is not mere ignorance or lack of intelligence. Rather, it is a patterned way of living, personally and institutionally, that resists growth, denies reality, and centers self-interest over the common good.
Sociologically, foolishness shows up in rigid systems, hierarchical control, and the obsession with predictability. It emerges in institutions that prioritize survival over transformation. Émile Durkheim might call these “collective representations” disconnected from the moral conscience of the community. Sociologist Craig Calhoun warns that such systems become insulated traditions, preserving the past without reimagining the future.
Theologically, foolishness is spiritual misalignment.
“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” Proverbs 12:15
Proverbs often contrast the self-assuredness of the fool, convinced of their own correctness, with the humility of the wise, who remain open to counsel and correction. It speaks directly to our cultural moment, where certainty often trumps curiosity and defensiveness replaces dialogue.
The Apostle Paul famously declares that “the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God” (1 Cor. 3:19). Biblical foolishness is not about intellect, but about misalignment with divine purpose. The foolish are those who ignore the cries of the poor, who mock the prophets, who lean on their own understanding, who trust in horses and chariots rather than in the Spirit of the Lord.
Foolishness is living as though the reign of God is not real, and as though love is not the deepest logic of the universe.
In that sense, foolish congregations may be full on Sundays and flush with resources, and still completely out of step with Jesus. They measure the wrong things, reward the wrong behaviors, and chase metrics that obscure the Spirit’s movement.
As Ardelt and Sharma’s (2021) research on unwise organizations reveals, foolish systems tend to:
Prioritize efficiency and optics over ethical reflection
Suppress dissent and discourage creativity
Foster cultures of blame, competition, and control
Cling to outdated rules in the face of emerging complexity
Value short-term wins over long-term health
Sound familiar?
The contrast is stark. Where wisdom seeks the common good, foolishness clutches power. Where wisdom listens, foolishness lectures. Where wisdom adapts with compassion, foolishness enforces conformity.
To reclaim congregational wisdom, we must not only pursue what is wise, we must have the courage to name what is foolish and repent.
Compassion is Not Enough
Initially, my research at the University of Florida set out to explore the relationship between religious disaffiliation and the decline of compassion in American society. Drawing on both sociological and theological literature, I examined how compassion, a multi-dimensional construct encompassing cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects, appears to be eroding in the context of increasing social fragmentation, political polarization, and religious decline. The loss of moral engagement traditionally cultivated through religious institutions, particularly among younger cohorts and the religiously unaffiliated, seemed to correlate with rising loneliness, diminished empathy, and decreased civic and charitable participation.
As I delved deeper, however, I came to realize that compassion, while essential, is actually a subset of a larger framework… wisdom. The more I engaged with the Three-Dimensional Wisdom Model, the more it became clear that cognitive insight, self-reflective capacity, and compassionate action are deeply intertwined.
It’s possible to be a compassionate person without being wise, but it is not possible to be truly wise without being compassionate. Wisdom is the rudder that guides the ship of compassion through the turbulent seas of life, keeping it from drifting into naïveté, burnout, or misdirection.
Compassion cannot be sustained without reflective humility and contextual discernment. In other words, what we are witnessing may not just be the collapse of compassion, but rather a wisdom crisis.
This shift in perspective ultimately laid the foundation for my current research focus on a construct that is new to the literature but ancient in practice: congregational wisdom. Both timeless and timely, congregational wisdom offers a vital alternative to the outdated institutional models and metrics that have long defined church success.
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Do Wise Congregations Form Wise People?
An initial research question was: “Do wise congregations, through the cultivation and transmission of wisdom, positively influence their members’ flourishing and overall well-being?” What makes this question particularly compelling is its measurability. It lends itself to a mixed-methods design that integrates validated instruments, (such as the 3D Wisdom Scale, Flourishing Scale, and Psychological Well-Being Scale), alongside interviews and focus groups, allowing for both statistical correlation and rich narrative insight.
Yet the question also opens a deeper theological and sociological inquiry: “What makes up a wise congregation?” This invites reflection beyond mere outcomes, pressing us to examine the internal culture, leadership practices, communal habits, and spiritual orientation that enable a community to embody wisdom in a shared, relational way. In this sense, the project is not only about measuring impact but also about recovering a richer, more holistic understanding of what congregational vitality really means.
What if we could develop a tool to measure congregational wisdom itself? Rather than just critiquing the metrics, Dr Ardelt and I began working on a constructive alternative: a Congregational Wisdom Scale (CWS) that draws from the Three-Dimensional Wisdom Model and adapts it for communal life.
Through content analysis of United Methodist Church vitality reports and focus groups with denominational stakeholders, my aim is to identify the gaps in current assessment models and chart a new path, one where churches are evaluated not simply by size or budget, but by their capacity to think theologically, reflect honestly, and love well. In doing so, I hope to equip faith communities to form wise and compassionate people.
