Organic Structures – Part 2
By Bill Jacobs
An article is taken from a transcript date November 20, 2008.
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Today's presentation is titled Organic Structures – Part 2 . It's part of a series on Functional Structures in the church, which is part of a larger series on Congregatonal Health , which is the key to church growth, which is the church's mission, which when we accomplish it, pleases God, and when we don't, He gets upset.
Last time, in Part 1, we talked about the organic principles of interdependence and multiplication. So those are two ways to work for God that make our work easier and more effective. Today we're going to explore two more. They are energy transformation and multi-usage . So we'll begin with energy transformation.
I want you to think with me about boxing. We spend energy warding off the blows of the opponent, blocking punches, and then we go on the attack to land our own, right? We counterattack. Block, punch. Right? Think about how this happens all the time in life. Think about all the times we meet resistance and we have to overcome that resistance.
I like to ride my bike. And I have this bike trail that runs along the Rio Grande right through town. It's flat. It's paved. There's excellent scenery. There are no cars, no exhaust fumes. Out on that trail I've seen geese, ducks, roadrunners, and, of course, coyotes chasing all of those. One of the things I've noticed is that I get on my bike and I ride south in the morning, and when I turn around to come back, I notice all of a sudden, there's a breeze in my face that I never noticed when it was at my back pushing me along. Now it's pushing against me and I have to work harder to get home. Now, the walkers and the joggers don't notice the breeze, because they're not multiplying their efforts with a bike. We talked about multiplication last time, right? The big sprocket on the front of the bike and the little one in the back...that creates a greater than one-to-one ratio. So that's multiplication. So it's hard at first to get started on a bike, but once we overcome inertia and develop momentum, then it's easier to go faster and keep moving. So that's why we can go faster on a bike – that and the fact that there are wheels. So anytime that we try to multiply our efforts – we try to use some leverage – we can do more. But when the wind is blowing in our face, we really, really feel it.
So where is it in your life that you feel the wind blowing in your face? Well, that's when it's a good time to think about energy transformation, because the principle is about how to deal with resistance.
In the 1500s in China , there was a monastery called Shaolin. And the monks there had a real problem. They had taken a vow of non-violence, but their monastery was the target, frequently, of robbers. So they developed a new soft fighting technique that they called jujitsu . Jujitsu did not harm the robber, but it still subdued him so that he couldn't rob them. The way it works is, instead of warding off the attack of the intruder and then using your own energy to punch him, they used the energy of the intruder to subdue him. They redirected the attacker's energy and used it to take him to the ground. If somebody's running at you full speed, and they have a full head of steam up – a lot of momentum – there's a lot of energy there. If you just stand and let them slam into you, they're going to knock you right down. They use minimal energy to steer the attacker's energy slightly away and to the ground. Instead of facing down an opponent and blocking blows, and then kicking back, they would just slightly step to the side and as the attack came, they would change the direction of the blow or the attack. That would carry the attacker past them, where they were in a better position to force him to the ground and restrain him.
There are so many applications of this in life, aren't there? If we can just think about that resistance that we're running into, and think about how we can use minimal energy – minimal change to reduce the resistance.
I remember years ago we took a group of kids – when we lived in Pennsylvania – to the Canadian north shore of Lake Erie , where they had a lot nicer camp grounds than they had down on our side of the lake. They had these huge grassy campgrounds, with nice beaches. We set up our tents. Late one night, the adults were up talking.... Now on this grassy expanse, there were lots of places where people had built fires and fire pits and things. We were sitting around the campfire talking late one night and somebody noticed that Roberta – one of the girls – had gotten out of the tent and was walking on the grass. Somebody commented, “She could hurt herself.” She was sleep walking. Nobody else did anything, so I got up and I walked straight toward her. Her eyes were open, but you could tell that nobody was home. And as I approached her, she stuck her hand out – just straight out in front of her, like she was going to take my hand, or shake my hand. I just put my hand on the back of her hand and gently walked her around, pointed her back towards the tent, and I said, “It's time to go back to bed.” She just walked straight back into the tent and that was that. I always think of that, in my own life, as an example. I didn't want to wake her up and make a big deal out of it. I needed to use minimal interaction to get her back in. And that's what worked.
