The Christian metanarrative began at the fall of man (Genesis 3). At his sovereign pleasure, God chose to defer the full judgment for the consequence of the sin of Adam and Eve. Instead, he chose to execute a multigenerational metanarrative of redemption. This metanarrative will culminate in the final judgment (Revelation 20). In the meantime, God is executing his multigenerational story of history using all types of organizations. As Creator, he is the source of all truth and reality. There is no wisdom or technology that exists independent of God. And every person is created by him for a purpose. Furthermore, God has chosen to use groups of people, called organizations, through which to execute his purpose in the multigenerational metanarrative.
Organizational leaders will give an account to their Creator. Consequently, they should lead and manage organizations according to the will and ways of God, in God’s timing, and for God’s glory. This is the essence of organizational leadership and management.
Furthermore, because fallen humans are subject to physical death and God is working multigenerationally, organizational leaders must learn to think multigenerationally. For fallen humans who are prone to narcissistic thinking, this is challenging. To think multigenerationally is selfless, sacrificial thinking; this requires Christian maturity and discipline.
The ability for leaders to mature enough to engage in building multigenerational organizations is daunting. But it is possible for those leaders and managers who humble themselves under the leadership of godly spiritual fathers. Here are some tips to help build multigenerational organizations God’s way.
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Prepare yourself. It is essential to grow and mature in Christ under godly spiritual parents who train you to live from a Christian worldview. No one can live well without wise spiritual oversight and training.
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Prepare your successor. Discerning your successor is a priority, regardless of your role in the organization. One must always think big picture and long term—this is the way God thinks. Therefore, identifying and preparing a successor(s) is essential.
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Prepare your leadership team. Transition can be disruptive to any organization. Your leadership team must embrace a multigenerational perspective. Accordingly, growth and change should be normative.
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Prepare your organization. As with the leadership team, growth and change in an organization will tend to be disruptive unless the organizational culture is prepared. The organizational culture should be continually focused on thinking big picture and long term.
Here is your business tip. Building multigenerational organizations is daunting in a fallen world given over to sin. Organizational leaders and managers must vigilantly model and build a culture that seeks to align with God’s will, ways, timing, and glory. There is no other way to build that will enjoy God’s favor and blessing. This makes organizational leadership and management a profoundly spiritual function that can only be executed well multigenerationally based on a Christian worldview.
