Comments on: 5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks

By: Richard H

Richard H — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:02:39 +0000

I’d say it depends on the context.

In some situations I’M the malcontent. I refuse to be content with a church that doesn’t reach people.

In some situations the new innovation is really bad – like moving away from our core doctrine or making sure our services are only for people just like us.

It is certainly the case though, that consensus not not ALWAYS or necessarily a good thing, and is often overvalued.

Thanks, Tony (for the re-run).

By: M. H. Dennis

M. H. Dennis — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 20:31:11 +0000

Good Cowboy?
In 1 Peter 5:4, Peter refered to Jesus as the “Chief Shepherd”, which means that Pastors are merely “Under Shepherds” to the Chief Shepherd. Pastors are to be leading their flocks not Cowboys driving them like cattle.

One problem that Pastors may have in leading their flocks is that many of their members run organizations far larger than the Churches that their Pastors are pastoring. Many of their members too have a heart for God, and have gathered ideas from businesses and other ministries that they have been a part of.

During the first big conference in Acts 15, the leader James welcomed ideas from EVERYONE (verse 22-the whole church), and then finally made a “common sense” decision(verse 22 – seemed good). I’m glad that James listened to Peter, Paul, and the whole church BEFORE the decision was finally made.

Great leaders are open to opposing ideas and create an environment that encourages them. Just because a person has NO Seminary or Church tenure doesn’t mean that they can’t have a better idea. Remember that Jesus never had any FORMAL training, but he knew God. (John 7:15-17) In fact, most of the original church leaders were uneducated (Acts 4:13). If Jesus, Peter, and James, showed up at your door with an idea, would you cut them off before hearing them out?

We ARE warned by Paul to avoid people who like strife (Romans 16:17), however, we should encourage opposing points of view. Remember the heart of the Chief Shepherd is to lose no one needlessly. (Matthew 18:14) The first church leader James said that the wise are “open to reason” (James 3:17). WE must be too!

By: Jon Perrin

Jon Perrin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:52:15 +0000

Excellent post! I’ve been trying to get these ideas across to European church leaders for years. This is one of the reasons the Church in Europe is so impotent.

By: #9 in 09: 5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks | TonyMorganLive.com

#9 in 09: 5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks | TonyMorganLive.com — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 14:47:14 +0000

[...] [read more] [...]

By: 5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks | randzig

5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks | randzig — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:04:02 +0000

[...] blog post “5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks” by Tony Morgan really hit the spot for me. In my experience of playing in a band for [...]

By: Wayne Sanford

Wayne Sanford — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 23:48:58 +0000

Hi Tony
We have used Consensus (Modified Consensus) in our church for the last 5 years and the Lord has blessed us with GREAT SUCCESS. I agree completely with Neil Johnston comments made on your blog Jan.16th. If done properly consensus does work very well, the key is learning how to do it, as Neil says, there is a set of consensus-building decision-making steps that is part of a sound process. In fact we changed our whole structure and decision-making process 5 years ago after a number of years of bad decisions, split-decisions 51/49 votes, and little real progress using Robert’s Rules of Order, that caused us to be more divided then unified for many years.
As I stated before, we moved completely away from a multiple board system (7 boards with 7-8 people per board) to a one board Leadership Team model of 12 members plus our senior pastor, that use Modified Consensus. As a result we have been able to achieve, with God’s blessing, many effective major changes in the past 5 years, far more then the proceeding 10 years.
Consensus has worked very well for us; in fact I would say our consensus process has actually achieved the opposite of your “5 Reasons It Sucks”…
1. It has allowed us to Embrace Change in a positive way, as a body of believers who are more forward looking now then ever before.
2. Yes, it does give everyone a voice and this has been a good thing, allowing the discontent to be heard, acknowledged, and understood in an atmosphere of care and concern, thereby helping everyone consider all sides of a issue.
3. Radical ideas that lead to the GREAT and AMAZING breakthroughs have been our story. Radical ideals and thinking outside the box have been encouraged.
4. If done properly, consensus should never leaves unresolved conflict on the table, instead it allows it to be flushed out, clarified and discussed, so it can be resolved.
5. It encourages people to have BIG DREAMS FOR GOD. Our creative-thinkers, entrepreneurs and visionaries are encouraged to share their ideas because everyone knows that they will have an opportunity to be heard in a non-judgmental, accepting environmental.

I got to say, that none of your “5 Reasons…” have any validity in our experiences of using our consensus-building process. I hope you have an opportunity to see consensus work, as it should.

By: Why consensus may not be best :: lead.loud. | Amplify Your Influence

Why consensus may not be best :: lead.loud. | Amplify Your Influence — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 03:13:35 +0000

[...] Actually, I’m not convinced that’s the case. For example, here are: 5 Reasons Why Consensus Sucks [...]

By: Abraham Serafino

Abraham Serafino — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 22:55:12 +0000

Tye, you’re use of esoteric terms like “Teamship and Servant Leadership” confuses the uninitiate… like me. :)

Steve, “It just means that when more is on the line that mature folks (like Elders) need to work out the details.” That seems like a bit of a stretch to me. How do we get from placing everything in the hands of a few human leaders to relying on the Holy Spirit?

Uh-oh, Andrew… you said the ‘P’ word: “Some key PRINCIPLES emerge…”

Tony, I’m guessing that since “consensus” sucks, there is a specific alternative you are thinking of? Could you make another post detailing this alternative and explain why it would suck less?

By: Simply Missional - Link Love

Simply Missional - Link Love — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 22:02:42 +0000

[...] Tony Morgan has some thoughts on why consensus sucks. [...]

By: Ryan Phelps

Ryan Phelps — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:39:41 +0000

Thanks for posting these. Consensus, it seems, usually happens by way of coercion. That is, dissenting voices are forced to go along with the “will” of the majority rather than voice their opinion to the end. That, unfortunately, allows the majority voice to ignore the dissenting one. All they have to say is, “We disagree.” Consequently, the debate over an issue is never thorough, and that is tragic.