I think about parenting. Kids naturally want to stay up late and get up late. They think staying up late is an adult thing. They don't realize getting up early is an adult thing. But they always resist going to bed and getting up. You have to go to work, so you can't let the child make you late, so there's always this big hassle that goes on – spending all kinds of energy – getting them up, yelling at them, standing over them while they get dressed, forcing them to eat breakfast, gather their homework supplies and backpack, and get it all into the car on time to go to school. A lot of energy. A lot of resistance.
Or , you can quietly pack a bag full of their clothes – the older ones that are out of style – and put them in a paper sack up in the coat closet. And then the night before, you can tell them what time they have to be ready to go and that you're not going to yell at them anymore. How much energy is expended? Then in the morning, you can get dressed, you can fix yourself a nice breakfast, read the paper, watch the weather channel – all the time you formerly used to nag your kid – and then when they're not ready on time, you put them in the car without breakfast, in their pajamas, give them the sack of clothes, and say, “Hey, you can go to school in your pajamas, or you can get dressed on the way. Makes no difference to me.” You just use the kids resistance to teach them a lesson about responsibility. Relatively little energy necessary and you don't have to be the bad guy. You just have to let nature takes its course. Right? You use their resistance to teach them a lesson. Being perpetually late has consequences in the real world, so we don't want that to happen.
Think about Jesus. Where did Jesus meet resistance? Well, that was the system, wasn't it? It was organized religion – primarily the Pharisees brand. They were always trying to trip Him, apprehend Him, throw rocks at Him. Is there any evidence that He ever got in a big confrontation with them, or a public debate – eyes bugged out, veins bulging, shouting match? No, never wasted the energy.
Now there was an encounter with an expert in the law, who asked Jesus a question with malicious intent. Now, okay, there comes the attack, right? It's subtle, but it is still an attack. You think about the boxer who wards off the attack and then tries to land his own punches. Or you can think about the monk, who takes the attackers charge and directs it somewhere else – namely, to the ground. So this Pharisee said, “Teacher, what do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” So that goes to salvation by works or by grace. So if Jesus answered anything except what the lawyer wanted to hear, there was going to be an argument, right? I mean, he was going to take Him to task for it. So instead, He asks the question, and He said, “What's written in the Law? How do you read it?” So what law expert could possibly resist a response like that? Now he's obligated to show that he knows what the Law says. So He has slightly turned things a little bit already, hasn't he? So the lawyer quotes the Law, saying, “Love God, love your neighbor.” Notice what Jesus says next, “Well, you answered correctly.” So now He's put Himself, with very little effort, in the position to judge what this other guy said, instead of being judged by him, because He hasn't said anything yet. The lawyer has. And He said, “Do this and you will live.” So He just got him to say what He needed him to say.
But the lawyer wasn't done. So he takes another swing at Jesus, and he says, “Who's my neighbor?” Aha! We'll get you yet! So Jesus tells him the story of the disrespected Samaritan who took care of a wounded stranger, while all kinds of respected people – Levites, priests, Pharisees – passed by. Then He asked him another question, “Well, who is neighbor to that man?” And the lawyer had to say that he supposes it was the Samaritan. He didn't want to have to say that, but he was put in a position where he couldn't do anything else. And Jesus probably smiled at him when He said, “Go and do likewise.” Nothing more to say. The energy had just kind of taken the attorney to the ground. I guess should say, “Lawyer,” not attorney.
There's another example of them trying to apprehend Him. Does He fight? No. He just slips away and goes somewhere else. When He trained the disciples to go two-by-two, he told them when they came to a house that didn't invite them in, just go to the next one. Don't stand there and argue with them, or beat on the door, or bang your head against the door. Just shake the dust off your feet and go somewhere else. That is a good case of resistance, isn't it? So you just do something else. Lots of houses. Find the ones that were open instead of doing a lot of head-banging and trying to do something that doesn't work.
“Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? Don't you know it's hard to kick against the goads?” So here's Jesus admonishing Paul to stop fighting it and just go with it – “Go with the flow, man!”
