In 2004 I was hired as executive director of Kensington Community Church. They had two campus locations, 55 full-time staff and 5,900 people in weekend attendance. They were effective. You don't grow a church to 5,900 people without being high-speed. However, one thing I immediately noticed was that they lacked efficiency.
Gardening Chaos
I saw a culture that was extremely organic. Having come from a military, business, and non-profit background, I quickly figured out that this environment was different from what I was used to. If this church was a garden (as some metaphors have it), it was very messy one, full of tall weeds, uneven rows of vegetables (some healthy, some rotten), underdeveloped soil, and a variety of rocks scattered about.
Their organizational "garden" could have desperately used some posts and fencing to keep it all together. It needed to become more of a well-oiled machine and less of a messy overgrown garden.
Meetings happened in the hallways when people were in a hurry. They rarely started or finished on time. When there were meetings, they were regularly interrupted or people wouldn't show up at all. Staff seemed to do what was "right in their own eyes." The administrators were in full-blown rebellion according to the lead pastor. When I asked for job descriptions, I was often met with bewilderment. There were limited processes to organize the work that needed to get done, reporting lines didn't make sense; (for example, the singles director reported to … the finance director), and HR policies were virtually non-existent. End-arounds were common as staff would get a senior leader to buy into their idea without consulting their department head first. The pain and frustration was high due to the lack of clear protocol.
Their organizational "garden" could have desperately used some posts and fencing to keep it all together. It needed to become more of a well-oiled machine and less of a messy overgrown garden. Their goal was (and still is) to reach 50,000 people over 12 area campuses by the year 2020. But order was needed to address the chaos.
The Machine Run Amok
On the flip-side, I visited a friend's church a few years back that was so organized it felt like a top-secret military base somewhere deep underground. They were also a large church. At times though, their efficiency got in the way of their effectiveness. Some of the leaders at this church would have equated efficiency with the will of God.
In this environment, human flourishing seemed impossible. It was sad. It was predictable. They took Paul's admonishment in 1 Corinthians 14:40 to the extreme, "But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way."
In an overly oiled machine church, things are finely tuned. Each person is a cog in the wheel
In an overly oiled machine church, things are finely tuned. Each person is a cog in the wheel ; decisions are made at the top, and trickle down through a hierarchy. Stability is highly valued. There is little room for human error. Labor is clearly divided. Rules, regulations, policy, and detailed manuals rule the day. This is the world of paperwork and complicated "strategic" plans that collect dust. When I examined this church I saw flow charts everywhere, and people walking around the office like zombies. Everything was figured out, there were no surprises. The staff had little fun. Laughter and joy were squelched. Positional leadership was expected from those who held so-called power. There is little adventure in predictable management. When the well-oiled machine is top priority, the organization can become like the Pharisees that Jesus speaks of in Mark 10:42. Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you."
In this church, structure was sacred. It was elevated above the mission.
They needed to become more of a well-watered garden and less of an unchanging machine.
"Just Right"
Organizational effectiveness begins with knowing your mission and your people. We need to know where we are going, and then diagnose the things that hinder us from getting there. Proverbs 27:23 tells us, "Be sure you know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds."
Once the diagnosis takes place, a prescription can be implemented to address the issues. Six months into my new role as executive director, a staff member took me aside and said, "I thought you were going to fix things here; it doesn't seem like much has changed since you arrived." I had to swallow my pride and remind myself that change efforts take time and wisdom. I had already realized that the three founders of Kensington, who have been together for 23 years, thrived in this messy garden with very little pain. I saw that mission was sacred in this place; not structure. However, for this garden called Kensington Church to thrive, it needed to be introduced to some machinery that was well-oiled, orderly, predicable, and stable; not machinery that hindered, but machinery that enhanced mobilization. Too much of a well-oiled machine would drain the entrepreneurial life out of the leaders.
