Interesting Thoughts on Churches...

On July 4, our family went to the beach for the day.  We took my truck down the beach for a more private experience.  When we arrived at Assateague National Seashore, we were # 19 in line to get on the beach.  There were already 145 vehicles on and that is the limit.  It then becomes a one off, one on situation, so we had to wait about an hour and a half  till it was our turn...

 

But then once we got on, it was like having a private beach, compared to other places...

 

It was to be a holiday, but I had a book that I really wanted to read related to congregational transformation, so I sat on the beach under the umbrella reading...

 

Over the next several days, I will be sharing some of the learnings from this book...  Here is the first. 

 

"Once an organization reaches a point of stability, however - in that it is not constantly concerned about whether or not it will make it - a subtle shift begins to take place in the way the group adapts.  The primary impetus for change then comes primarily from within rather than from without.  Life within the organization becomes more of a concern to group members than the groups relationship with the outside world."

 

"What occurs is called goal displacement - a process by which the primary mission of an organization is replace by operative goals that have little if anything, to do with the organization's original reason for being.  In almost all cases, the new goals involve a focus on group maintenance and member satisfaction - particularly involving the satisfaction of group leaders and core members."  C Kirk Hadaway.

 

This explains a lot of what we have experienced over the years here at Community of Joy!