So those are some examples of how Jesus dealt with resistance in His own ministry. Let's think about a modern day example. A church decides to host a community service project. The primary motivation is to help the community and the congregation learn more about parenting. The byproduct is going to be name recognition for the congregation. So they decide to invite Bruce Perry – brain researcher – to do a seminar about the implications of his research for parenting. Now Bruce Perry is a very dynamic speaker. He's going to draw a big crowd. He does wherever he goes, because he is world-reknown and he's right on the cutting edge. And what he's actually doing is he's changing the way therapists work with people. That's what he's doing. His fee, however, is $30,000 an appearance. So how to finance the project? Well, the church has decided that they want to host this for free, so they're going to have to raise a lot of money. So the pastor begins preaching about the need to donate, and the small groups begin working on fundraisers. What happens? Pretty soon everybody is tired, and burned out and feeling the pressure. So the wind starts to blow in the face of the seminar organizers, right? They're getting some negative feedback from people that are up to here with selling candy, or fruit or whatever they do – car washes – that kind of thing.
So how could the congregation transform the resistance to work for them instead of fighting that uphill battle of fundraising? Well, there's probably lots of things that you could think about, but here's one thing that I thought about. They could run some ads in the paper. They could advertise with the school system. All the counselors and the teachers in the school know which parents needs to come to Bruce Perry's seminar for sure. They can send fliers to all the therapists in town. They know which of their parents need help. And then they could charge a modest amount to attend. And, even if they didn't cover the cost of the seminar, they could really cut into that thirty grand if they did.
What would happen if they did that, besides the fact that they wouldn't have to raise so much funds? Well, by charging a small amount, the people who valued what Bruce Perry had to say would be the ones who attended. Right? So the cost of the seminar would be shared by those who benefited. That's good, isn't it? Isn't that God's way, really? We say something for nothing isn't God's way. So something of value for some cost, that should be God's way. Contribution for value. So instead of inviting people to become consumers, they would be inviting people who valued and benefited to become participants at a financial level. But wouldn't that reduce the number of people who attended? Well, yes it would. But that would be their choice if they didn't attend, and it would also be their loss. Right? Always better to work with those people who are on the same page with you. Think about how much easier it is when you're doing that, instead of working with people who aren't committed, aren't convinced, don't get it – like that. Energy all going the same direction. So better results all around, even if the group is smaller.
So think about where the resistance might by in your group. What are the uphill pulls your group or congregation is facing. Now if you say we don't have any, that's probably because you're not trying to accomplish anything. Any group that tries to accomplish something always faces resistance of some sort. The place we want to rent is too expensive, or we haven't found a topic people are really interested in, or we can't get the minister or the board to approve it, or whatver. So where are the uphill pulls? Where is the wind in your face?
Sometimes resistance comes from sources over which we have no control and no respsonsibility. But sometimes we're partly involved, inadvertentaly, in creating the resistance that we encounter – like the church that wanted to do a free seminar. It's sounds like a great thing. But they just weren't going to be able to pull it off. So rather than not have one at all, what can be done? Slightly shift just a little bit – just side step just a little bit – and keep going forward. What can be done? How can you change the energy that's coming at you – deflect it just a little – and get it going more your way? Usually it just takes a little bit.
How do you figure those things out? Well, one good way is to sit down with a group of like-minded people – that's interdependence that we talked about last time, right? – and figure out where the resistance to our plans might come from. You can usually figure out who is going to be for it and who is going to be against it. You can figure out what the problems are going to be. So you can look for a way to modify your plans in order to deflect resistance.
