Leighton Ford understands how important it is for effective leaders to offset or ‘intercept entropy’ (see LF #21). When an organization is ‘new’, it’s like eight small boys chasing a chipmunk: lots of noise and confusion, lots of wasted energy, but great flexibility and motivation. As the organization matures, the challenge of the leader is to keep the youthful zest without youthful disorder, to grow into maturity without taking on an aging rigidity.
Have you ever seen this struggle played out in your church or institution? So what can be done to prevent the implosion? I will offer some suggestions next week. Until then, observe and assess your present location on the ‘entropy spectrum’.
I think the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2 reflects what we are talking about here. In their zeal to remain doctrinally pure (a good thing) they became so narrowly rigid that what they were known for (love of God and love of others) disappeared (a not so good thing). They had lost their first love.
The challenge: how to keep youthful passion alive while embracing the wisdom of maturity.
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2 comments:
So does this mean that the fuitless should be cut from the vine. And who's job is that. First Love= Christ
Sean - good observation. Certainly John 15:1-17 specifies that Jesus is the vine (foundation, very essence of the church?) and God the Father is the gardener - we are the branches attached to the vine (various local churches with followers ?). Pruning happens. How is this worked out in real life becomes somewhat thorny I think. Sometimes dead branches just die off on their own but this passage speaks of specific, intentional cutting. And branches that are not fruitful can slow down others trying to bear fruit. ABIDING, STAYING seems to be important in John 15 - keeping the connection with Jesus and His love - which leads easily to the problem of the Ephesian Church in Revelation 2: they did not abide in the Lord's love. In this instance though, Jesus will come and turn the lights out if there is not a remembering, a return, a repentance, a recommittment. There is still time for that church - they have been warned. Every church will have dead non-producing branches at some time. If they get in the way of health, and if they do not respond to warnings, then yes, they should be removed - and their is some Bible instruction on how to do church discipline. Another approach to regaining health is a little more easily accepted - that is to refresh the mission - subject of my next LF post.
Doug
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