From Foolishness to Wisdom
Church decline is real. But more dangerous than shrinking attendance is a shrinking imagination. When congregations double down on predictability, performance, and control in the face of uncertainty, they mirror the “not-so-wise” organizations described by Ardelt and Sharma (2021): rigid, hierarchical, efficiency-obsessed systems that suppress creativity and harm well-being. By contrast, wise organizations encourage compassionate leadership, foster reflection, and enhance collective flourishing. Could the same be true for churches?
Rather than measuring vitality by “butts and bucks,” congregational wisdom invites us to reimagine what church success looks like in the 21st century. It’s not about growing big… it’s about becoming deep.
Just as Ardelt proposed that wise individuals integrate cognitive, reflective, and compassionate capacities, so too can congregations:
Cognitive: The congregation pays attention to its context. It understands cultural shifts, demographic changes, and the spiritual landscape. It does not bury its head in the sand or operate from denial. It seeks to know what’s real.
Reflective: The congregation questions its assumptions. It is willing to reexamine inherited models, repent of harm, and innovate with humility. It names power dynamics. It listens to voices on the margins.
Compassionate: The congregation moves toward pain with love. It creates belonging for those who’ve been hurt by church. It seeks justice, practices generosity, and becomes a place of healing. It forms authentic, embodied community.
These dimensions are not abstract ideals. They correlate with real outcomes. Ardelt and Sharma’s research shows that wise organizations promote job satisfaction, physical and emotional well-being, and greater long-term sustainability. The same may be true for wise congregations.
Thus, congregational wisdom is the collective capacity of a faith community to perceive context clearly (cognitive), examine itself honestly (reflective), and act with love (compassionate) in ways that foster spiritual and social well-being.
Mapping the Metrics
In our Mapping the Metrics study, we found that most vitality indicators in mainline denominations measure surface-level data: attendance, giving, membership. But these are outputs, not outcomes. They measure participation, not transformation.
By contrast, a Congregational Wisdom Scale (CWS) offers a way to assess what truly matters, both spiritually and socially, by inviting churches to ask deeper, more transformational questions:
Are we becoming wiser and more loving people?
Are members growing in empathy, humility, and discernment?
Are we cultivating spaces where trauma can heal and gifts can flourish?
Are we faithfully embodying the presence of Jesus in our neighborhood through meaningful community partnerships?
Does our congregation play a vital role in making our community a more just, compassionate, and hopeful place?
Fresh Expressions as a Case Study
Fresh Expressions of Church offer a living laboratory for congregational wisdom. These communities are often small, fragile, and volunteer-led, but they are marked by profound relational intelligence. They embody:
Cognitive realism about the post-Christendom moment
Reflective openness to adapt and decentralize
Compassionate presence in places the inherited church has overlooked
As the Mapping the Metrics study highlights, most of these communities do not appear on official reports. But they radiate the kind of grassroots wisdom that has animated missional movements for thousands of years.
Getting Started Cultivating Congregational Wisdom
If a faithful church attender is no wiser or more compassionate than someone who never steps foot in a sanctuary, then the world doesn’t need more church-as-usual. It needs churches that form wise, loving, and courageous people, communities where compassion deepens and discernment grows. It needs congregations wise enough to know what time it is. Communities humble enough to rethink the playbook. People compassionate enough to love without agenda.
To conclude, here’s a few starting points you can begin nurturing congregational wisdom today:
Reform Metrics: Shift from input/output measures to learning indicators of transformation, connection, and justice.
Decenter Control: Empower lay leadership, flatten hierarchies, and allow the Spirit to surprise us.
Prioritize Formation: Make discipleship about growing in love, empathy, self-awareness, and prosocial behavior.
Practice Listening: Create cultures of reflection, feedback, and mutual discernment.
Invest in Compassion: Not just as sentiment, but as a structured, active force for good.
Congregations were once centers for the intergenerational transmission of wisdom. Their decline has left a gaping void in American society, a void we are now witnessing in the rise of cruelty, disinformation, and sociopolitical foolishness. It’s time to wise up and awaken the ancient power of congregational wisdom. It may be one of the few hopes we have to pull our society back from the cliff’s edge… before we reach the point of no return.
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The Science of Wisdom
In this episode, Michael and Jessica sit down with Dr. Monika Ardelt, a leading wisdom scholar, for a deep dive into the science of wisdom—and why it matters now more than ever. We explore the 3D Wisdom Scale, wisdom and aging, bad theology, organizational health, and how churches can actually cultivate wisdom in a rapidly changing world. If you care about the future of the church, leadership, or just becoming a wiser human, you do not want to miss this one.
Such a helpful series, thank you!
The research showing that regular church attenders are no more compassionate than non-church goers is deeply troubling. It's a sign of a deeper problem of discipleship. The fact that our own metrics don't even access this kind of growth is very telling.