When Steve Aisthorpe found himself simultaneously analyzing church data and reading about environmental conservation in his book club, he didn’t expect the two subjects to collide in an epiphany. But as he wrestled with research about the changing shape of the church in the UK, the ecological concept of “rewilding” suddenly illuminated a new way of thinking about church renewal.
The parallel between environmental rewilding – which focuses on letting nature’s inherent forces work rather than imposing human management – and what he was observing in churches sparked a whole new framework for understanding church transformation.
Steve joined hosts Dwight Zscheile and Alicia Granholm on the Pivot Podcast to explore how this metaphor might help church leaders navigate today’s challenges. Drawing on his years of experience as a minister, researcher, and now retreat center director, he offered fresh insights into what it means to lead faithfully in a changing religious landscape.
The Dangers of Over-Domestication
One of the clearest signs that a church has become too domesticated, according to Steve, is predictability.
“When you think about what you might expect in following Jesus, who is this wild Messiah, this great interferer… we might expect our expressions of doing that together to reflect something of that adventure,” he explains. When church life becomes entirely predictable – even boring – it may indicate we’ve fallen out of step with the wild, unfettered nature of God’s movement.
Domestication often shows up in our approach to church leadership and planning. Steve contrasts two fundamental approaches: the management approach and the rewilding approach. The management approach starts with “a preconceived idea of what church looks like, what a healthy church looks like,” and tries to engineer that outcome. The rewilding approach, on the other hand, begins with following Jesus and allows church to emerge organically from that pursuit.
A New Leadership Paradigm
For leaders used to strategic planning and program management, rewilding requires a significant shift in approach. “At the heart of what is proposed in the rewilding metaphor is a rhythm of listening and action,” Steve explains. “Action that flows out of listening.” This means facilitating prayerful discernment within the community rather than driving predetermined outcomes.
This can be challenging for traditional church leaders because it’s “very empowering for what we might call lay people,” while potentially feeling threatening to professional religious leaders. It requires what Steve calls “courageous listening” – being willing to hear and respond to whatever emerges through the community’s discernment, even when it leads in unexpected directions.
Signs of New Life
Steve shares several encouraging examples of churches embracing this approach. He describes a network of rural churches in England where each congregation has developed uniquely based on its context—from after-school gatherings with parents and children to food cooperatives to environmental projects. These communities use the metaphor of “small boats and harbors” to describe their relationship, with each group operating independently but coming together periodically for mutual support and resourcing.
Another example comes from a traditional Highland village congregation that has gone through annual cycles of discernment and action for twelve years. Through this process, they’ve seen transformation not only within their church but in their wider community as people encounter Christ in fresh ways.
Getting Started with Rewilding
For churches interested in beginning this journey, Steve emphasizes the importance of involving the whole community in discernment from the start. “The ideas, the insights, the snippets of vision which turn out to be ‘yes, this is what the Spirit is saying to us’ come from the most unlikely places,” he notes. This means investing time in getting as many people as possible involved in the listening process.
The key is to “sell a vision for creating a vision”—helping people understand that the community will genuinely listen together for God’s direction rather than simply implementing pre-planned solutions. This requires a clear commitment from the beginning that the community will follow through on what emerges from their discernment.
Hope for the Future
Steve’s own journey embodies the rewilding principle. After years of research and writing about church transformation, he and his wife took the courageous step of leaving their secure positions to establish a retreat center in remote western Scotland. Located at Kilmaloo, an ancient Celtic Christian site, their work connects deep historical roots with contemporary needs for spiritual renewal.
This mix of ancient and new, structured and organic, planned and emergent characterizes the rewilding approach. It’s not about abandoning all structure or tradition, but about creating space for God’s wild and creative Spirit to work in fresh ways through God’s people.
As churches continue to navigate significant cultural changes, the rewilding metaphor offers hope by shifting focus from institutional preservation to spiritual adventure. By learning to listen deeply and respond courageously to God’s movement, communities can discover authentic expressions of Christian faith that connect meaningfully with today’s world.
