The Change Debrief...Debrief

No, I wasn't studdering. It's just funny to title a debrief post on a debrief tool.

As I mentioned earlier this week, this is one of my favourite debrief tools. There's so many applications. Probably one of the best characteristics of this tool is its relevance to our lives. As we age and grow - we're in a constant state of change. That change may be noticeable on the outside or maybe only on the inside. The point is - something is always happening to us. Which makes this tool really great to introduce at the beginning of a program so that you can refer back to it as the participants work through tasks and experiences. It helps the participants to begin making 'processing' a habit. They don't have to spend tons of time analyzing their thoughts and feelings...they can just look at how they're reacting through the experience and then - if they choose - they can dig into the why after that.

Beyond the straight up "Change" uses of this tool - I have used it as a metaphor for spiritual formation and how people respond to first hearing the Gospel, coming to know Jesus or even in their current relationship with Jesus.

It's a great starting point for journaling and self-reflection. I have used it with my staff and have great plans for it in the future.

I had mentioned that I had made some additions to the Change Debrief. The most significant and most often used one is a piece of obsidian which is volcanic glass - commonly known as igneous rock. It's made by rock being super heated and then cooled rapidly. Obviously there's a greater chemical process which isn't super relevant here - the point is that sometimes an experience can be so intense that who we started and who we ended up as can be completely different people.

These times in our life that cause such significant change can be good or bad. I can think of examples of each in my life.

How about you? Can you think of some obsidian-like moments in your life? An example of a very, very positive one for me would be when I decided to make my faith my own in Grade 7 and say 'yes' to Jesus. I remember where I was, what time it was, even what I was wearing. I can also remember a negative obsidian moment when one set of my parents essentially rejected who I was. It changed me - drastically and not just in the egg-sense where the changes happened on the inside but I remained similar on the outside. That moment was definitely obsidian - I never returned to that person before the conversation with my parents.

I really recommend taking some time to work through this debrief on your own. Gather some personal anecdotes for each object in the debrief. Your participants might need some examples of each - especially the deeper meanings. And allow yourself and the participants to process through this. Understanding how change affects us can, in itself, cause change.

Quite the paradigm, isn't it? I think we just turned the tide in on itself.

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