Thursday, March 18, 2010

Ecclesiastical Cybernetics: The Need for Loving, Inclusive Communities

I should elaborate a little more about "Cybernetics" and the Church.

Wikipedia says, "The term cybernetics stems from the Greek  kubernetes  (kyberne-te-s, steersman, governor, pilot, or rudder, the same root as government). Cybernetics is a broad field of study, but the essential goal of cybernetics is to understand and define the functions and processes of systems that have goals and that participate in circular, causal chains that move from action to sensing to comparison with desired goal, and again to action. Studies in cybernetics provide a means for examining the design and function of any system, including social systems such as business management and organizational learning, including for the purpose of making them more efficient  and effective. Cybernetics was defined by Norbert Wiener, in his book of that title, as the study of control and communication in the animal and the machine. and it includes the study of feedback, black boxes and derived concepts such as communication and control in living organisms, machines and organizations including self-organization."

The helmsman of a ship, the conductor of an orchestra, the bishop of a diocese or district, are examples of a "cybernete". The term applies to all systems whether cosmological, biological, electronic, ecological, neurological, etc including even, ecclesiastical systems. In fact, it is one of the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit in 1 Cor 12:28:

And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. (1Co 12:28 NIV)

My introduction to cybernetics was by way of the guidance and tracking systems involved in spacecraft destined for Venus and Mars that I had participated in. This involved not only the delicately tuned guidance and trajectory systems on board a spacecraft orientating it in space with respect to the Sun and  the star Canopus in order to reach its Destination or Goal but also the locking it into a communications link and network back on Earth. The Mar's Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, have been amazing examples of cybernetic systems that have survived all odds. 

Later, once I moved out of space communications into church administration, I discovered that similar guidance principles, metaphorically speaking, applied in preaching a sermon; conducting church services; leading church choirs; or controlling a youth group before "all hell breaks loose"; and developing church accounting systems. Theologically, there are also the fascinating subjects of "Divine Guidance"; "Spiritual Direction"; or just maintaining loving relationships and holding people together in hostile mission environments with a singular goal or objective in mind. In the case of my own denomination, “to spread Scriptural Holiness (Perfect Love) throughout the land.”

Intrinsic to any control system is what in electrical (eg. radios) and mechanical systems (eg. the servosystem of a tracking antenna) is called "feedback". In organisations such as churches this is termed "referral"; "consultation", or simply, "active listening", as in a counselling situation. Stafford Beer called it “the science of effective organization.” Just watch a flock of Egyptian geese in flight! Gordon Pask extended it to include information flows "in all media" from stars to brains.

In a religious context, however, cybernetics explores questions such as what happens within a system when we include or exclude people; when we suspend, discontinue, dismiss or defrock priests without considering the consequences or fallout; what signals do we send out by tolerance or intolerance, by theological liberalism or fundamentalism, or by espousing orthodoxy or unorthodoxy? We see all this play out in dramatic fashion in the Gospel stories.

When effective feedback is negative; consultation is overlooked; due process is ignored; directives aren't followed; or, mediation fails, the system goes into failure. Goals and objectives aren’t reached. The system  "malfunctions". An ant colony "succumbs". A spacecraft begins to "tumble". An aeroplane goes into a "tailspin". A nuclear reactor goes into “meltdown”. A misguided missiles results in “collateral damage”. An institution becomes economically or morally “bankrupt”. A church goes into “decline”.  It is no longer efficient and becomes redundant, "lukewarm". In theological terms, the Holy Spirit is quenched! It is the Laodicean Church of Revelations. The Scallops and Sprats will die.

Conversely, what are the effects of positive feedback mechanisms on a community of believers such as acceptance; recognition; affirmation; esteem; excellence; and, self-concept? Such are the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Maxwell Maltz believed that a person must have an accurate and positive view of one's self; otherwise he or she will get stuck in a continuing pattern of limiting beliefs. He believed that self-image is the cornerstone of all the changes that take place in a person. If one's self-image is unhealthy, or faulty, all of his or her efforts will end in failure. The same applies to ecclesiastical systems. Given positive, unconditionally loving and inclusive churches and communities and the Scallops and Sprats will thrive.


References:
Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way to Get More Living out of Life, 1960, Prentice Hall
Norbert Wiener, Cybernetics, 1948, John Wiley

Amazon:

Ecclesial cybernetics;: A study of democracy in the church
Cybernetics, society, and the church (Themes for today)

 

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