In a recent Faculty Senate meeting
at Central Baptist Theological Seminary, President Molly Marshall referred to Matthew
9:17 in her devotional:
“Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they
do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be
ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved. " (NIV)
If we are sensitive enough to
perceive it, we will see new wine flowing today. Our culture provides unique opportunities and
challenges. Men and women perceive the
leadership of God’s Spirit to undertake new ministries. Doors are opening up for ministry across
ethnic and national barriers. The Spirit
of God is at work.
How sad then to see attempts to
force this “new wine” of ministry into old wineskins that attempt to constrain it
and will ultimately produce only damage and waste. What we need are new wineskins for new wine.
Many of us grew up with 20th
century organizations that were based on an industrial mindset. Even if one did not work in factory or a
large corporation, other entities (including the churches) adopted hierarchical,
specialized organizational models that were perceived as efficient as well as
effective.
Much good was done by such organizations but
there were negative aspects as well. Decisions
were made at the top of the pyramid and filtered down to those at the
bottom. People were often seen as
interchangeable parts that could be moved from one position to another with little
thought of emotional or relational compatibility. A “silo” mentality grew up around certain
activities within organizations so that there was very little interaction
between the various divisions (an appropriate word) or departments.
Many organizations in the 21st
century organizations have adopted more organic models that are modeled around
networks or webs—people interact not only one to one but in multiple relationships
and at several levels. Such
organizations have given birth to matrix models with people working across
departmental barriers or teams brought together from different parts of an
organization to do a project. Planning,
designing and implementation are seen as collaborative exercises.
Most churches and faith -based
organizations are still following 20th century models. Ministries operate within their own silos and
rarely interact. There is little
communication let alone cooperation between various programs or activities of
the church. This approach produces
comments like, “That’s not my job,” “I
can’t make that decision,” or “That’s beyond my pay grade” and leads to
indifference, lack of motivation, confusion, and poor quality work.
There is hope on the horizon. Some churches are planning around the “big
idea” approach with the goal of aligning every part of the life of the church
around a common vision. Others are
reducing the number of committees and replacing them with teams that actually
do ministry rather than serve as gatekeepers.
Administrative structures are being streamlined to encourage rather than
control creativity.
These new wineskins recognize the
way that the Spirit desires to work among God’s people. When we allow space for the Spirit to work,
anything is possible.
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