Trying to avoid becoming a sterile institution.

This was a letter to some of our leaders. As we are establishing more order and strategy at 3ci, and we thought it well to get practical about avoiding the institutional creep (inspired by “on the verge” from Alan Hirsch and Dave Ferguson, and of course, the last few years of my life).

Preamble

Firstly, I am not an expert on the topic. I am just very serious about avoiding institutionalism (unimaginative serfdom to a once-well-meant system). I am writing this to learn, to remember and to do my best in preventing a robotic future, mechanised to perfection, but leaving no space for the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, we must continually remind ourselves that all ideas have consequences, which implies that a little idea today can become a big monster over time.
Thirdly, I also feel obliged to confess that I am on the side of organic life. I am not a lover of structure and method. It is good to know one’s own bent, and this is mine. The reason for my confession is for the purpose of change, not defence. I have to change for the sake of others, the mission and God. The balance between organism and organisation is critical. The human body has a skeleton frame, and a fruitful vine has structure, pruning and farming to thank. I have rejected any notion of system to the point of harming apostles in their gift of administration, harming our flock by mystifying things that should be clearer, and by harming my personal life, because the result of being totally organic is that you’re left with a disorganised reality. I have repented, and we are moving on. I know my bent. Do you know yours? Some of you are better at organisation than organism, so it would be good to make effort with “organism-dynamics”.

Getting to the point

As I learned from Bavinck that the church is both organism and organisation we are structuring more than before. Therefore, at 3ci, I want us to keep the following guiding principles for new proposals, strategies or plans. (This document is a work in progress)

1. Make sure more ministry is happening than management.

We must beware of increasing admin loads. It only takes 1 minute to come up with a strategic solution for any identified problem. Can the proposed solution work if another 2000 people are added into the mix? Will the newly suggested protocol require policing/monitoring, and who would monitor it? Does the “solution” work for other personality types than your own? Will the solution need careful explanation to prevent abuses further down the line, or is it easy to understand? Does it really provide a solution? Are you sure the problem is a problem? If it requires time, where would you cut time to create the needed time? Is it slowing down or speeding up the idea of viral disciple-making? Does your plan/strategy enable more ministry by more people to more people, or does it demand more supportive administration done by more people?
We remind ourselves to live devoted to Jesus, desiring to stir up devotion to Jesus.

2. Decentralise, don’t centralise.

The idea with disciple-making is that we pass on and hand out, empower and equip, outward and onward, to such an extent that disciples will keep on making disciples until Jesus returns. This means we have to let go of downstream quality control and institutional defence. We have to “get” Jesus and pass on Jesus. We have to “get” the gospel and pass on the gospel. We have to commit to the people we have immediate influence with. If we do it well with our disciples, they will do it well with theirs.
If we centralise, we develop problems. First problem is the “created need of environment policing”. If we become concerned with our programs and structures, we will most likely try to control downstream quality. This leads to the second problem of centralization; “changing outward discipling to inward recruiting”, as if we are training people only for our organisation. This is where we reverse our discipling direction and lose momentum, because we will be tempted to get feedback on too many things. We must make sure that our people are not required to come running to us for too many things.
If we decentralise, we develop solutions. We allow mistakes, which allows discoveries. Allow them to try and fail. Allow them to be grown-ups. Their experiences will promote questions, and then, mostly then, will they want to hear what we have to say. We need to lead people with questions that make them curious, and with questions that hold them responsible for answers, like, “What do you think God wants you to do in the next month or two, year or two, decade or two? What do you think of as most important? What is standing in your way? Why have you not employed your passions? Are you waiting for a magical moment in the future before you make decisive changes to your lifestyle? What if nothing changes in your circumstances until you die; are you fulfilled and full of gratitude, engaged in mission and satisfied in your lifework? Are you waiting for job offers before you could fulfil your calling? If you had to criticise your own plan, what would you say? Are you training others alongside?’
One way to cause momentum is to make people realise how much is up to them, because churchiness and structures often make people feel they are far from ready, far from being used of God. If we make them feel like their futures are up to us, we are reducing their holy stress they should feel for their own calling.
We remind ourselves to edify people more than we ever build systems.

3. Keep it simple.
Discipleship is supposed to be viral. 2 Tim 2:2. It is God’s way of exponential growth. For discipleship to be viral, we must keep it simple. Complexity slows down discipling. This means we must exercise simplicity.
We remind ourselves that less is more.

4. Work with the willing.
I recently heard George Patterson say, “Stop trying to shove camels through needles!” One of the reasons ministry grows more powerfully among the poor, is because they are receptive and desperate for change. We will be wise to work with those who are receptive and eager for change. Rather take a man with little capacity and lots of willingness, than a big-capacity man that is too satisfied. I’m reminded of Maggie Thatcher’s motto for productivity, “Keep yourself hungry and cold. You’re more alert if you’ve not had too much to eat and you’re not too warm. The blood goes to your brain, and not to your tummy.” That will preach. We must stay desperate enough to be bothered. We should also learn to identify people that hunger after God, willing to change.
We remind ourselves of the divine sequence of “knowing, being and doing”.

5. Prioritise prayer.
Anyone can type a 10-point strategy, but in this time I want to ask you to pray more than before. We can become institutional overnight. We are all able men with lots of work experience between us. Let us not be like Jerusalem in Isa 22, who did everything they could to protect Jerusalem, except looking to the Lord! God despises it when we place our hope in anything but Himself. Prayer is proof of God-reliance. Prayer is the environment of trusting God. May we be found on prayer walks, and on our knees, presenting our plans to God, and asking for divine guidance, because God might pour revival over the true work of prayer.
We remind ourselves that God does the lasting work.

Anyway, thank you for allowing me to state the obvious.
Feel free to add your thoughts.
Lots of love after a grateful week.
h