I was thinking about the pastor who wanted to get everyone more involved and more active. He had a fairly large congregation. So he wanted to form cell groups and plant new churches when his church got bigger. But he met resistance from those who wanted to sit and listen and didn't want to be involved in cell groups. They just wanted to come on Sunday morning and sit and listen to the sermon, and then the rest of week, do what they always did. So he did a very wise thing. They were all upset about his talk about doing this, because they thought they were going to have to change and be different. So he asked them if it would be all right for those who wanted to try to be involved in it, but okay for those who wanted to be traditional to continue having church the way they always did. Well, once he made that change, all those people that were upset, realized they were not going to have to do anything differently, so they relaxed and quit fighting him over it. They even helped supply some of the money to do what he needed to do. So he was able to accomplish his goal, even though, in the beginning, it looked like he was going to hit a concrete wall. It's interesting to see what happened as a result. Today, in that organization – I say, “organization” – this is a fairly large church organization, of which his church was a small part – but there were a number of ministers that all wanted to do the same thing. So in that organization today you have a few older, traditional congregations that are losing numbers and a number of dynamic, growing congregations where everybody participates in the mission and is excited about it. Some of the ones who fought him in the beginning have been won over, and they now go to the new church. They expect, when they hit two hundred, to split into two one-hundreds, and they have to have a whole new crop of teachers, a whole new crop of pianists, a whole new crop of Sunday school people. So everybody stays involved, and they move around the community, and have more locations, and more and more people are inclined to come with them. So the principle: energy transformation – you take the energy coming at you and you transform it just slightly and that allows people to get on board a lot of times. It doesn't always have to be a confrontation. It can be a side step. It can be a step back. It can be a concession. It can be discussion – so that things work better for everybody. A lot of times the people that come up with the ideas don't think of everything. So you use interdependence to cause energy transformation to take place.
The second one – multi-usage .... Let's just go back to the church that wanted to host a Bruce Perry seminar and use them as an example. We saw how they could have reduced resistance by asking an admission fee so that the membership wasn't burdened. But that's also an example of multi-usage. How is that?
Multi-usage asks the question, “Does this measure reinforce?” What is the purpose of the measure that we're talking about here? Well, the purpose was to spread new and vital parenting information in the community and in the congregation. And the second one was to gain name recognition for the congregation. Now, is that a selfish goal? Or is that a good goal? Is that a biblical goal? Or is it sort of a PR thing? Jesus said, “A light set under a bushel doesn't do anybody any good, but a light set on a hill draws people to it.” So which of those two – the light under the bushel or the light on the hill – do you think He liked the best? Right. So hosting things in the community that are helpful to the community does cause name recognition and it draws people to it. And that's a good thing.
So what could be added to the effort that they had that makes it a multi-usage event? Well, it was a multi-usage event to begin with because it caused name recognition. There were two benefits they were getting from it – multi-usage. One activity; two benefits. What else could they do? Well, the people in the congregation who attended could be invited to form a parenting class production team to use what they learned to produce a cutting-edge, parent-training class for their church and in the community. And they could also become part of a parent support team to help people that didn't go to the seminar learn how to deal with their kids' problems. They could host a community parenting class. In our community, we don't have any of those that are any good.
One of my clients was required to attend a parenting class by the court – divorce. And the only class he could find was one that showed films. No homework. No interaction. No discussion. No hands-on training. Just sitting in a room with a few other people watching a movie in the dark. When it was over, the lights were turned on and the guy packed up his gear and went home. That's all they did. So would that be lifting the bushel – if a church did that in their community? Informed all the schools, all the pastors, all the attorneys, all the judges about that? They'd be overwhelmed with people that wanted to come to it. Who would see that? Who would go to those classes? Well, young adults with kids. Would that be a good thing for your congregation? Yes it would.
Jesus was the master of multi-usage. He's the master of all of these, but multi-usage is so important throughout everything we talk about related to church health.
Lk. 10:17 – The seventy-two returned with joy – I'm in Luke 10:17 – and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in Your name.” And He said, “Oh yeah? Well, I saw Satan, like lightning, fall from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions, and to overcome all powers of the enemy. Nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” So what was the stated purpose for sending out these seventy-two disciples? Well, it was to train them to do the work, right? To make disciples. But also, what happened was, experiences occurred in the lives of these people that were being trained that caused them to become more deeply converted. They grew as a result of doing the work. Multi-usage. See, when God tells us to make disciples, there's all kinds of things that happen when we get told to do that and when we start doing it.
