Rich asks a poignant question:
> The question that is raised in my mind is this - Is there room for
> absolute truth? Is there any bedrock?
> My belief is problem that many Christians (through the ages) run into is
> defining the water line. ie what is absolute truth versus something that
> changes with increased understanding (Galileo the easy example).
Rich, from my doctrinal background, a truth is defined as:
A principle or law that has equal constancy/application in the past, the
present, and the future.
This definition is derived from my scriptures, which read:
"Truth is knowledge of things as they are, as they were, and as they are
to come."
Now, to wonder a bit, I had a thought about Learning Organizations and
Christianity while taking a short nap on Sunday.
In the Bible I find at least three different types of spiritual people
(excluding all those the Bible records as "wicked"):
1) Seers (Moses, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Revelator, etc.)
2) Prophets (Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, etc.)
3) Followers
I'd like to define each of these types, and use them as a metaphor for
organizational leaders:
1) A Seer is one who not only can predict (or anticipate) the future, but
also understand the forces at play that will create that future. Thus they
are in a position to influence future outcomes. In an organization a seer
is one who can think systemically, and "see the unseeable" forces at work.
2) A prophet is one who can predict (or anticipate) the future, but who
does not understand all of the forces at play. In organizations, this are
the individuals who have an extraordinary clairvoyance, or some such gift
of "feeling" what is about to happen, but they're not quite sure why.
3) Followers are those who are not necessarily concerned with the future,
they're just along for the ride. They like to follow the leaders, don't
care much about the forces at play, and want to live and enjoy the simple
life: Come to work for eight hours, go home, play with the kids, watch TV,
and go to bed.
Followers, in my opinion, will choke an organization to death. Especially
given the global competitive environment and the rapid changes brought on
by the knowledge era. We need prophets and seers at every level of the
organization.
Followers, in my opinion, are like the children of Israel, whose faith was
a fickle as the weather, and who had a hard time staying committed.
Any comments?
--Benjamin B. Compton ("Ben") | email: bcompton@novell.com Novell, GroupWare Support Quality Manager | fax: (801) 222-6991
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>