Systems Thinking
The illustration of the body of Christ being an actual body with individual parts is a great framework for understanding systems thinking for three different reasons. First, within the body there are a variety of systems but all of them work together harmoniously. This is and should be how the church functions. While individual ministries of the church may have different objectives and serve different purposes, at the end of the day, the goal across all of them is to bring Christ glory, edify the church, and spread the gospel. Second, just like when parts of our body have to compensate when another part is hurting, other systems within a church will feel it when one system is struggling. This extends beyond systems too and is true regarding the lives of individuals. For instance, a few years ago a young lady died within my church following medical complications while recovering from the coronavirus. In the weeks that fol...
