how can i lead this generation. part two
I want to continue our line of discussion about this generation and their problem with authority. Our first blog on this was a fairly simple examination of the issue and while I think it was important to lay those ideas out, I now want to go a bit deeper.
One friend of mine had real issues with how our church met for worship weekly and in the same location. This perplexed me and what I came to realize was that these things were the beginnings of “institution” to him, which is the kind of authority that relies upon titles and hierarchies for legitimacy – the worst kind of leadership for this generation. It also smacks of commitment (come to the same place every week etc…), which is the enemy of the organic & fluid kind of existence he longed for. How do you lead someone like my friend, a person of insight and gifts, into impact? What kind of authority does he recognize? Is it possible to live “impact” without commitment? What do we need to learn from his apprehension in order to meet our generation and lead them – where they are- effectively?
The danger is that we move too far and lose too much for this “effectiveness.” Discipline is undeniably a crucial part of apprehending the Life of God in our journeys. And at the heart of discipline there is a commitment to a given path, so much so that other things are set aside to make space for this commitment. I fear that this generation would chuck this and lose out.
A professor of mine a few years ago was listening to us moan and groan about a paper that was due that week. We felt we had made some headway when he paused and said, “life is pretty stressful isn’t it?” However reality landed with a thud when he then added, “you know what, If you do not learn to do what you do not want to do for long periods of time, you will never amount to anything. Write the paper.” Thud. Never have wiser words been dropped on me. Through the years this quote has pulled me places where neither inclination nor pleasure would take me. I am weak. I want the easy road. And yet I also want significance! What is the path? Disciplined sacrifice and perseverance. There is no other road for a life that has substance and any demand of a generation that it be given a path less than that is a deception the church dare not take. Do not tickle those ears.
Yet there ARE some lessons to be learned in my friends’ apprehension that are legitimate. Why does the prospect of a weekly event in the same place put him off? It smacks of institution, not the “organic.” That word has been driven down our throats but it is exactly right in this instance. An institution exists to further itself – or the ambitions of its proprietors – while the organic is just about going with what is happening, what is real. Which comes back to the problems with commitment – ask this generation to commit to an institution and they will frustrate you every time. It’s like herding cats! Involve them in something which is happening and which addresses their longing for meaning and revolution…well then you may see the eyes light up a bit!
It comes back to a metaphor I read in a book called The Shaping of Things to Come. In it the authors draw the distinction between a bounded set and a centered set. The former is drawn with lines around it that delineate who is I and who is out and the only way to get it to “grow” is convince others that life is better inside than outside. (You then have to create ways to define who is in and who is out so you can know who else you need to get "in!") While a centered set organizes itself around central core values that compellingly draws others to them in varied “orbits” of intensity (for us that core value being Jesus and His Life & Ministry). They use the illustration of a ranch which uses fences to keep the livestock in or one that uses a freshwater well to keep the livestock close by because the terrain is so arid and dry they know the relevance of the genuine experience of thirst quenching will keep animals who want to live within the ranch’s “orbit.” The main requirements here are that the core values remain compelling and genuinely life transforming. If the water goes, the orbit breaks down. But there isn't a line of demarcation that gets drawn in the sand over which you must step to belong. All belong. Closeness to the center is the only variable.
What is frustrating to “modern” leaders is that this organic or “centered set” model is not organized around the furthering of their institution. The “end” or telos for this model is the people themselves and so lack of commitment means lack of “water in a dry and arid land.” You have to care more about the people you want to reach than your institution for this to work for you.
Which is rare.
Which is why our generation has a hard time with commitment and leadership.
One friend of mine had real issues with how our church met for worship weekly and in the same location. This perplexed me and what I came to realize was that these things were the beginnings of “institution” to him, which is the kind of authority that relies upon titles and hierarchies for legitimacy – the worst kind of leadership for this generation. It also smacks of commitment (come to the same place every week etc…), which is the enemy of the organic & fluid kind of existence he longed for. How do you lead someone like my friend, a person of insight and gifts, into impact? What kind of authority does he recognize? Is it possible to live “impact” without commitment? What do we need to learn from his apprehension in order to meet our generation and lead them – where they are- effectively?
The danger is that we move too far and lose too much for this “effectiveness.” Discipline is undeniably a crucial part of apprehending the Life of God in our journeys. And at the heart of discipline there is a commitment to a given path, so much so that other things are set aside to make space for this commitment. I fear that this generation would chuck this and lose out.
A professor of mine a few years ago was listening to us moan and groan about a paper that was due that week. We felt we had made some headway when he paused and said, “life is pretty stressful isn’t it?” However reality landed with a thud when he then added, “you know what, If you do not learn to do what you do not want to do for long periods of time, you will never amount to anything. Write the paper.” Thud. Never have wiser words been dropped on me. Through the years this quote has pulled me places where neither inclination nor pleasure would take me. I am weak. I want the easy road. And yet I also want significance! What is the path? Disciplined sacrifice and perseverance. There is no other road for a life that has substance and any demand of a generation that it be given a path less than that is a deception the church dare not take. Do not tickle those ears.
Yet there ARE some lessons to be learned in my friends’ apprehension that are legitimate. Why does the prospect of a weekly event in the same place put him off? It smacks of institution, not the “organic.” That word has been driven down our throats but it is exactly right in this instance. An institution exists to further itself – or the ambitions of its proprietors – while the organic is just about going with what is happening, what is real. Which comes back to the problems with commitment – ask this generation to commit to an institution and they will frustrate you every time. It’s like herding cats! Involve them in something which is happening and which addresses their longing for meaning and revolution…well then you may see the eyes light up a bit!
It comes back to a metaphor I read in a book called The Shaping of Things to Come. In it the authors draw the distinction between a bounded set and a centered set. The former is drawn with lines around it that delineate who is I and who is out and the only way to get it to “grow” is convince others that life is better inside than outside. (You then have to create ways to define who is in and who is out so you can know who else you need to get "in!") While a centered set organizes itself around central core values that compellingly draws others to them in varied “orbits” of intensity (for us that core value being Jesus and His Life & Ministry). They use the illustration of a ranch which uses fences to keep the livestock in or one that uses a freshwater well to keep the livestock close by because the terrain is so arid and dry they know the relevance of the genuine experience of thirst quenching will keep animals who want to live within the ranch’s “orbit.” The main requirements here are that the core values remain compelling and genuinely life transforming. If the water goes, the orbit breaks down. But there isn't a line of demarcation that gets drawn in the sand over which you must step to belong. All belong. Closeness to the center is the only variable.
What is frustrating to “modern” leaders is that this organic or “centered set” model is not organized around the furthering of their institution. The “end” or telos for this model is the people themselves and so lack of commitment means lack of “water in a dry and arid land.” You have to care more about the people you want to reach than your institution for this to work for you.
Which is rare.
Which is why our generation has a hard time with commitment and leadership.
posted by Jim Denison at 6:33 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home