Organic Community: Coordination and Partners

The book slowed down with its final four chapters, in my opinion. It reminded me that many readable books have a two to three really good chapters, maybe one great chapter, but then get filled in with unimpressive material. Even so, there were points to take away.

In chapter 7, Myers draws a distinction between cooperation and collaboration. He says that cooperation stifles creativity because it flows from master planning. It revolves around one person's ideas and their desire to see this plan come to fruition. Collaboration values multiple input, however, and the plan is developed in the coordinated efforts of those laboring together.

I found this chapter had a good idea, but that it focused on drawing a distinction that really doesn't exist. What he described as collaboration, I could have described as cooperation. Really, this section would have been better used pared down and included as a section under Power or Participation.

Chapter 8 contains Myers' frustrations with accountability groups. He says that many have an assumption of failure, and can become harmful and awkward. He encourages, instead, relationships of edit-ability, where the onus for change and renewal is kept on the person confessing, not the partners. He uses the metaphor of editor because this allows the original person to maintain a sense of their personality in how they are growing.

Again, I agreed with Myers' desire for intimate relationships that have elements of confession and repentance, but disagreed that one would need to take such a negative view of the very word "accountability." One thing I would take issue with is one of Myers' distinctions between account- and editability: He says that accountability believes people are primarily bad and sinful, whereas editability believes people are made in the image of God and are good (142). This is a false dichotomy. People can both be made in the image of God and be very twisted as to be bad. The reason account- or editability is needed is because the image requires relationship, but also because sin has left humanity devastated. What account- or editability provides is the opportunity for righteous insight, revealing sins we might be blind to. Again, I felt this chapter would best have been located under Growth (incremental discipleship) or Measurement (stories of success in the midst of a changing story).

In sum, these two chapters had two excellent reminders, but were not worthy of full chapters and required too much creativity to find a distinction between concepts. Myers would have better communicated his point by making them shorter illustrative sections for other chapters.

Organic Community: Growth and Power

NOTE: For those interested in personal matters, see the post from Wednesday, Sept. 27. It even has photos.

Myers next tackles delicate issues of growth and power. I do not know that I can think of two more critical issues: Growth because it, and sometimes it alone, is the definition of success; power because its abuse has caused much cynicism in entire generations.

Myers polarizes views of growth to be wholesale or piecemeal; all-out or gradual. The subtitle of the chapter, "moving from bankrupt to sustainable," captures the essence. One should be careful not to read "sustainable, piecemeal" growth as strategy. Myers does not operate in master-plans. Rather, sustainable growth is a characteristic of organic community. Sustainable growth keeps the whole community in mind when starting something new. Sustainable growth thinks big picture because it does not want to pigeon hole an organization with one initiative. The example Myers gives is of buying a house: Sustainable growth buys a smaller house, sets money aside for different bills that will come up. Bankrupt growth buys the biggest house it can and leaves nothing not invested in the house.

I found this chapter a balance to Myers' idea of individuality and a broad range of community groups because it limits the amount of community opportunities people have. I really liked his emphasis on operating from the whole picture. He says that both the success and failure of "bankrupt" growth will devastate the whole organization. Small, piecemeal growth allows the identity of an organization to morph as its projects take deep root. The example from our church has been a between service time that we serve coffee and goodies in the lobby to give space for conversation. Early on in this project's life, people went all out in developing the best desserts ever. We had to communicate the we were not interested in surpassing the week before in quality of goods; we wanted a ministry that could survive the long haul. It has really become a blessing to me, at least, because I get to talk with people.

Myers' take on power is that it should be shared, but not necessarily all at once. The project carries the power and may call or assign leadership to someone in that group at any given time, but it may also transfer the power to someone else. Power is matched to giftings. The project is of utmost importance and may break our power structures for its benefit.

I liked this chapter because it emphasized that power is not a bad thing. Power is built into life (Myers might say that power is organic!) and must be acknowledged to be used wisely. This chapter would certainly encourage less egoism in some leaders.

Ordination

Hi friends,

Here are two photos from my ordination. The event was made very special and meaningful because of my caring family, friends, and church. My parents, my brother Paul, my Uncle Hugh and Aunt Norma, and my Uncle Bill all made the trip down to the ordination. Also, my friends Tim, Holly, Darren, and Ben came from New Brunswick and Ontario for the event. Also, Gary and Diane Sawyer, John Price, and Heather's parents came. Obviously (and thankfully) Heather came too. I also had phone congrats from brother Tim and his family. Here are two photos from the service.

Dr. Earle Wilson preached. He said something quite profound: "It doesn't matter what success you have in ministry if along the day you don't become a saint." True.

Participation and Measurement

Chapters 3 and 4 of Organic Community offer the tools of participation and measurement.

In chapter 3, Myers encourages community to be centered on individuality. People want to be recognized and wish to serve as individuals, with certain gifts, but for the good of the group. We ought to honour uniqueness. The health of individuals is to be sought before the health of the organization. Myers believes that people respond to being asked to participate based on who they are.

