I think there is value in unstructured growth. We shouldn’t be afraid of growth we cannot understand. It’s messier, harder to contain, even uncomfortable at times, but it also keeps leaders energized, maintains momentum and helps spur exponential growth.
As the organization grows—as strategy changes—additions in structure have to be added. Adding structure, however, can be a painful and disruptive process if not handled carefully. We must add structure strategically.
Too many churches are stalled because when things got messy they simply added a new rule.
The fact is structure should never be too inflexible. It should change with the organization. It should even change at times with the people who are in the organization.
How do you add good, helpful structure?
Here are five suggestions to add good structure to an organization:
The change should make sense with the organizational DNA.
We have to be careful altering something in a way that could disrupt the fiber, core or root foundation of the organization. DNA is formed fast, but changed slowly—and sometimes never. It’s who an organization is and who people have come to expect it to be. It’s hard to disrupt this without disrupting future potential for growth. The structure we will add or change in church revitalization will likely look different from the structure we had in church planting. And every church and organization is unique.
The structure added should not impede progress.
This seems common sense to me, but I’ve learned this is not always the case. Structure should further enable the completion of the vision, not detract from it. Notice I said progress not growth with this suggestion. It could be you need some temporary structure that slows growth for a season. When I was in city leadership, there was a time we needed to slow the pace of growth so we could catch up with infrastructure in the city. We saw that as progress. If it slowed growth forever, it would no longer be progress. An organization that never grows will eventually die—hence the following suggestion. The key is, structure should consider the future potential for long-term sustainability of the organization.
