Are You a Spiritual Bureaucrat?
I’m reading a book called Making Ideas Happen by Scott Belsky. As the title suggests, it’s about, well, making stuff happen.
The book primarily has its application in the entrepreneurial/business world, but I’ve found a few spiritual applications already. The first one? Spiritual inaction. Yeah. Sitting on your spiritual duff while the world passes you by.
Here’s a quote from Ideas,
Sometimes, to delay action even longer, we resort to bureaucracy. Bureaucracy was born out of the human desire for complete assurance before taking action. When we don’t want to take action, we find reasons to wait. We use “waiting” nicknames like “awaiting approval,” “following procedures,” “further research,” or “consensus building.”
How often do I resort to “spiritual bureaucracy”? How often do I use terms like “I’m waiting on God” or “I only want to go where God is blessing!” to excuse inaction? Do I want to be a person who seeks to stay in step with the God’s movements? Yes. But not at the risk of blaming God for my sloth!
Are You a Spiritual Bureaucrat?
When I become a spiritual bureaucrat, when I pass endeavors through an endless spiritual gamut, I excuse myself from actually doing something with the life God has given me.
Pray about this,
Get counsel from this person,
Read this Scripture,
Pray again,
Go to a special healing service,
Repent of something,
Pray some more,
Sit on our hands,
Decide that we need to wait some more.
I’m certainly not suggesting that these things are bad. Not at all. However, sometimes we need to sand off the religious veneer, roll up our sleeves, and get to work. I shudder to think of how many great, glorious, grand, God-given ideas sit on the shelf of mediocrity … All in God’s name!
Stop Waiting. Get to It
Chances are if you think you need to wait some more, you don’t. God has this magnificent way of getting us to slow down when we need to. He’s God, after all. So what are you waiting for? Get to it.
so true … we often wait because waiting seems and sounds so Biblical – but when we wait and do nothing else – as you said, “sitting on our spiritual duff,” it's not getting us any closer to where God wants us to be. In the time of waiting, we should be diligently preparing, stopping to acknowledge God and His will, but then taking action from that place. Then, when God opens a door, we're ready to walk boldly through it.
I agree, waiting can become and excuse to do nothing. But if you are truly seeking the L*rd and he is calling you to wait, then obedience is the key. Really, obedience is the key either way. I've heard it said you grieve the Holy Spirit when you say no to something he is saying yes to; and you quench the Holy Spirit when you say yes to something he says no to. Either way, you are going ahead and doing what you want to do (in fear, in selfishness, in whatever). The fear of the “go and do something” method is that is very Western in thought; it can very easily turn into the “do something and ask G to bless it” rather than “see where He's working and join him.” The most important thing is to seek the L*rd, be in His Word, in pr*yer, and listening to Him. If he tells you to go – go; if wait – wait. But in the waiting you don't have to be doing nothing. You can still praise, worship, serve, etc. wherever he has you (like the every popular song from 'Fireproof' says…”while I'm waiting….”).
I remember after moving back from Colorado to Des Moines, I'd say, “If God told me to move back to Colorado, I wouldn't even pray for confirmation. Bags packed, I'm ready!” It's true that when we want something, we are quick to obey God. Equally true, shifting our laziness onto God or avoiding obedience is problematic. And unfaithful.
But, the other side of that ditch can be action without asking. Often Christians assume they know what God is wanting of them because of what He's done in the past. Or they base their decisions on Biblically-based “virtues” vs. His voice in the specific moment. We move forward assuming we're doing the “right” thing because we can find a verse or two to back it up.
Ultimately, it still comes down to stopping…..asking…..listening…..THEN doing. And when He speaks, seriously….get going!
I saw Scott Belsky speak at West Coast Catalyst last week. Great speaker. Can't wait to read his book. Multiple times this week I've thought back to points he made in his talk. One of the ideas that stuck out most to me was that making an idea happen is 1% inspiration and 99% hard work. Usually the hard part isn't coming up with the ideas, it's the execution that trips us up. An obvious thought, but one that has had me thinking about the best ways to stay motivated and moving forward on a project.
For real. He's legit! What was his talk at Catalyst centered on?
Bring it, Teeny!
Great process …. Wait, listen, act in faith. Wait, listen, act in faith!
I like Jonathan's attitude in Scripture, “Perhaps the Lord will act on our behalf!” I think we need more of that!
I'm reading this same book currently. Using some of the principles with my staff.
He gave a talk that was about 40 minutes and he talked quite a bit about how to keep your idea moving forward after the initial burst of energy that you get at the beginning of any new idea/plan. I don't have my notes with me right now, but a couple of things that stuck out at me were… never leave a meeting with out action items. If there are no action items, perhaps the meeting wasn't worth having. He sited those weekly standing meetings that everyone dreads and secretly view as a waste of time. He also talked about setting up a timeline for your project that includes milestones so that you have achievements to celebrate throughout the process.
His talk was mostly an outline of the book I think. (I haven't read the book yet.)
BTW, if you've never been to Catalyst, I think you'd really like it.
Jamey … As you're going through his talk I'm thinking, “Yep, I remember that from the book … That sounds familiar … Yep!” Good, consistent message!
As for Catalyst, I'm trying to convince the good peeps over there to send me as a live blogger. So far, no luck
Thanks for the comment!
Thank you! We are great at committees but hard to get ideas into action.
Oh My! This was a message I need to share! We are “Spiritual Bureaucract”T
Excellent blog, thanks for sharing it! There are some great principles discussed here but I think it goes beyond just being a spiritual bureaucrat and how it affects you individually. Unless you are a hermit, this also applies to how interact with those around you as well. In a ministry setting, your delay and bureaucratic actions can have a … See Moredirect effect on those around you.
Bureaucracy can lead to stagnation in both innovation and service. Bureaucracy encourages management and discourages leadership because it only seeks to maintain the status quo without any meaningful thought or consideration. These managers do not seek improvement where needed and encourage by their example the same bureaucracy in their subordinates in the organization. Subordinates who in following the management example are timid and don't take initiative on ideas because they're afraid of rocking the boat or risking being labeled a “heretic†within the organization.
The test is how do you find the right balance of initiative, action and innovation with counsel, prayer, study and consensus? That’s the test of leadership. Are your steps enhancing or inhibiting the mission and vision of your organization? Are you a multiplier or a diminisher in your organization? I took the Accidental Diminsher’s quiz at http://multipliersbook.com/. It really helped me to think about and identify the potential warning signs of drifting to one extreme or the other of stagnation or instability.
Excellent blog, thanks for sharing it! There are some great principles discussed here but I think it goes beyond just being a spiritual bureaucrat and how it affects you individually. Unless you are a hermit, this also applies to how interact with those around you as well. In a ministry setting, your delay and bureaucratic actions can have a … See Moredirect effect on those around you.
Bureaucracy can lead to stagnation in both innovation and service. Bureaucracy encourages management and discourages leadership because it only seeks to maintain the status quo without any meaningful thought or consideration. These managers do not seek improvement where needed and encourage by their example the same bureaucracy in their subordinates in the organization. Subordinates who in following the management example are timid and don't take initiative on ideas because they're afraid of rocking the boat or risking being labeled a “heretic†within the organization.
The test is how do you find the right balance of initiative, action and innovation with counsel, prayer, study and consensus? That’s the test of leadership. Are your steps enhancing or inhibiting the mission and vision of your organization? Are you a multiplier or a diminisher in your organization? I took the Accidental Diminsher’s quiz at http://multipliersbook.com/. It really helped me to think about and identify the potential warning signs of drifting to one extreme or the other of stagnation or instability.