I was thinking about how much this is built into nature. God designed into humans this self-protective feature. When we run out of air, we naturally struggle for it. When we get hungry, we start hunting something to eat. When we're in danger, we seek safety or help or protection. When our sense of self is threatened, we become defensive. And all of those things, on one level, are very good. They keep humanity going, right? If we had no awareness that we were out of air, we might just forget to breathe and then out we'd go. So it's important that we suffer a sense of deprivation when we can't get air into our lungs.
It's also important – some people might argue with this, but – when our sense of self is threatened, that we develop defense mechanisms so that we can tolerate life in the face of severe self-deprication or deprication by others. All of that also makes it really hard to obey the laws of God when we're under pressure, because most of the defense mechanisms, that we develop to defend ourself psychically, are self deceptions – not facing the truth about ourselves. So God uses these mechanisms to keep us alive and to be able to survive psychically in a world that's very difficult. But being human, having those things is also a character-building exercise for those who are committed to the Law of God. If you were in deep water, and you were drowning, and the only thing you could stand on underneath was the head of your husband or wife, that wouldn't be a very character-building exercise – or way to keep alive – would it? So that thing that God builds into us to keep us alive also gives us something to struggle against so we can understand what it is like to be in the Kingdom of God and what's needed. That's dual purpose, isn't it? Dual purpose. And God has so many things like that that work so many different ways. So many good things start happening when you start doing things God's way.
I was thinking about our little congregation. We are in a new location today – our first time. We'll be here for a couple of months. We're going to a new location, but it won't be ready for, I think, two months. Right? First of October and it's the first of August now. Listen to what we did. We paid way more rent than we could afford. And the place we have has way more space than we need. But we're going to rent out some of it. When we rent it out, our rent is going to be lower than it has been in a long, long time. So we're actually using it for dual purpose. We're using the space and we're going to rent out the space to somebody else. So there's two things going on there. And we benefit.
Now listen to this. In the space we're going to build where we can have church with a kitchen, with an audio/visual storage area, and we're going to build two offices in there. I'm going to rent one of them for my counseling practice for less than I've ever paid for an office of that size before. And guess what? My waiting room is going to be the room we use for church. And of course, we're going to have an information table there about our faith and our group, so that the dozens of bored people who filter through my waiting room are going to have something to read! Right? So that's multi-usage, isn't it? I'm getting a big advantage and so is the group. So the measure reinforces the measure. It reinforces all of our efforts.
I was telling one of my therapist friends that I met first in the school system and then at the Grief Center ...she was asking me what I was doing lately. So I told her about LifeResouce Ministries and my private counseling practice. She said, “Oh, your efforts are all just folding in on each other and one helps the other.” And I said, “Yeah, that's exactly right.” Our LifeResource Ministry reinforces my counseling practice, and my Christianity helps me nurture those who come to my practice. And the people who come to the practice provide stimulation for the ministry work, because it gives me lots of interesting stories to tell. So both measures reinforce the other measure. It just works together.
Let's look at another example. Elaine was telling me about what a TV interview with Toby Keith. He mentioned that his father was an alcoholic who had sobered up when Toby was eighteen-years-old. He said that the rest of his life his father worked in Alcoholics Anonymous and helps many other people find their lives again. In fact, he saved a lot of peoples' lives. So where's the multi-usage there? Well, all of these successful organizations, all successful churches, all successful non-profits use the energy of the people that they have helped to do their work with them. They incorporate them back into the organization. Part of their therapy becomes helping others as they were helped. So that's another way that you can think about multi-usage. And that goes back to the church group. The people got to go to Bruce Perry's seminar, but they helped to sponsor it, too, financially. Then they also got to take their information that they learned and put it to use helping other people with it, so that it wasn't just static. It was dynamic use of information that they learned.
You think about the church, where people just come and sit and listen, and go home, and then by the next weekend, they can't remember what they heard the week before. That's all consumerism. It doesn't have anything to do with these principles that Jesus built into the church.
