Eugene Peterson is always good when he’s talking about the church as more organic than organizational, for example:
“Another common way to avoid community is to turn the church into an institution. In this way people are not treated on the basis of personal relationships but in terms of impersonal functions. Goals are set that will catch the imagination of the largest numbers of people; structures are developed that will accomplish the goal through planning and organization. Organizational planning and institutional goals become the criteria by which the community is defined and evaluated. In the process the church becomes less and less a community, that is, people who pay attention to each other, ‘brothers and sisters,’ and more and more a collectivism of ‘contributing units.’” (Eugene H. Peterson. A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1980, 2000, p. 179-80.)
This is a helpful description of the difference between what we (The Leadership Institute) would call “program-centered” and “people-centered” approaches to ministry.
Program-centered ministry can become more of an “it” than an “us”. Ministry is meant to be an engagement in real relationships that pay attention to the unique individuals who are sharing community in common. Instead, it often becomes an organizational machine for which people are the cogs. We end up twisting the rich biblical language of grace gifts (Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4, for example) into a business-oriented job description.
In some odd way, people are serving a structure more than directly serving one another and the wider world around them. Of course, even program-centered ministries meet the needs of people, but they often do so indirectly and less personally.
What do you think? What is your experience? Hit “respond” down below and join the conversation…
[...] LINK: “Direct or Indirect Ministry?“ [...]