Post by philiprosenthal on Sept 4, 2006 15:15:15 GMT
Has relationship-based organisation building corrupted EveryNation/His People?
It may seem at first a rather counter-intuitive idea, but the suggestion was made that His People/EveryNation has been corrupted partly as a result of its prioritising of leadership relationships. Why? Unlike most denominations, His People/EveryNation is based on leader relationships rather than doctrinal statements, rules and constitutions etc. That sounds nice, but problems arise. Leaders depend on relationships with eachother to get sponsorship, advice etc. There are few if any structural arrangements to ensure fair treatment. Relationships are the support network.
Everything works fine at first when the leaders are righteous, but because of the sinful human nature inevitably, someone leader will sin. Then those leaders are held relationally accountable by other leaders to whom they have relationship instead of to objective rules. Now everyone is so dependent on the relational network financially, socially, spiritually etc - that they can't think how they would cope without it - then the temptation is rather than be just and give serious discipline to those who deserve it - rather just smooth it over and give them a slap on the wrist. Then other leaders find out and get peer pressure to accept the compromise - otherwise they suffer huge costs of being pushed out of the relational network. So, bit by bit, those good relationships intended to build people up spiritually, become corrupting relationships which work to undermine true spirituality. Polluted dirty sewage water goes down the pipe intended for clean water and makes everyone who drinks it sick.
Our Western justice system is based on rules and an adverserial approach where two sides argue their case before an objective judge -and the one who is right hopefully wins. But in the EveryNation system - there are no rules - just relationships. The judge is compromised because he is buddies with the accused and everyone else. His own personal interests are to just smooth things over.
So I argue that any system based purely on relationships just has to degenerate and become corrupt over time. It can work for a short while - while people are righteous, but not forever. I thus argue we need rules, procedures, constitutions etc to stop such scandals happening again.
I have surveyed various denominations on how they handle church discipline. One for example has a minimum sentenence of public rebuke and 3 years out of ministry for anyone caught in sexual immorality. Just think of the trouble that may have been saved to His People if they had such a rule?
It may seem at first a rather counter-intuitive idea, but the suggestion was made that His People/EveryNation has been corrupted partly as a result of its prioritising of leadership relationships. Why? Unlike most denominations, His People/EveryNation is based on leader relationships rather than doctrinal statements, rules and constitutions etc. That sounds nice, but problems arise. Leaders depend on relationships with eachother to get sponsorship, advice etc. There are few if any structural arrangements to ensure fair treatment. Relationships are the support network.
Everything works fine at first when the leaders are righteous, but because of the sinful human nature inevitably, someone leader will sin. Then those leaders are held relationally accountable by other leaders to whom they have relationship instead of to objective rules. Now everyone is so dependent on the relational network financially, socially, spiritually etc - that they can't think how they would cope without it - then the temptation is rather than be just and give serious discipline to those who deserve it - rather just smooth it over and give them a slap on the wrist. Then other leaders find out and get peer pressure to accept the compromise - otherwise they suffer huge costs of being pushed out of the relational network. So, bit by bit, those good relationships intended to build people up spiritually, become corrupting relationships which work to undermine true spirituality. Polluted dirty sewage water goes down the pipe intended for clean water and makes everyone who drinks it sick.
Our Western justice system is based on rules and an adverserial approach where two sides argue their case before an objective judge -and the one who is right hopefully wins. But in the EveryNation system - there are no rules - just relationships. The judge is compromised because he is buddies with the accused and everyone else. His own personal interests are to just smooth things over.
So I argue that any system based purely on relationships just has to degenerate and become corrupt over time. It can work for a short while - while people are righteous, but not forever. I thus argue we need rules, procedures, constitutions etc to stop such scandals happening again.
I have surveyed various denominations on how they handle church discipline. One for example has a minimum sentenence of public rebuke and 3 years out of ministry for anyone caught in sexual immorality. Just think of the trouble that may have been saved to His People if they had such a rule?