First, I must confess that I am tempted to justify and defend my own actions. This, of course, is not critical engagement. So what I write, I try to write critically, but not in defense of myself. I can appreciate Myers' desire to see people as individuals. I especially appreciated his approach of hiring people: Hire the right people; don't invent the right position. (That was a paraphrase.) However, the original story he shares--that he and his wife left a church after 6 months because they were not specifically asked to volunteer in a place--raises a red flag that perhaps we have a different approach. I believe this passive approach (Who will ask me to help? And how will they ask? And why did they ask?) creates too much space between pastors and laity. Why the heck does the leader have to ask? Jesus has already asked. Why in the world would I wait for a pastor to ask me to serve before I start offering my gifts? before I start ministering?

In chapter 4, Myers encourages new forms of measurement. "[Measurement] is not neutral. The measurement is the message" (75). The category he offers, as one might expect, is narrative. He writes, "Story is the measurement of life" (79).

I can appreciate Myers' approach in this chapter. Increasing the amount of stories people share is essential to creating and sustaining community. In fact, this is one of the reasons I am so passionate about good preaching: It should either elicit or provide stories which people can share. Of course, I am tempted to like this chapter when it is something I already try to do! So, maybe I need to be critical when I agree, as well. That, of course, is much harder to do.

Organic Community

For the next several days, I am going to use this space to put down in cyberspace some thoughts on a book given to me by a sister in Christ who belongs to the church I pastor. Each post will include two chapters. Joe Myers, author of Search to Belong, calls his latest work, Organic Community, a how-to book unlike other how-to books. It's a book on how-to change your thinking regarding community (18-19).

Myers believes that community should operate with a "language of possibilities" (30). Organic order is the title he gives the strategy for community, but strategy is a bad word; perhaps "personality" would be a better word. Knowing we cannot control or predict the future, we must create the appropriate environment for community and keep it changing...keep it brimming with possibility. To do this (read: to start thinking this way; to start becoming this person), Myers
gives 9 tools.

The first tool is Patterns. Individuals operate in patterns, or rhythms for their life. For example, some people are morning people; some people are night people. Myers says that we can have prescriptive or descriptive patterns. The former tells people how to operate; the latter finds out how people operate and works with them. Because people have four sections of connections (public, social, personal, intimate), he suggests offering community for all levels in many ways.

I like Myers' approach with this first tool. One must always start with where people are and help them move forward. The biggest challenge for me is not to see "moving forward" as "becoming like Aaron." Of course, Paul did say, "Follow me as I follow Christ," but I think I'll refrain from calling myself St Paul. I also like Myers' focus on character and person. I can see how living this way, and facilitating community in this way has got to be very selfless and one must be very patient.

Worshiping the Lifeless

Robert Jenson writes that "[a] spirit always proceeds from someone; for a spirit is just someone's own liveliness as that life transcends its own boundaries to animate others. So what a spirit is, is determined by from whom it proceeds." The spirit that proceeds from the Father and Son, because it proceeds from the relation of the Father and the Son, is not only a that and an it, even if an extremely personal it, but is a Person--a who and a Him. The love of the Father for the Son and vice versa is to the extent that it generates another Person in the Spirit who, in the typical fashion of love, moves beyond the original relationship to spread this love. The love of the Triune God is what gives life to creation. For this reason, God breathes his breath/Spirit into creation (humans--Gen. 2:7; animals--1:30) and that breath is the breath of life.

The prophet Jeremiah condemns Israel for their worship of worthless idols. In worshiping vain or worthless gods (Jer. 2:5), the Israelites become vain and worthless. This is the necessary effect of such worship because these gods have no breath/spirit in them (Jer. 10:14). The source of life, God's Spirit/breath, is cut off in the pursuit and worship of something other than the living God. If there is no life/breath in an idol, then there is no life/breath proceeding from it and hence the one who gives worship to this idol dies.

This is why pornography, shopping, alcoholism, overeating, and so on never satisfied: These idols have no breath.

Evangelism and Culture

Here is a great article by Frederica Matthewes-Green. She is one of the most diverse Christian writers and speakers. The basic premise of her article is that Christians are not called to change culture, but to minister to those within it. Whether or not you agree, the following is a great quote:

"It's as if the world's ballpark is ringed with billboards, and [the church] rankles because we should have a billboard too. But if someone should actually see our billboard, and be intrigued, and walk in the door of a church, he would find that he had joined a community that was just creating another billboard."

Yes. This is the problem with doing church that reflects culture. Frankly, the church cannot be as good at what the professionals do--at least all the time. We can only be and celebrate our brokenness because in that brokenness we see the grace and transforming power of God. I have found it oddly comforting that whatever happens in my life, I know that the church will be worshiping on Sunday.

World as Machine

If one preaches the Scripture as principles, strictly as what goes in is what comes and cause and effect, then there is no room left for the surprise and unpredictability of persons, most importantly the person of the Spirit.