I thought that some of you missional mavericks would appreciate this quote from Floyd McClung’s new book, You See Bones, I See An Army: Changing The Way We Do Church:
Hierarchical leaders focus on control, order and nostalgia. Apostolic leadership yearns for the ‘not yet’. Dreaming, faith, imagination, risk taking, pioneering and future goals characterize apostolic leadership. Administration, bureaucracy, reminiscence and impersonal systems and structures characterize hierarchical leadership. Apostolic leaders encourage holy dissatisfaction, risk taking, questioning and experimenting.
Paul was an apostle, and as such, functioned as a visionary leader. He held to independent views and refused to conform to the religious structures of his day. He was a maverick. We need to make space for apostolic mavericks like Paul in the church today. It is the visionary mavericks that play a vital role in questioning the status quo. They propose mind-blowing alternatives to how things have always been done. Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch make this profound statement about the role of biblical mavericks: “In a real sense, a true biblical maverick acts in a prophetic manner by exposing the lies that the dominant group tells itself in order to sustain its shared illusions…”
(ht Bill Lollar, thanks Bill)
9 responses so far ↓
Jamie Arpin-Ricci // April 7, 2008 at 7:29 am
Great quote! I didn’t know Floyd had written a new book, so I have yet another to add to my ever growing list. Sounds really promising (though I get frustrated the “administration” is forget as an essential spiritual gift and gets lumped into the “problem” category… Alas!)
Thanks Grace!
volkmar1108 // April 7, 2008 at 7:57 am
I read that last night at Bill’s blog.
It’s so good to now have good justification for my maverick tendancies. ;o) (BTW, I loved watching Maverick when I was a kid.)
Tom
Peggy // April 7, 2008 at 10:20 am
I hear you, Jamie! I think we need to redeem the word “administration” to an organic sense rather than an institutional sense. It is easy for me to see this because I have gifts for all three: apostle, prophet and administration. ;^)
Sometimes I think this has given me the ability to speak prophetically into the scenarios where there is a shared illusion that is not righteous. Doesn’t mean it is always well received, of course…. :^(
Deeply embedded ideas can be very difficult to shake loose of — as we all know.
Tom — loved watching Maverick, too!
jonathanbrink // April 7, 2008 at 11:24 am
Nice Grace.
Sarah // April 7, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Looks like a great book!
volkmar1108 // April 7, 2008 at 8:07 pm
Peggy,
Now your chronological age is pegged…! ;o)
Tom
grace // April 8, 2008 at 5:47 am
jamie and peggy,
Interesting thoughts about administration. I believe it is often equated with bureaucracy, and, as Peggy said, is typically limited to institutional paradigms.
tom,
So I shouldn’t feel bad that I haven’t seen Maverick?
jonathan and sarah,
Another book to add to the ever-growing list.
Peggy // April 8, 2008 at 9:44 am
Tom…”pegged” LOL
That’s right — I should be getting more respect as an elder, right?
…and then there was Wagon Train! Loved that one, too … and what about Rawhide? Hehehe …. yee haw!
Today’s youngsters just really missed out on the Golden Days of Television, eh?
MarK R // April 10, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Been reading Viola’s Rethinking the Wineskin and he is sharing similar thoughts - I quote, first-century elders were not reguared as religious specialists but as faith and trusted brethren, no control, or power trips there.
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