Thursday, March 06, 2008
Maturity and Position
This post by Dan Edelen sounds pretty familiar, which means I like it.
One of the things that I think churches really need to learn how to do is divorce maturity from position. We think that as Christian, our spiritual maturity will lead us higher in the organization - nothing could be further from the truth. Position on an org chart has to do with gifting and ability, but it is just as possible and blessed to be a spiritually-mature janitor as it is a spiritually-mature pastor.
Frankly, in the final analysis, it is spiritually-immature pastors that are the root of the problems Dan has so correctly laid his fingers on here. It is immature leadership that creates the illusion of advancement. The immature cling to their position for worth and value instead of to the source - the Lord.
Dan is right - we are all replaceable, because the source of our abilities and capabilities, the one that holds it all together and makes it all work is not us - It is Jesus Christ through the agency of His Holy Spirit.
Personality cult churches are all too common - in fact it is a problem that invades the para-church as well. Frankly I think it accounts for the plethora of churches we have in the nation, all the splintering, all the "I'll go start my own thing."
But it is a result of sin, not competition.
Technorati Tags:maturity, growth, chuch, position, signifigance.
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
It seems to me that a good many churches out there are cults. Not like Jehovah’s Witnesses, but cults of personality. They revolve around a few dynamic individuals. Should something happen to those dynamic individuals…well, you can see the handwriting forming on the wall.The thesis is dead nuts on, but I am going to pick at the details a bit. First of all, at bottom it is not "dog-eat-dog, business world, CEO model" that is the problem, it is sin. As a consultant, I have been a part of many companies, some that were competitive without being carnivorous and that was a good thing. Such competition was part of grooming the next generation of leadership. Competition is not a bad thing - the problem is when we fail to handle the "loser" with grace. All organizations have hierarchies, it is an inevitability - what we need to do is foster organizations that understand, encourage, and support the role of those lower down the org chart. There is no shame in reaching the top rung or reamining on the bottom one, unless the organization makes you think so, and then they are wrong.
It should never be that way.
Blame it on something in the drinking water in America, but we don’t do a very good job seeing ourselves as replaceable. Worse, people in leadership positions in churches take this to the extreme and find ways to keep from grooming successors. That dog-eat-dog, business world, CEO model permeates too much of our thinking, making us resistant to doing what’s best for the church, even if that best may not be the best for us personally.
[...]
The church that makes a difference is the one that understands that nothing good from anything that hasn’t died first. In this case, the truth is that I, along with you, must die to any preconceptions I have about “my ministry.” It’s not my ministry anymore than it is yours. It’s the Lord’s. And He only works wonders when the people trust Him enough to do it His way.
When we build our churches on a handful of talented individuals, we only set ourselves up for failure. Our goal instead should be to build a church where each person is replaceable, no matter how much a person might give to the ministry of the church in terms of time, effort, and money.
You see, when we’re dead, none of that worldly striving for position matters. It no longer becomes “my ministry.” The goal isn’t to play out my ministry, but to ensure that Christ plays out His, even if it means I wind up martyred for it. Because I’m replaceable.
One of the things that I think churches really need to learn how to do is divorce maturity from position. We think that as Christian, our spiritual maturity will lead us higher in the organization - nothing could be further from the truth. Position on an org chart has to do with gifting and ability, but it is just as possible and blessed to be a spiritually-mature janitor as it is a spiritually-mature pastor.
Frankly, in the final analysis, it is spiritually-immature pastors that are the root of the problems Dan has so correctly laid his fingers on here. It is immature leadership that creates the illusion of advancement. The immature cling to their position for worth and value instead of to the source - the Lord.
Dan is right - we are all replaceable, because the source of our abilities and capabilities, the one that holds it all together and makes it all work is not us - It is Jesus Christ through the agency of His Holy Spirit.
Personality cult churches are all too common - in fact it is a problem that invades the para-church as well. Frankly I think it accounts for the plethora of churches we have in the nation, all the splintering, all the "I'll go start my own thing."
But it is a result of sin, not competition.
Technorati Tags:maturity, growth, chuch, position, signifigance.
Generated By Technorati Tag Generator
