Part 6B of A 10 Part Series by Rev. Kurauone Mutimwii (Uniting Presbyterian Church in Zimbabwe - Masvingo)
Crisis of Organizational Skills
Mark 6:38 But He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”
6:39 Then He commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass.
6:40 So they sat down in ranks, in hundreds and in fifties.
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6:39-40
After Christ instructed his disciples to do a resource analysis so that they would establish how much resources they would need to feed these people and to ascertain how much resources was actually available, He further commanded them to organize people systematically in ranks, in fifties and in hundreds.
The strategy of Inpromptu, spontaneous, hapharzadness as the Spirit leads, was not the most effective approach to be employed in this scenario.
People were to be organized in ranks, and in effectively administrateable numbers where they could access the available resources. It was nolonger the issue of if they had two hundred denariis they could have done more but about that they actually had five loaves and two fishes and something must be done with these.
The Church in Zimbabwe sometimes fails to organize people it has, their skills, ranks, demographics, quantities and resources in order to either push God's agenda or share in that Divine vision in the Society.
Sometimes, It is not that people are not willing to do something positive for their nation nor that they are unwilling to give what they can afford but probably because the Church simply does not know how to organize them into either a formiddable force that can rally behind a noble cause, give to that cause or wait for that cause. It is then imperative that nomatter how small the cause may look like and how meager resources around it are, the Church must employ good skill sets to organize and execute that cause. Where there is lack of good organization, there are complaints of inequity, shortages, favouritism, selective resource access, injustice, eliticism, feats of greedy and silencing of some voices. People must be organized in such ways that they all see what is obtaining, they can all access what is being provided, they can all be accessed with resources available, they can all be seen, reached and heard by those whose task is to give out such rights and privileges.
That approach to organizing them is very empowering and transforming. The Church must organize people in such a way that for Christ sake, they can confront the repressive vices of politics, economics and faith and together fight for what is right, share in what is collectively theirs and collectively their aspirations.
To strategically organize desperate people is sometimes, a very difficult task for those in shepherdlike leadership, especially if there are no adequate resources to cater for their needs.
Scripture speaks of five loaves and two fishes were the result of the benevolence of a generous selfless small boy, who was not even counted in the 5000.
Everything pointed to the fact that whatever public beneficial outcome was supposed to come from that meager revenue. It would not be easy for the Disciples to organize people around such pathetically meager resources, without them being called crazy and out of their minds.
The quantity of the economy of any given entity determines how much positive impact it does to the people.
People were many, and they were all hungry, if they had money then there was nowhere to buy food for their families. Is it not crazy for the world when the Church which is a non profit making organization is frontlining the world in humanitarians interventions yet it does not control the resources of this world?
As if that is not crazy enough, the Church is rallying the people around the vision of God, sometimes confrontationally clashing with those who are wielding the political and economical powers of this world on account of addressing the needs of the desperate masses.
The best way to address people is first to understand the limitation of our resources in view of the unlimitation of the power of God that works through us.
The Church did not promise anything to the desperate people but it simply instructed people to sit down in ranks and groups of fifties and hundreds. This would make all people accessible and reachable.
Social disparities becomes visibly identifiable when people are poorly organized around resources or any given vision. Strategists often say, this is the point where Organizations fail.
To set people in strategic postures where they can be easily identified for who they are and as well be accessed by the availing resources such that they continuously connect easily to what God is doing in their midst, means to erect an unconquerable army for God.
This is true of the fact that resources follow vision but it is even more true that when it is God's vision unfolding in God's command, even the most least resources become the most abundant and sufficing for the accomplishment of the divine tasks.
Does the Church take its time to study and to understand who their people are, what do they have, where can they be placed, and how many should be placed wherever they are so that the agenda of God flows through without hindrances?
The Church is divided and suffering internal riots because of issues of inequalities, of inequity, of gender, age, race or opportunities.
The Grecian widows are still complaining in the Church of today, even louder that there is no inclusion in the Church as they are left out.
Marginalization, exclusion, power struggles and schisms are consequences of the Church that has failed to strategically organize people around the five loaves of bread and the two fishes.
Indeed it is the disaster of the Church that is not priotizing that over and above inclusion people need to be placed where they can access what is coming from God, the source of their cause.
They must be in a position where the power and the miracle of God flows to them in an uninterrupted network and connectivity. There is dire need for them to be first hand primary witnesses to what God is doing through the Church.
Such people who are well positioned and strategically organized to tap into what God is doing are definitely a very strong formidable army, unstoppable in their representation of God and are willing to sacrifice the little they have for God 's greater cause.
Ezekiel says such people who were like dry bones, disorganized in the valley of death, became a mighty vast army, when they all got access to the touch of God's word and Spirit.
It is the task of the Church to make sure that everyone who must be ropped into the greater purpose of God is located and strategically positioned to receive God's supplies such as vision, inspiration, love, hope or material blessing because noone can be touched by God and remain incorrigible. We are transformed when we experience the power of God at work in our lives and when we gaze into the glorious presence of Christ.
Yes, there are those in the Church who might stand in the way of access and there are things in our surrounding which might litter, smokescreen, and act as impediments to our full view of what Christ is doing amongst them.
Things like injustice, inequity, exclusion, corruption, irresponsible leadership, malgovernance, greed, and many other vices, do not only mar our visibility of Christ but thet also disrupt and distort absolutely, our common humanity, our relationships, sense of compassion, collective aspirations and unity of purpose to such an extent that instead of staying organized and waiting on Christ in faith, trust, hope and love, we scramble for opportunities, scratch for power, kill for money and compete for resources thus leaving behind trajectories, traiblaizing bloodshed,ecological mess, as well as enmity.
When Christ came those who were enemies became friends, those who were far off were brought in. Those who glory in convening multitudes around, the question is whether everyone is being served and accessing what God is issuing out through the Church. Are they being managed well and do we really know who exactly we have in our camp?
Sit them in fifties, or hundreds, let them understand their resources and start distributing to them that which is coming from God.
That is leadership. The inner circles in the world social order, are the elite privileged enjoying the privilege of this world while the rest wallow in abject poverty, and this should not repeat itself in the Church.
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