The Primary Roles of the Community
A community is sustained by the active and interdependent participation of each of the units in the social control mechanisms that maintain order. Social order is not developed easily or quickly. It requires the continued participation of individuals and groups that fulfill specific roles in the order. These roles include: architects, administrators, affiliates, and antagonists.
The architect of the social order creates the narrative that gives purpose to the society. Much like a prolific piece of literature, the architect creates the setting, plot, climax, and resolution that serves as the prevailing social narrative. The architect also creates the characters that participate in this narrative. Often assigning them a place based on their gender, ethnicity, religion, education, or economic status.
The administrator of the social order develops and maintains laws and enforcement methods that ensure the narrative created by the architect is sustained. The administrator establishes the institutions that govern the behaviors of individuals, organizations, and systems. The narrative that defined the society serves as the guiding principle for the institution and is thus woven into the culture of all that it governs.
The affiliate in the social order is any individual or organization that employs its resources to support the institutions through daily actions and operations. Affiliates don’t create the social control measures of the system or the narrative upon which they are based. They are willing passive participants in the social order.
The antagonist is any individual or organization that threatens the social order by not supporting the society’s institutions or by rejecting the narrative that serves as its foundation.
The Architect
The Text
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision the people perish.
The Application
Who do you think are the architects of the social order in our community of focus.
Do you think the vision the we have of ourselves and the community around us is a positive one, which builds and strengthens us? What do we do to clarify our view that vision if it is positive or what do we do to change that vision if it is not?
The Administrator
The Text
Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from being My priest. And because you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
The Application
Do you know who the civic, economic, educational, and social administrators are in the community we seek to serve? Do you know the processes they use to manage the organizations, systems, and institutions that influence the community?
What do we need to learn right now about the processes in the social, educational, economic, and civic systems to add value to the community we seek to serve?
The Affiliate
The Text
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Application
Remember, affiliates conform to the system. Based on the systems and processes you see in this community, does this help them or hurt them? Does it marginalize them or help them reach their full potential?
The Antagonist
The Text
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The Application
Remember, antagonists do not conform to the system, Based on the systems and processes you see in this community, does this help them or hurt them? Does it marginalize them or help them reach their full potential?
Chapter 1
Our Framework for Community
We use the elements that create a community’s synergy to engage in analysis and transformative action. These distinct elements are applicable to any society regardless of structure or location. We view any community as the resultant of the synergy created by four primary elements: social, education, economic, and civic.
The Social Element facilitates interaction between the members of a community, which results in the development of social cohesion and culture. The Education Element prepares members to survive and thrive in a community through socialization and preparation for the labor force, entrepreneurship, and civic leadership. The Economic Element consists of the community’s ability to manage its resources, develop comparative advantage, and prepare a labor force to support that comparative advantage. The Civic Element consists of the local government’s responsibility to create social control measures, provide public services, resolve conflicts, and create economic development opportunities.
The Social Element
The Text
Matthew 5:13 - 16
“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
The Application
Our presence and the message that inspires it is supposed to have a transformative affect on the interaction of people around us. How will the way people interact change because we are now in the midst of their community?
The Education Element
The Text
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
The Application
We are working in a community where there is tremendous potential, but great despair. We have an incredible opportunity to change the trajectory of the children we engage. However, we have a great responsibility according to Solomon. When we engage the youth of this community, what "way" should we impart to them. Remember, the Bible says that whatever we do, when they are old they will not depart from it.
The Economic Element
The Text
Acts 4:32-35
32 All the believers were of one heart and one soul, and no one said that what he possessed was his own. But to them all things were in common. 33 With great power the apostles testified to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 34 There was no one among them who lacked, for all those who were owners of land or houses sold them, and brought the income from what was sold, 35 and placed it at the apostles’ feet. And it was distributed to each according to his need.
Deutoronomy 15:4-5
4 However, there will be no poor among you, for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance to possess, 5 if only you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, by carefully observing all these commandments which I command you today.
The Application
Solving the problem of poverty is an awesome challenge. How do we start small helping to eliminate the poverty around us in a way that does not enable, but empowers? How do we do this in a way that embodies the principles encapsulated in the above biblical texts?
Civic Element
The Text
I Peter 2:13-17
Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. 17 Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.
The Application
How do we partner with our government to help develop the initiatives we have described above?
Units of a Community
The basic unit of society is the individual. The individual or the natural person enters the world as a blank slate, according to John Locke, and is shaped by the aforementioned societal elements. The person does not enter the world with an allegiance to the civic order. However, allegiance is cultivated by the social system. Through the education system, the person’s talents are cultivated into marketable skills. The person is assigned or guided to a role in the economic system’s division of labor and his/her behavior is controlled by the civic system.
Individuals join secondary units in a community, we call organizations, to accomplish a common goal or fulfill a common directive that sustains the greater community. Organizations are comprised of sub-systems and are members of a supra-system. Sub-systems are departments of an organization that have a specific focus, such as finance, marketing, research and development, or programs. Organizations contribute to the success of a supra-system, which is an area of the society to which the organization contributes. Organizations contribute to specific industries and institutions. They also contribute to society as a whole.
The most powerful unit of a community is the institution, which exists to manage and govern the behaviors of individuals, organizations, and systems. Institutions propagate a narrative that attributes identities to the other units and defines roles each fulfills to maintain the status quo of the community. Institutions exist to ensure that the philosophy of the architects of a society are passed from one generation to the next
The Individual
The Text
Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we should walk in them.
Matthew 25:34-40
34 “Then the King will say to those at His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in. 36 I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 And when did we see You sick or in prison and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer, ‘Truly I say to you, as you have done it for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you have done it for Me.’
The Application
Give an example of a type of individual you will engage in this community.
We are in the midst of a community, but that community is comprised of diverse individuals. How do we impact the community without losing focus on the needs of individuals? What process should we create to add value to the needs of each individual without overwhelming ourselves?
The Organization
The Text
John 15:2
Every branch in Me that bears no fruit, He takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
The Application
Name an organization that has influence in the community where will serve.
There are organizations that were in this community before us and some that seek to do the same things we do. How do work with and in the midst of these organizations without effectively? How do we determine the fruitful organizations with whom we should partner and how do we engage those with whom we will not partner?
The Institution
The Text
Daniel 2:21
It is He who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding.
The Application
Name an institution that has influence in the community where we will serve.
The definition for institution given above describes it as an entity that propagates a narrative and determines the behavior of individuals and organizations. There will times that these institutions are aligned with our ideals and times they are not. What should our process be in each instance?
Introduction
The primary purpose of any Christian ministry is to follow the great commission and spread the gospel throughout the community. A community is not only a collection of people. It is a collection of organizations, institutions, and systems. To truly transform lives and communities our method for spreading the gospel must permeate all these aspects of the community. We need to prepare ourselves to work with individuals and organizations to solve problems across various sectors, systems, and levels in society. We are going to begin our preparation with a framework for analyzing society. This framework facilitates engagement in causal analysis and deconstructing social systems so that we can develop effective and efficient ways of spreading the gospel in a way that truly transforms.
Christ and Community