Is a Church an organisation or an organism? What if I was to suggest that an organism is an organisation and that the kind of groups we label organisations resemble organisms in a number of ways?
Let’s think about lifecycles. Organisms tend to follow a predictable lifecycle of birth, growth, maturity, decline and death, with particular and predictable phenomena arising at each stage. And, according to a number of organisational theorists, so do organisations. Whether you think about your church as an organism or an organisation, it will follow a predictable lifecycle pattern. It’s not rigid and predetermined, but it’s recognisable – and thankfully, modifiable.
If you think about a child, thriving means putting on weight, growing taller, hitting development goals and developing a growing independence. Thriving as an elderly person would mean something entirely different.
Like young humans, young churches tend to have a higher tolerance of risk, are constantly changing as they grow and are faster to adapt to new challenges and opportunities. They behave like they don’t have much to loose. Failure to grow is life-threatening.
Established churches roll differently. Failure to grow might be a worry, but it’s not an immediate threat. Established churches have assets on their balance sheet and habituated congregations. There’s more to lose and change seems to cost more emotionally.
Humans at mid-life often face challenges that might be collectively termed ‘things I can no longer get away with’ In mid life we need to discipline things like eating, exercise and sleep. We can’t get away with the cut-corners and excesses of youth. At mid-life we might begin paying for past areas of neglect.
A church at mid-life may also find itself paying for past ill-discipline: lax governance, poor maintenance, underperforming people entrenched in key roles – programs that consume a lot of resources for negligible missional return. Maintaining health will require discipline.
Much like an aging human, a church that’s significantly declined from its prime – characterised by an aging congregation and dwindling or absent generational ministries – is confronted with its own mortality. And similar to humans, it may respond with thoughtfulness or denial.
A younger church can be inspired to lift with a refreshed vision and some leadership discipline. A church in advanced decline may be wiser considering how to invest their resources in the next generation rather than clinging to self-preservation.
We’ll explore church size and lifecycle in more detail in the upcoming online workshop, Church Size and Lifecycle on Tuesday June 16th. Click here for more info.