If the bulletin was a blog, how many comments would it have?
If the Sunday school announcement was a facebook status, how many people would tag it?
We probably have a command and control system that is characterized by a top down hierarchy.
This is good because it is one component to a healthy system, organization, body, etc.
The rest of it is most likely a system described by Steven Johnson his book Emergence (p. 77) which "learns from the ground level, a system where macrointelligence and adaptability derive from local knowledge..."
This part of the equation would be decentralized groups of people seeking out the information and connections they need to grow in their ministry and place in God's Mission.
Some of the characteristics to consider when interested in moving toward this component of organization:
More is different: There needs to be something called "critical mass". This is real tricky because this is what leads to getting stuck on the numbers. An event cannot be judged only by how many people come, but the reality is if you have 235 kids on the role and only 10 of them show up for the retreat- you are not going be have a faithful community. The retreat can still be awesome, but sheer numbers do figure into the equation. More people, more interactions, more growth.
Ignorance is useful: Not everybody who comes to the event or joins the community needs to know the mission, vision, and purpose statement and what the metrics are. In fact the less the participants know themselves about the overall complexity of what you are doing the better. Some people just want a job to do and be done with it. This is OK. Remember the mainframe top down structure with the mandates and the core values is already in place.
Encourage random encounters: This is where we sometimes work against ourselves. The missions person should be in dialog with the director of children. You as director of missions shouldn't be the point person or go between for missions laity and children's staff or even laity. Encourage (or at least try not to dissuade) such encounters in the name of chain of command protocol or "keeping things clean".
Look for patterns in the signs: OK this is where we can really unleash some of our pent up have to be relevant, need to have an impact and something to report at the staff meeting that we did: find out what's going on. Don't worry about dictating the course all the time. Try to understand the prevailing winds and the patterns. Go Thomas Jefferson: figure out where people walk the most before you pour the sidewalks.
Pay attention to your neighbors: Not only be kind to everyone you meet because they carry a heavy burden, have as much Martin Buber I and Thou action as you can cram into a day. (Please observe Sabbath if you really get into this). The object is to stumble across one another. Don't worry so much about the activity calendar so sterile. Mix it up when you can.
***The views expressed here are not necessarily those of status quo. Please consult your doctor and seek medical help for decentralized thoughts that last for more than 4 hours. Lack of invasive emails and unwarranted Sunday school solicitations may result in actually developing real relationships. Do not operate pulpit support while seeking genuine life transformation. Brochure racks may show some signs of emptiness. Failure to have your name to appear in, like, every other bulletin announcement as the contact may empower someone who really cares about the ministry.
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