The brains of Steve Jobs

Christians will – and should – continue to feel bad for not sharing their faith. Christ is the most glorious Person in the world. His salvation is infinitely valuable. Everyone in the world needs it. Horrific consequences await those who do not believe on Jesus. By grace alone we have seen Him, believed on Him, and now love Him. Therefore, not to speak of Christ to unbelievers, and not to care about our city or the unreached peoples of the world is so contradictory to Christ’s worth, people’s plight, and our joy that it sends the quiet message to our souls day after day: This Savior and this salvation do not mean to you what you say they do. To maintain great joy in Christ in the face of that persistent message is impossible.

John Piper

The Darkness that Feeds on Self-Absorption taken from When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper, 2006, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton Illinois 60187, p. 65.

In his talk on organisational health, in response to the question ‘What is a vision?’ Patrick Lencioni said it was a combination of these six questions :

1. ‘Why do we exist? 
2. How do we behave?
3. What do we do?
4. How will we succeed?
5. What is important right now?
6. And who must do what?

Recently, my friend's were helped to make their business work better by reading the book 'Will it make the boat go faster?'. I have been pondering that phrase ever since they told me it.

The C of E could use a bit of vision as in many areas it's in crisis. So much that it does and spends its money on, to use the Olympic analogy, doesn't make the boat go faster.

It amazes me that in the church you can get promoted for not doing the mission (and no it's not Christlike not be doing what Jesus has told us to do- that being making disciples). I know unmerited promotion happens in other organisations too but we need now to be appointing people who want growth, know how to do and are passionate about evangelism and it's just not good enough to say 'it's not my thing'. It's all our thing. Cardinal Christoph told us how he challenged all his Bishops on this and to ask themselves if they themselves are preaching the gospel and doing evangelism in order to reach the lost. He reported a rather stony silence was the response among his colleagues.

In the C of E it seems to be fairly normal practice for people who have overseen decline of one area to be given bigger jobs with a greater level of challenge and therefore oversee more dramatic decline somewhere else. It doesn't take the brains of Steve Jobs to work out that they may not be able to do the new job either. This is particularly true because the C of E, unlike other organisations, has such limited performance management processes, indicators and accountabilities. Surely, this is not a gender issue as has been our long debate- it's a competence and organisational issue. It's all mystifying to people like me who have worked outside the church.

Here's a thought. It might be a helpful idea for the A of C to look at these statistics and then call up whoever is responsible and ask them to apply Lencioni's six questions to their Diocese. If I was Justin Welby, I would want the report on my desk by Monday (as no doubt happened in BP and my former company when crisis hit and yes, if you needed to, you worked the weekend). We haven't got the time to spend 18 months fannying about on a Synod. 

Did I mention I wrote something called 'Why plant churches?'

It's urgent dear folks. Urgent.