Healthy Hierarchies

I like to study organizations of people, how to make healthy groups. Finding competent leadership, how to affect culture, devising and communicating vision for a group. Increasing levels of trust and genuine good will. No one, in my opinion has better content on this topic than Patrick Lencioni at the Table Group.

Working near the bottom of a large corporation has made this fascinating to me. Lencioni’s book The Advantage is brilliant. If you are a leader of a business or governmental organization you must get this book.

Hierarchies Everywhere

But all the business books and consultants assume one thing …Hierarchies.

Great men on top, lines of hierarchy directing the clueless nobodies on bottom.

The congregation of Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the ecclesia, sometimes translated the church simply is not a hierarchy.

At least if Jesus has any say in the matter it isn’t.

It never was a hierarchy and it never will be, so these hierarchy business principles ought not apply to the goings on of churches.

We can pretend that they do and apply them anyhow and build a religious empire just like the former generations. BUT, does Jesus want that? And if you knew he didn’t how would you respond? Is he Lord among his people gathered for him?

That’s why the largest and famous church leaders. I’m talking about the mega churches with great numbers must move away from Gods plan for his church if they want to be large, wealthy and influential. They are required to if they really want to be big. They must lead in a way that Jesus specifically prohibited among his disciples.

And their successful empire almost always prevents them from turning around.

I mean why would they listen to “some wannabe” nobody who no one is following?

Certainly they must just be jealous as they criticize the leader or his organization.

Often I think Jesus himself is that “wannabe” who no one follows.

Read more on hierarchies here.