Gaming the Game

Sharing Options

Inside each capable administrator, there is a petty bureaucrat, yearning to get out. Inside each visionary, there is a wild antinomian, yearning to get out. Each one is suspicious of the inner other guy, when they ought to be suspicious of their own inner guy.

Mission cannot be accomplished without visionary leadership. Mission cannot be accomplished without a supply corps, and working supply lines. Without the supply guys, the visionary is Napoleon marching on Moscow. Without the visionary, the administrator is an undersecretary for Garbonzo bean subsidies in eastern Washington, involved in a desperate turf war with the Chickpea guy for northern Alabama.

Missionaries need accountability, and need to understand what it is. Those providing it must also understand what it is. In order for it to be true accountability it has to be personal. Accountability has a face, not just a file cabinet. This kind of accountability happens within a local church.

When someone resists accountability, they do it in the name of resisting the suits and haircuts with the file cabinets. But the real issue is seen in the avoidance of personal accountability. The file cabinet game can be gamed, which is why people do it. That game is actually the pretence of accountability, which should be understood as a working truce between the visionary and the bureaucrat. The visionary knows what to file so that he can continue doing whatever he wants, and the bureaucrat has what he needs so that he can cover his butt. And the work of the kingdom staggers on.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments