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.
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.
posted by Aaron Perry at
3:14 PM
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