I’ve not read this book but found its title intriguing. I’ve read several reviews and can’t wait to dig in–apparently though, it is not for the faint-hearted. The book describes “a new management model based on the nature of nature… It distills from the science of complexity, four bedrock principles that are inherently and powerfully applicable to the living system called.” To get folks thinking, let me at least post these four principles. If “movements are organic,” then these laws of nature may apply.
1. Equilibrium is a precursor to death. When a living system is in a state of equilibrium, it is less responsive to changes occurring around it. This places it at maximum risk.
2. In the face of threat, or when galvanized by a compelling opportunity, living things move towards the edge of chaos. This condition evokes higher levels of mutation and experimentation, and fresh new solutions are likely to be found.
3. When this excitation takes place, the components of living systems self-organize and new forms and repertoires emerge from the turmoil.
4. Living systems cannot be directed along a linear path. Unforeseen consequences are inevitable. The challenge is to disturb them in a manner that approximates the desired outcome.
As we attempt to build movements everywhere, these principles may argue ways in which the energy of rapid change (globalization, secularization, other zations) can allow movements to “self-organize and adapt” and then develop new forms and repertoires.
Peter McHugh argues that Christian mission agencies/church planters don’t understand the “complex, adaptive systems” involved in development of living organisms i.e. spiritual movements. They’ve opted instead for being traditional rather than transformational. They value the ritual over being radical. They see themselves being a refuge from the world rather than for the world. They live with a paradigm of organization and change that is bureaucratic and suspicious. They rely on good management and programs to produce growth and have become wary of spontaneous, artistic, and “spiritual” people.