01. Plurality Playbook
The main threat is plurality dysfunction
Church progress rarely dies from a bad vision. It dies when the plurality breaks.
The primary cause of plurality dysfunction is overloaded relational welds.
We assume the relationships can already hold what we’re about to hang on them. Then we pile on initiatives, decisions, and speed until the weld fails. Most “elder problems” are load problems wearing doctrinal or administrative clothes.
- Don’t hang more weight than the weld can hold.
- Don’t assume cohesion. Assumed cohesion is a silent killer.
The secondary cause of plurality is the spiritual thinness of individual elders.
Elders can look fine on the outside and still be spiritually anemic. For our purposes, faith is the red blood cell — it carries oxygen to everything else. When faith thins out, the man still shows up, still talks strategy, still carries titles. The bloodwork is bad. A plurality of anemic elders is not a healthy plurality; it is a tired committee.
- Don’t assume spiritual vitality.
- Faith levels rise and fall for a variety of reasons. ← take heed lest ye fall
- High faith disciples can move mountains. ← “say to the mountain…”
The third cause of plurality dysfunction is overbuilding the MVP (minimum viable product)
The third dysfunction is not taste. It is procrastination through perfectionism. If the relational welds are sound and the elders are not anemic, the job is to ship decisions that can be refined in real time. We are the pit crew. Get the car on the track then gather real data. Make fast, confident refinements.
- Perfectionism is often procrastination habitualized.
- Real data beats imagined polish.
- If the pit crew is healthy, put the car on the track.
Where Congregational Confidence Comes From
Virtually all congregational confidence in the system is downstream of an obviously joyful plurality that works together in harmony — not downstream of perfect decisions. The congregation has a relatively large tolerance for refinements in real time when those refinements come from a happy, humble, joyful plurality. In fact, real-time refinements preach. They show the church what trusting God and working together actually look like.
- Congregational confidence follows joy, not polish.
- A happy plurality covers a multitude of mid-course corrections.
So we spend our time accordingly
Because dysfunctions 1 and 2 are the overwhelming issue, the majority of our time together goes to strengthening relational welds and deepening our walks with God. Agenda items do not get the majority by default. People and prayer do.
- If welds and faith are the main threat, they get the main calendar.
- The pareto principle of pluralities = cohesion and faith
- Shepherding, admin, and decisions are peripheral to spiritual joy and togetherness
The system already works
What we have right now already works. The main threat is not a lack of institutional progress, structural scaling, or a missing org chart. The main threat is plurality dysfunctions 1 and 2.
- The machine isn’t broken. The welds and the bloodwork are the risk.
- Beware of “Scaling Theater” ← overwrought and excessive attention to systems building (Trellis & Vine).
If the welds hold, we will probably win.
Our team at Providence is composed of four relatively high-capacity families. Together we could build almost anything — so long as we keep strengthening our relational welds and walk humbly before our God. Capacity is not the scarce resource. Humility (faith) and weld strength are.
Four godly families full of faith can build almost anything.
Capacity without humility is a liability.
We Need Holy Elders
The main thing elders owe the church is personal holiness (see M’Cheyne). That’s a debt you owe that must be paid on the installment plan (it is never paid). They must be the masters of The Earthy Piety of Providence and show the congregation how to Do Eden Anyway.
- Worship (The Coram Deo Life)
- Work (Work like God rewards those who seek him).
- Wife (Augustinian heatmap)
- Wine (Crown each day)
Worship & Spiritual Hygiene
When elders serve without faith they become bitter, resentful, score-keeping Javerts. Javert elders are Valjeans with empty faith-gas-tanks and they are the bane of the Lord’s church. Keep diligent watch on bitterness toward your brothers. “You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,” said Aslan. “And that is both honor enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.”
Work
As sons of the New Adam, we have permission to “get after it.” God is our Father and we do our labor under a smiling Son. Expect bounty. Work like work works.
Wife = Holy Homes
Serve your wife by leading her. Engage in proactive sanctification work with her. Spend serious attention on her godliness. Your wife must live the cruciform life just like you. Expect your children to follow after you in the Lord, and do the work necessary to see that come to pass. No “it’s up to God” excuses that dodge fatherly labor. Your household is not a supporting cast for your elder brand and it is not merely a proving ground. It is your primary tool. Keep it sharp.
Be Loyal to Your Fellow Elders
You owe the men on this team real dedication. True loyalty is not only length (years with a person). It is also intensity — the quality of thought and intensity of love dedicated to that person. Loyalty is intense love with staying power.
Do Hesed in the household of God.
Functionally, this means submitting your preferences and even secondary convictions to the Lord as sacrifices for the sake of unity.
Meetings are to make much of Jesus.
We still meet every month. The night is not a status review. Equipping · Fellowship · Word & Prayer. If we can’t do this well, we don’t deserve to grow. And if we aren’t growing, we shouldn’t have a lot of business to discuss. Elder meetings are mostly godly worshipful fraternal gatherings. There should be oil running down beards. That’s the only safe environment in which to conduct “church business.”