When the Wineskins Start to Rip
Reorganizing a church is never easy, but at times it's necessary.
Gordon MacDonald
January 1, 1984
Church organization can't guarantee effective ministry, but the wrong structure can certainly stifle it. One aspect of vision is knowing when changes are needed and how to make them. This is the account of how one pastor saw the flaws and rallied the people to a creative solution. It didn't match the drama of the shootout at the OK Corral, but everyone certainly felt the tension in Grace Chapel's conference room the night the deacons and elders squared off. The issue: trespassing. Each board accused the other of treading upon its administrative territory. After the verbal volleys, we sat in stunned silence. Our church had been blessed with a history of aggressive unity. No one was used to this kind of confrontation. Soon the meeting was adjourned with the leaders promising to "look into the matter further." Frustrated board members left for home wondering how they had reached such an impasse. We should have seen the moment coming, but most of us hadn't. Over a number of years, the climate for conflict was building; all we needed was the right issue at the right time for a firefight. And that night it happened. I wasn't the only person to comprehend what was taking place, but I was perhaps the first to start moving toward a solution. Before going to bed that night, I called the two board chairmen and suggested breakfast the next morning. Both agreed, and we met early over toast and coffee to lick our wounds. "Gentlemen," I said, "what happened last night is only the beginning of conflict to come. More and more issues like this are going to hit us, and our frustration is going to rise higher and higher. As I see it, the problem is structure. Our congregation has grown to such size and diversity, and our ministries are so complex, ...
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