Clay Shirky in Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations (pp. 29-30)
Running an organization is difficult in and of itself, no matter what its goals. Every transaction it undertakes—every contract, every agreement, every meeting—requires it to expend some limited resource: time, attention, or money. Because of these transaction costs, some sources of value are too costly to take advantage of. As a result, no institution can put all its energies into pursuing its mission; it must expend considerable effort on maintaining discipline and structure simply to keep itself viable. Self-preservation of the institution becomes job number one, while its stated goal is relegated to number two or lower, no matter what the mission statement says. The problems inherent in managing these transaction costs are on of the basic constraints shaping institutions of all kinds.
Thoughts:
- Churches cast a vision/mission statement. This can often be handled in two ways: 1) They spell it out very specifically for the congregants through steps, action plan, etc. 2) They leave it open, allowing for the creativity of the congregants to carry out the vision/mission as they see fit.
- Dillema: If the church doesn’t spell it out, and wants the congregants to be creative, the church needs to cut off the “choke point” that is usually created by layers of bureaucracy and hierarchy, giving freedom to the people. Or they need to spell it out, give marching orders, but in the process they cut off people’s creativity and the participation of the congregation.
- In the end, the church has the choice to be self-preserving by maintaining control, or really pursue its mission/vision by opening up.
I know The Starfish and The Spider talk about these pieces as well. I’ve been fascinated by learning from some of the organic/house church folks about the advantages and disadvantages of a structureless church. A lot of them do it to different degrees. I’ve been really wrestling with/thinking about the idea of a network church – where the structure is much more flat – but there are still core values through which the church is known (mission, community, etc.). I’m also excited about the potentials for the web, DVDs, etc. to serve as connecting pieces within that structure…
Rick Warren seems to be pretty good at encouraging a spirit of ‘innovation’…yet I doubt his congregants are running off in a rogue way.
He provides a lot of stucture which allows more room for creativity within the confines of the ‘purpose’. But I don’t go to Saddleback…so I don’t really know how it feels to have an idea and try to push it through?
My observation is that sometimes a deeply creative person needs to buck up against ‘the machine’ to get motivated. Not necesarily a healthy dynamic…but a system that plays itself out with teenagers & parents too.
I don’t know the answers…maybe it is as simple as what the preschool teachers tell my kids at school…’you get what you get and you don’t get upset’. I am grateful to be a christian in America at this time in history…it could be so much worse.
. I kinda feel like…I am here on this earth at this time and place and I gotta work with what I’ve got and try to model my life and ministry after Christ…and do what I can within my sphere of influence…
I don’t really think about my church home as ‘the church’..the church is as big as the body of christ and and includes all the innovative (and not so innovative thinkers too)…we are all going to the same church…that is stretched throughout the body of Christ over time. So I don’t personally feel super confined when I think of it that way. The small group I am in and the church I attend are whom I fellowship with.