We need a blend of the well-oiled machine and the well-watered garden. We should look for "just right," much like Goldilocks did in The Story of the Three Bears. To strike this balance we need to be in tune with God as we lead and serve. Our guide is not some business model. We as church leaders are not on this earth to run a Christian business. Why would we want to be more like a business when most businesses fail? The church has thrived for centuries because Christ is at the helm. Even the gates of hell can't prevail against it.
Traits of a Well-Watered Garden
Open-handedness: Our lead pastor is filled with joy and optimism when leaders inside and outside our church walls feel called to plant new churches. It's like jet fuel for him. When he hears of a new church startup, he regularly has the new pastor of that plant on our main stage so they can make their announcement. He even encourages our people to leave and join the new church start-up; even if they plan to launch their church across the street. There is little ego and a disregard for who gets the credit for growth and expansion. He wants others to win and delights in their success.
Absence of strict policies: We trust people to use their best judgment instead of always getting permission. This is evidenced in our vacation, time off, maternity, sick days, and work week guidelines. When you have the right people on your team, they don't need to be watched and managed. The right people are self-motivated and self-governing. They have an inner core that keeps the flame red hot to produce results.
Relaxed agendas: Every Thursday, our nine member executive team meets. At the top of the agenda is 15 minutes of open "garden" time for us to simply talk or hear from our lead pastor. I also never schedule more than three items during the entire two-hour meeting because we get off topic, which is welcomed. We have yearly retreats as a leadership team. One year I developed a detailed, three-day agenda and one of the members asked during our basketball game, "When are we going to start the agenda and get into the issues that we are facing?" I told him that playing a game of basketball IS the agenda; it greases the gears of the machine in the right places which helps promote the garden.
I once had a co-worker who would show up for our management team meetings and tap his foot nervously when we didn't start "on-time." He would look at his watch, and then look at me wide-eyed as if to say, "Let's get started." I would always give him a relaxed look in return that said, "It's going to be okay." As a garden organization, we need to have this "catch up" time prior to all of our leadership meetings. This sends a signal to the entire organization that other things matter, not just our busy church work.
Jesus invented the church; let's allow him to lead it while we cultivate a flourishing well-watered garden first and a well-oiled machine second
Another time one of our senior leaders wanted us to install time clocks. He was trying to impose his own bias for clock-watching and a clean, well-oiled machine on the entire organization. I told him no. These types of things are evident in many well-oiled machine churches; people get ideas that weigh them down instead of freeing them up. Policies and procedures should make life easier, not more difficult.
Laughter and joy: We can't take ourselves too seriously. A lot of churches get great results; but are they having fun in the midst of everything they are doing? Does the staff look forward to coming to work and attending staff get-togethers or do they dread team meetings? Is it all business all the time?
How to Flourish
Jesus invented the church; let's allow him to lead it while we cultivate a flourishing well-watered garden first and a well-oiled machine second . Let's plant more gardens in and around our machines. A church is a living, breathing group of people who have been promised abundant life, not life in a machine. Our structures are needed, but they should serve our mission. We all want God to accomplish his will on earth, but we often make the mistake of ignoring what the Bible has to say about the topic. Regretfully, I have sometimes put business practices (machines) front and center instead of Jesus, the founder, architect, and CEO of all organization. I have been like Peter when Jesus told him, " … you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men" Matthew 16:23b. Unfortunately, many of us have abandoned his blueprint and imposed organizational models that aren't designed to harness and infuse the power of heaven into our structure. He said that he would build his church; are we letting him? In the well-watered garden, our staff sees themselves as gardeners of a healthy system. They have a sense of ownership that doesn't exist as much in the well-oiled machine. They are marked by brokenness, transparency, honesty, and authenticity. Mistakes and failures are expected. Things are flexible and trust is the goal above all else. It celebrates people being who God created them to be: human. There is order in the well-watered garden, but it isn't always predictable, kind of like the weather. There is the smell of manure from time to time, weeds crop up, and our boots gets messy because things aren't always tidy. But that's the fun and joy of it! After all, God placed the first two humans in a garden. "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).
Kyle J. Nabors is executive director of Kensington Community Church in Troy, Michigan.
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