Toward a More Organic Church

MID-COUNCIL CONFERENCE

REV. DR. LAURIE FERGUSON

“All the Signs and Wonders”

Acts 15:1-21

The first mid-council gathering in Jerusalem revealed the basic human dynamism in our communal work. People pick sides. When something doesn’t seem comprehensible, we fall back into rules to order things—perhaps not explaining them, but giving us an illusion of managing things. Compromise only comes through “no small debate.” Jesus is absent from the debate—when in doubt, fall back into tradition as opposed to revelation—Moses is the focus!

The truth of the matter is that a mid-council is a living system—

it cannot be controlled or steered, only nudged or attracted

no solution can come that does not come from direct interaction with the people directly involved

living systems are open to diversity

Look again at the Council of Jerusalem—

they are trying to respond to the signs and wonders happening in the mission

the debaters are the people engaged in the mission

they end by opening—the group will grow by welcoming the “other”

Now look at the problems with a living system—

things die as well as grow

because it is non-linear (uncontrollable), there will be unintended consequences

because it is not always cause-and-effect, outcomes are not always clear

things get messy

Because of these inherent problems, redevelopment will often generate strong reactions—i.e., change triggers a system’s immune defense—eradicate the change to keep the stability. Therefore, we have to figure out how to keep the defensive members of the group engaged, but—there will be times when they need to be invited to leave.

There are three ways to develop leadership in a living system because a managerial approach will not work for an uncontrollable organization. 

STORYTELLER

Tell the story of the organization—this is where we are; this is who we are; this is where we are going—it will be inclusive of both the good and the bad, but with an emphasis on the life-giving experiences of the group, allocating resources to feed that which encourages growth. 

MAPMAKER

This moves us to rework the old maps of doing things to navigate the new things that are developing—some old maps will simply be updated; others will need to be discarded. 

REASONABLE HOPER

The leader needs to be driven by hope, but a hope that grows from the actuality of the organization—this really is possible for us. Ground hope with a steady diet of prayer and scripture to see how God works with actual human beings.

In conclusion, what a new perspective allows is the freedom from the need to control outcomes and congregational lives, and, instead, allow growth to come from within and develop as people see their own evolution. That means slowing down and allowing things to develop. We cannot fix on order; but rather focus on growth in an organic sense—living things grow as they will. It means accepting messiness as part and parcel of our life together—there will be controversy; there will be loss; and there will be suffering.