‘God give me a deep humility, a well-guided zeal, a burning love and a single eye, and then let men or devils do their worst!’- George Whitefield’s prayer on the verge of the Great Awakening

It is the nature of movements to have leaders that inspire those around them to fulfill a cause.  It is also the nature of movements to be made up of people who, once inspired by the leader, give that leader the assurance that fulfilling the cause is possible after all.

I just finished reading a really good article by Alan Hirsch that describes seven practices (or disciplines, as they are traditionally known) that cause a church to thrive in the midst of chaos. Alan loves “living systems theory” and believes the church will thrive best when she is constantly operating in a crisis mode. This crisis mode causes her to trust Jesus and not be encumbered by distractions that easily shift our gaze from Him. But obviously, to survive in the midst of crisis continually is difficult and so he suggests the following practices for a church trying to live near the edge of chaos:

1. Infuse an intricate understanding of what drives organizational success.
2. Insist on uncompromising straight talk.
3. Manage from the future.
4. Reward inventive accountability.
5. Harness adversity by learning from prior mistakes.
6. Foster relentless discomfort.
7. Cultivate reciprocity between the individual and the organization.

Alan is also very clear that these disciplines must integrated. To have one without the other six or even six without the other one leads to problems. But here’s my question: What does this look like practically in the life of the church?  How have you seen these sort of practices fleshed out between human beings in the church to which you belong?  I think the answer would be helpful for us all.

I was going to ask Alan on his blog, but you can’t leave comments there. So now, I’m asking you, my faithful readers, what you’ve experienced.  And if Alan should happen to stop by, he could leave a comment as well. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge)