09.20.09
church, mission, governance
I’m often on this topic, and I think I must have come at it from fifty different angles this past couple of years. Here is one more you may find helpful. And it may shock you to know that the three questions I will share date back to 1967.
One of the large shifts that is happening as we attempt to find the center in this missional conversation is from the church at the center to God at the center, and His purposes in redemption. “It is not the church of God that has a mission in the world, but the God of mission who has a church in the world.” (Bosch) He is forming a people for himself. At the core of that purpose, we are formed for mission — to partner with God in both performing and proclaiming the good news. God is faithful in keeping his promises to Abraham, promises we inherit in Christ.
So if this is the core of God’s purpose, then governance and leadership in the ecclesia must align around this center. Lloyd Ogilvie, in 1967, asked three questions.
* What kind of people do we want to deploy on mission?
* What kind of community creates that kind of person?
* What kind of leadership cultivates that kind of community?
(This last question was probably “creates” rather than cultivates.. my adaptation)
The answer is a leadership that empowers people, nurtures teams, supports collaboration, shares knowledge, and cultivates a leadership culture. The shift we need has been well documented by a variety of sources. This example is adapted from Roxburgh in The Sky is Falling.
If it’s a metaphor you need, leaders must move from:
* Hero to host
* Director to Producer
* Map reader to Navigator
* Knower to lover
More: poets, prophets, pastors…
Jonathan Brink said,
September 20, 2009 at 3:34 pm
It’s interesting. As we begin to truly explore ecclesiology in its new forms we’re left with then tension of governance. And this is why I think Jesus set up the aspect of the tribe, or the unit of twelve. It’s small enough to truly make an impact in the individuals but not large enough to create a cult following, thus rendering mistakes essentially moot on any form of large scale.
And we also seem to ignore that tribes will self police themselves. When it’s that small, the level of intentionality increases because you can’t hide.
len said,
September 22, 2009 at 7:35 am
Jonathan, yesterday I reread a book I picked up four years ago titled “The Hidden Connections.” He is strongly into systems theory and he has a chapter on leadership in living organizations.. fascinating. Instead of “tribe” he talks about “communities of practice” and how in any growing organization there are multiple communities like this. I dont’ have time to offer his definition here, but I am using some material from Capra in a paper I am writing on leadership/learning communities. There is a preliminary version of my paper linked above now but the final is a week or so away… As for CAPRA, try this.. http://capra-learning.notlong.com/
Dream Awakener » Choice Blog Entries – Moltmann, Leadership, Simplicity said,
September 23, 2009 at 11:58 pm
[...] Church, Mission, Governance Len at Next Reformation talks about how the emerging missional church needs adaptive leadership skills as opposed to functional technical skills emphasized for the 20th Century Church. He shares some thoughts on the kind of leadership that cultivates a missional community. Check it out. [...]