Why "Canoeing the Mountains" Is the Best Book on Organizational Change in the Church (Pt. 1)

What if grief is the way forward?

When Lewis and Clark set out to find the Northwest Passage, they expected to paddle upstream, portage around some waterfalls, and eventually reach the Pacific Ocean. What they found instead were the Rocky Mountains—an impassable barrier that no amount of better canoeing could overcome. They had to abandon their canoes, learn entirely new skills, and adapt to a landscape their maps never anticipated.

This is the central metaphor of Tod Bolsinger's brilliant book "Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory,”(CTM) and it perfectly captures why this book stands above all others when it comes to understanding organizational change in the church. While most change management books offer better techniques for the same old approaches, Bolsinger recognizes what many church leaders are just beginning to understand: we're not facing a navigation problem—we're facing a completely different terrain.

Beyond Tweaking Programs: Understanding Adaptive Change

Most church leadership books on change fall into the trap of offering technical solutions to adaptive challenges. They assume that declining attendance, generational gaps, or cultural shifts can be solved by better marketing, updated worship styles, or more engaging programs. Bolsinger demolishes this thinking by distinguishing between technical problems (which have known solutions) and adaptive challenges (which require learning new ways of being).

The genius of "Canoeing the Mountains" is that it names what every pastor feels but few can articulate: the landscape has changed. The cultural landscape that supported Christianity in America for generations has shifted so dramatically that our old approaches—no matter how well-executed—simply don't work anymore. This isn't a failure of technique; it's a failure to recognize that we're in entirely new territory.

Unlike books that promise "five steps to church growth" or "seven keys to reaching millennials," CTM doesn’t offer simple solutions to complex challenges. He doesn't offer quick fixes because there aren't any. Instead, he provides a framework for learning to lead when you don't have a map—which is exactly where most church leaders find themselves today.

The Courage to Face Uncharted Territory

What sets this book apart from other change management resources is its unflinching honesty about loss. Most organizational change books are relentlessly optimistic, promising that change will lead to better outcomes if you just follow the right process. CTM acknowledges what every seasoned pastor knows: adaptive change involves genuine loss.

Lewis and Clark had to abandon their canoes—the very tools that had brought them success thus far. Similarly, churches entering uncharted territory must be willing to let go of methods, traditions, and even identities that once served them well but now hinder their mission. This isn't about throwing away everything from the past; it's about discerning what must be preserved and what must be transformed.

This perspective is revolutionary in church leadership literature because it gives permission to grieve. Too many pastors feel guilty about mourning the loss of "the way church used to be." Bolsinger normalizes this experience while simultaneously calling leaders forward into whatever God is doing next.

Learning to Lead When You Don't Have Answers

Perhaps the most valuable contribution of "Canoeing the Mountains" is its reframing of leadership competency. In technical environments, good leaders have answers. In adaptive environments, good leaders know how to learn their way forward even when they don't know the destination.

This is a game-changer for pastors who've been trained to be experts. Seminary taught us to have answers about theology, biblical interpretation, and pastoral care. But nobody taught us how to lead a congregation through cultural upheaval when the old playbooks no longer apply. Bolsinger gives leaders permission to not have all the answers while still providing direction.

The book's emphasis on "learning leadership" rather than "knowing leadership" is particularly crucial for church contexts. Unlike corporate environments where leaders can mandate change, church leaders must bring people along voluntarily. This requires a completely different skill set—one focused on experimentation, adaptation, and communal discernment rather than strategic planning and implementation.

Practical Wisdom for Impossible Situations

While "Canoeing the Mountains" excels at diagnosis, it also provides practical tools for navigation. Bolsinger's concepts of "getting on the balcony" (stepping back to see the bigger picture) and "holding the tension" (resisting the urge to resolve complexity too quickly) are immediately applicable to any church leadership situation.

His framework for distinguishing between technical fixes and adaptive work helps pastors avoid the trap of applying old solutions to new problems. When attendance drops, the technical response is better marketing. The adaptive response is asking what cultural shifts are making our current approach less relevant and how we need to evolve to remain faithful to our mission.

Why It Matters More Than Ever

Three years after its publication, "Canoeing the Mountains" feels prophetic. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated cultural changes that were already underway, leaving many churches feeling even more disoriented. Pastors who thought they could wait out the cultural shifts now realize that adaptation isn't optional—it's essential for survival.

The book's greatest strength is that it reframes struggle as normal rather than failure. When you're in uncharted territory, feeling lost isn't a sign that you're doing something wrong—it's a sign that you're engaged with reality. This perspective alone makes the book worth reading for any church leader who's felt overwhelmed by the pace of change in recent years.

The Leadership We Need

"Canoeing the Mountains" stands out because it addresses the leadership challenge of our moment: how to guide people through change when you don't know where you're going. It's not about having vision; it's about cultivating the capacity to discover God's vision together as you move forward.

For church leaders navigating declining denominations, shifting cultural norms, and generational divides, this book offers something more valuable than techniques—it offers a way of thinking that can adapt to whatever challenges emerge. In a landscape where yesterday's solutions don't work and tomorrow's problems haven't yet been imagined, that kind of thinking isn't just helpful.

It's essential.

In the next article, I’ll reveal exactly how this played out in my ministry as I became a new, 1st time Senior Pastor during the Covid-19 pandemic.