By Jon Hietbrink
It’s relatively easy to see “flash in the pain” success, but it’s another thing entirely to lead a movement that sustains growth over time. As APE leaders we have a unique role to play in both leading change within existing systems and helping our movements “surf the edge of chaos” in a way that propels enduring momentum, and one of the key pitfalls we must avoid is allowing our movements to become monuments—slowly decaying symbols of past success, but absent of the intrinsic vitality we see in living things.
One of the key functions of apostolic leadership goes beyond merely interpersonal to systemic influence— we cultivate environments where movements can thrive and combat the temptations of monument. Here’s a few warning signs that monument thinking is taking root and organizational recalibration is needed.
Protecting LEGACY trumps empowering LEADERS
In almost every system, there is much to be learned and honored from the past—great leaders who have gone before, enduring values to be upheld, and core principles to be maintained. However, in systems that are sliding into organizational inertia, this right appropriation of the past often slips into a posture of protectionism where the legacies of the past (or present) choke out the contributions of emerging leaders and subsequently stonewall forces of organizational renewal. Anytime we talk more about preserving legacy than we do about stimulating innovation, we are in danger of becoming a monument.
Authority is sourced in Institutional MACHINERY instead of Divine ENCOUNTER
Every movement needs structure to survive, but a problem emerges when the source of leaders’ authority is found not in their encounter with the living God and obedience to his word, but their expertise at maneuvering the machinery of institution. Any time we as leaders begin to source our influence primarily in our institutional credentials to the neglect of our real-time apprehension of and obedience to God’s invitation, monument thinking has begun to take hold.
Change is created through MANDATES instead of MYSTERY
Movemental environments are catalyzed by the introduction of mystery— we invite people to join us in tackling the seemingly impossible challenge or taking a leap of faith in response to God’s calling. We speak the language of “What if…?”, are constantly sowing the seeds of vision, others are invited (not merely compelled) to join, and we celebrate like crazy when we witness the impossible becoming reality. In contrast, monument thinking tends to motivate primarily on the basis of mandates and compulsion—“You will…or else”, and monument leaders have to constantly enforce compliance to external standards. When the core message of our system comes in the form of mandate, we are speaking the language of monument.
Time is spent MANAGING what is instead of DREAMING of what isn’t yet
While it is possible to organize without leading, it is impossible to lead without organizing. The problem in monument-thinking is not that we find ourselves having to manage people, information, and resources, it’s when we have to manage what is so much that we are prevented from ever dreaming about what isn’t yet. Apostolic movements are fundamentally fueled by a deep and abiding concern for the potential that lies beyond the horizon, and as such, must create space for their leaders to dream about the unknown, the untried, and the unreached.
Now, if you’re like me, it’s relatively easy to recognize the monument-thinking at work in the systems we are a part of. As APE leaders, we often have a keen sense of what needs to change in the environments we occupy, and my next post will try to provide some tools that we can use to help our organizations calibrate back toward movement.
But first, I want to challenge us to not only evaluate the systems we are PART OF through this grid, but to consider honestly whether the systems we LEAD might not bear some of these same traits of monument. Just as APE leaders often have to play the role of provocateur in our existing systems for those who we follow, we too need to invite others to speak truth to us about the systems we lead and the environments we have created—perhaps we too are succumbing to the temptations of legacy and machinery, mandates and management?
It may look like spending your next team meeting considering these types of questions, or sending this post along to your team to invite them into an honest assessment of your leadership, but don’t fall prey to thinking that we (as APE leaders) are somehow immune to the temptation of monument and miss an opportunity to recalibrate back to apostolic movement.
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