Let's look at another one – the principle of oikos – we called it last week. The principle of family, or house evangelism, where you use friendship evangelism. We let our light shine and we learn to be ready and willing to talk with friends about how Christ has affected our life. Then those people, should then come – once they come – are encouraged to do the same thing with their circle of friends. So what they learn about Christ, they also share. So the measure reinforces the measure. It keeps going around and around and getting bigger and bigger. Multi-usage. Those new people aren't just coming in to be seat-warmers. They're coming in to be tools for God – to do God's work.
Let's see. I've got another example that, to me, is meaningful. I've been in the mountains every year, for twenty years this year, backpacking – never missed a summer. Sometimes I've gone as many as three times. But that's been one of the most helpful things to me in my entire life. I've had to learn to plan and to be self-sufficient. If you leave it in the truck, or it doesn't make it into your pack, there's no drug store, or grocery store, or equipment where I'm going. So you have to take it with you. And if it doesn't come, then you don't have it.
I've had to learn how to get creative in emergencies. Sometimes things happen out there and you have to figure out what to do in order to deal with the problem. I've learned, maybe, one of the most important lessons – what I can and cannot do. I mean, I might like to think I could climb Mount Everest , but I do not have the cardiovascular system of a goat. So I know I'll never be able to go there. But I've learned what I can do. I can do a lot more than I ever thought I could.
I've also learned to pace myself. When I take kids packpacking, they all race off. And as they go out of sight, they hear me say, “How slow you go in the beginning determines how good you're going to feel at the end.” Have you ever had the bear crawl on your back when you're running a race? Suffer lactic lockup a quarter mile before the race is over because you went too fast in the beginning? People don't realize that that also applies when you're walking. If you walk too fast in the beginning, you won't be able to walk at the end of the day.
I've had to learn to respect nature and not to think that I can override it. When it comes to me and a lightning bolt, I'm going to lose every time. So I know to stay out of the way. I learned through backpacking to let God talk to me instead of me always talking to Him. There's just something about being up high, looking over a large amount of beautiful scenery that helps me listen better.
So I'm really big on taking young people backpacking, because I know that they will learn things, too. Maybe not the same things I learned, but they can learn what is there for them. And one of the other things that I think makes it a multi-usage activity is that I always tell them I'm taking them not just to have a good time, but so they'll know more about it and they can take somebody that's younger when they get to be my age. Then, besides that, I also work to build relationships with those I take and try to build a bond between me and them. So there are three benefits, at least, that can be gained. So the measure reinforces the measure. It can be multiplied and gets passed on. Anything that you can teach a young person to do is a good thing, because they can always pass that on later. They can put it in their bag of resources.
I was thinking about multi-usage. I was once part of a summer camp program that was sort of a Cadillac of camps. They had water skiing. They had riflery, archery, canoeing. They took three-day trips into the boundary waters up in Minnesota . What an experience! They had a large gymnasium, so they had basketball and volleball. They had quality coaching. But they missed one of the biggest multi-usage features that they possibly could have had. The organization missed it. It's great to teach a kid to water ski, but if the instructor – the water ski instructor – knows that bonding with the kids he is teaching is going to be at least as helpful as learning to ski, then you know that you've got a multi-usage activity going on. But they never talked about that. And they didn't select staff with that in mind either. Can he teach skiing? Can he connect to kids? Those are the things that should be thought about.
Even a sermon can be a mulit-usage structure. So what would it take? Most adults – when they prepare something – they are always just thinking about other adults – people their own age. And they forget about all the people who are younger than they are in the group. But you know, it doesn't take much to say the same things that you would say to adults, but say it in terms that a younger person can connect to. Everybody gets a story. Right? Everybody can tune in on a story and understand that. So when we tell stories, we're accessible at every level. So then the messages become multi-usage structures – aligned with nature and the way the brain takes in information.
I could just go on forever with examples of how these thing work, but I think you've got it. So where are the opportunities for multi-usage in your group? Natural Church Development has a lot of resources that they have available to help you think about these things. So if you're interested, give me a call and I'll clue you into them. But the trick is to think of all the possible benefits from an activity or a structure and then construct the activity or structure for maximum benefit at all levels.
So next time we're going to finish organic structures with the last two principles. Those are symbiosis and functionality .