Step 19: The Second Semester Rally

Have you ever wondered who Cru is as an organization? What are we and who are we? We receive mixed messages. One of our leaders stands up and tells us that we are a family – a caring community of staff and students who are willing to identify with the hurts and pain of others. We are to be a community of people who love and care. We are committed to creating “safe communities.” Another leader defines us as “a self-contained Great Commission fighting unit.” After all, we are an army engaged in spiritual battle. A third leader (usually wearing a tie) talks of systems and processes and organizational structures. Cru is presented as a global corporation in need of standard procedures and training. Well, what are we? Are we a family, an army or a corporation? Jim Dethmer, former teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, has given definition to Christian organizations by presenting three paradigms of ministry. A paradigm is simply a way of looking at something – a way of seeing. Each paradigm is found in the Scriptures and presents us with a clear picture of how a body of believers functions. Each paradigm has it’s own core values, roles and objectives.

COMMUNITY

The key person, or the one who gets the most attention is usually the youngest or weakest member. For this reason we pay a lot of attention to Basic Follow-up and aiding new believers into the family. In 1 Thessalonians 2:7 Paul reminded these young believers that “we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children.” Later he wrote “For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children...” (2:11). As part of a caring community, a group of women accompanied Jesus and the disciples to care for their needs (Matthew 27:55). They were family. When Paul was in prison, his friends cared for his needs (Acts 24:33). His need qualified him as the most needy member of the community. Leaders are exhorted to “be shepherds of God’s flock that is under (their) care” (1 Peter 5:2). This is the care that we give and receive from being part of a family. One becomes part of a family through no merit of his or her own. One is either born into a family or adopted. Family membership is not earned nor can it be lost. We are always connected to other members of the family.

CAUSE

We are more than a family. The Bible also portrays each of us as soldiers engaged in a cause. There is a battle to be won, armor that needs to be worn, an enemy that needs to be conquered and prisoners who need to be set free. Unlike a family, the roles in an army are hierarchical. The Roman Centurion (Matthew 8:9) explained the role of a military leader this way: “For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

The core value of an army is winning the war. In a battle, the focus is not so much on loving one another but on our suitability for battle. The key person, rather than being the most needy, is the one who is most committed – the one who is most sold out ... the one who pays the price and sacrifices. So Paul aptly writes in 2 Tim 2:3,4 “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.” As an army we focus on building courageous leaders. Being part of an army conveys that we exist for something bigger than ourselves. We are engaged in a committed cause. How do we get into an army? Normally, we volunteer. The rewards are the crowns of being a faithful soldier.

CORPORATION

In a corporation, ideally, everything is done in an orderly manner (1 Corinthians 14). Those who talk of the corporation talk of effectiveness and efficiency. Performance reviews, position focus sheets, strategic planning, allocation of finite resources toward the strategic goals are all part of the Crusade corporate culture.

The core value of a corporation is effectiveness. The roles center around team leaders, trainers and teams. The key person is the most productive person – the one who contributes best to accomplishing the organizational mission. Individuals who are asked to assume greater leadership responsibilities are usually those who have been most effective or productive. As a competent corporation we need to honor those “faithful and wise manager(s), whom the master (can) put in charge his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time” (Luke 12:42).

A consistent qualification for deacons and overseers is their ability to manage (1 Timothy 3:4, 3:12, etc.). Management always involves stewardship and accountability in using time and resources to accomplish a responsibility. As managers, we will be asked to give an account of our stewardship (Luke 16:1,2). How do you join a corporation? You are hired. How do you get out? You are fired or you quit.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BALANCE

Each of us, because of our particular bents, will gravitate toward one paradigm to the possible exclusion of the others. To some, we are primarily a family. For others we are the cause. Enough with this love and unity – there is a world to be won. To others, the organizational principles are what are most predominant.

The truth of the matter is this – we must have the intellectual flexibility to embrace all three paradigms without letting go of any of them. We have to hold all three in mind when we are making decisions. We have to consider not only how decisions affect us as a family, but also as a cause. We have to pay attention to every area. If we don’t, the problems are predictable.

For example, if we don’t pay attention to the corporate side we will not be able to “manage our resources to develop our people to accomplish our objectives.” We’ll never have enough resources to meet the needs of the people and accomplish the objectives of the army and the family. Think how little ministry you are able to sustain when your personal and ministry support accounts are at maximum deficit. Resources are corporate issues. Think of Exodus 18. Because of Moses’ mismanagement of time and resources, the needs of the people and the army were on the brink of disaster. Jethro’s timely counsel on delegation allowed them to move forward.

We also need a cause – a purpose for which we labor. Without a cause there is no momentum. We become ingrown and often expend our spiritual energy fighting with one another rather than fighting together in a common cause. For this reason, as a leader, you need to live out your role as direction setter and align and motivate your team under a common vision. You are the change-agent who is making a difference.

Without a strong sense of community and family, people tend to be seen and treated for their utilitarian value – for their efficiency and production. People are reduced to what they do, rather than being valued for who they are. In a community, people have value in and of themselves. In the family we are committed to coaching our staff in their development. We are concerned about their emotional well being as much as their production. In the cause people are evaluated by their faith, not their love.

To neglect any of these areas is to risk failure as a leader. We need to distinguish when we are a family and when we are in an army. We seek to be effective with people and efficient with tasks. When we try to be efficient with people, we usually end up being ineffective. We don’t put on the full armor of God as a brother, but as a soldier Ephesians 6:11-13).