When we “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18), we will have more and more of a tendency to organize around His purposes, design, and mission for the Church.
As a result, we will not just organize for the sake of organization but to promote and enhance the life we have in Christ. Grace enables us to keep organization in check so it helps rather than hinders God’s work.
3 Ways Grace Enables Us to Keep Organization in Check
God’s grace isn’t just for salvation for we’re exhorted, “just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him” (Col. 2:6). Grace affects all we do. Here are three ways it helps us with our organizational efforts:
- Grace promotes the proper exercise of the freedom we have in Christ rather than stifle it.
Grace liberates us from the law (Gal. 5:4) and sin (Rom. 6:22), that which truly binds us. Without God’s grace, we wouldn’t have freedom. “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (Jn. 8:36) — Freedom comes from Christ, a gift of grace (Eph. 2:8-9), not from a lack of rules and regulations. We can be physically imprisoned but still be free.
Read: Organization Because of Freedom in Christ?
It’s possible we can organize in such a way that we box people in too much. When propelled by grace, however, organization actually helps people live within the freedom they have. — “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Gal. 5:13)
Read: Organization Enhancing Ministry Not Entangling It?
- Grace gives organization a life-giving effect rather than lead to a lifeless church,
Grace in itself is life-giving “for the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11). This grace enables us to live in the newness of the abundant life Jesus came to given us for “it teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age” (Titus 2:12).
That which brings destruction and ruin to our churches isn’t organization itself but rather our sinful nature turning it into something God never intended it to be. God intends for organization to enhance ministry, to help us better function as we should. He likens the way the Church functions to the human body, an organism with organization.
Read: Organizational Efforts with a Life-Giving Effect
- Grace motivates us to put people above organizational structures and programming.
God wants us to be dispensers of His grace to one another (1 Pet. 4:10). The spiritual gifts He has given us by His grace aren’t for our benefit but for the effect they have on others. We therefore organize, not to make ourselves look good or to accomplish our own ambitions, but rather for the good of others. It’s not about great buildings or excellent programs but the effect these structures have on people.
Because it’s about meeting the needs of people, organization has some flexibility to keep growing and changing. We don’t hold so tightly to organization that it becomes an end in itself.
Read: The Need for Fluidity in Organization
Bottom Line: We need to continue to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). Go to: Resources about God’s Grace
All Posts about Organization:
- Organization Following God’s Purposes?
- The Cause and Effect Factor of Organization
- The Need for Fluidity in Organization
- Living Organism Needs Organization
- Organizational Structures Help or Hinder?
- Organization Because of Freedom in Christ?
- Organization Enhancing Ministry Not Entangling It?
- Organizational Skills of Jesus
- Why Organizational Skills When We Have God?
- Spiritually Gifted to Organize
- Praying About How to Organize to Best Accomplish Goals
- Rely on the Spirit, Not Organizational Efforts
- The Gospel, the Organized Eternal Plan of God
- Organizational Efforts with a Life-Giving Effect
- The Effects of Life-Giving Organizational Efforts
- The Right Reason for Organization
- Aligning Organizational Efforts with Scripture
- Organization Reliant on the Name of the Lord
- Grace Helps Keep Organization in Check
- Leader’s Role as a Guide in Organizational Efforts
- Perspective and Power Needed for Organization