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.
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.
posted by Aaron Perry at
2:42 PM
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