Decentralized organizations are changing the face of business and the world.  Decentralization is also bringing about a global reformation that is reshaping Christianity as well.  Some recent books on the subject that have really helped me are: Winning by Jack Welch, The Starfish and the Spider: The unstoppable power of leaderless organizations by Beckstrom and Ori Brafman, and Revolution by George Barna.

Centralized organizations are traditionally top- down hierarchical structures. There needs to be someone in charge , levels of management below with laborers at the bottom who do the work, but are not required to think.  If you cut off the head, it dies.  That is what happened to the Incas and the Aztecs.  Spanish conquistadors killed the emperors and conquered the entire empire in a matter of months.

Decentralized organizations have no head; they are a flat neural system.  A typical decentralized organization for example would be an Alcoholics Anonymous group or peer-to-peer file-sharing internet users.  Self-organizing groups of people with a common cause or interest that can emerge, expand, multiply or die spontaneously, without red tape or authorization “from above”.  Ordinary people, organized into immensely powerful groups.  An example of this kind of power was demonstrated by the Apache Nation who successfully defended themselves against the

Spanish, French, Mexican and US forces for over two hundred years.  The Apache Nation was comprised of small antonymous groups that could adapt quickly.

Decentralized does not mean lawless however, although they don’t have the same rules that govern traditional organizations they do have norms (values, ethics, codes) that are the backbone of the group.   The members who start or join a group, own, embrace and even enforce these norms themselves.  This is exactly why norms become more powerful than rules.  For example EBay does not inspect the products they sell.  They let the buyers rate the sellers.  Buyers trust other buyers much more than slick propaganda and corporate advertising.

Over the last two years SOF has been invited into other Central and South American countries but we didn’t know how to get there without greatly increasing our expenses.  Using the concepts of decentralization we have completely redesigned the ministry flattening it out creating something similar to AA (Alcoholics Anonymous).  The new structure allows ministry’s services and products to be adopted and used by people all over the Spanish world.  Decentralization is allowing us to move fast and expand quickly without incurring increased cost which means your donations are going further than ever to help people. The bottom line – more people are hearing the gospel, being taught the Word of God and receiving ministry.

We have also taken the same concept and used it to start a house church movement called Calvary Chapel.  It is only four weeks old and we already have three churches!  People love the idea of having church in a house with other families.

Rocky J. Malloy

This is the same mental process that happens with the drunk driver.  He can’t navigate, plan, record, or control the course or the position of their automobile because they drive according to where they are instead of where they wants to go.  It is like trying to run 50 miles an hour staring at your feet.  Drunks don’t look down the road they look over the hood.

Don’t be too quick to point fingers at drug addicts or alcoholics as the dregs of society.  According to Jesus in Luke 21:34-36, overeating and worry are just as addictive and equally as destructive.  People afflicted with these either don’t like where they are going or don’t know where they are going. In either case, it is an excuse to inebriate oneself instead of facing the fears of the future.  Overeating and worry are indulgences that lead to the same place of death as chemical dependence: doubt in oneself and unbelief in God.

I have been hearing a great deal of pessimism concerning America’s future – from Christians!

The economy is going south, the war is going to be our end, the market is going to collapse, our infrastructure is falling apart, life as we know it is going to end, nuclear war is eminent, we are doomed!  Worry replays scenarios of death and destruction over and over again until we are absolutely intoxicated.  According to Jesus, overweight and stressed out people are just as drunk as chemically dependent people.  The doomsday preachers and news commentators are either ignorant of what the Bible says or don’t believe it.  No different than any other addict, they are so intoxicated with the present they can’t see the future.

I have always found the advice in Eph 5:18-20 to be especially profound.  Get drunk in the Spirit and forget about everything else. That doesn’t mean be ignorant of the times or stupid when it comes to money management or financial security.  It means to be filled with the Word of God, dependent on Jesus and addicted to His presence.

Jesus clearly says that if we don’t overeat, drink or worry we will qualify to escape everything the end times can throw at us (Luke 21: 34-36)!  In every generation since the flood there as been a remnant that has survived to inherit the earth!  Put the odds in your favor!  Stay focused on your purpose; don’t break rank with the Holy Ghost.  Walk right though the middle of everybody else freaking out, drying up, going bankrupt, or diseased without a scratch (Psalms 91)!  You can walk though the fire of the end times and without smelling like smoke (Dan 3:27)!  The next time you hear bad news about the future laugh out loud and say, “Praise God I am a Holy vessel chosen to fulfill my destiny in Christ and no devil from hell can stop me!”  “I am increased in a time of decrease to be a light unto the world!”   Relax and enjoy the ride, you are going to make it to a victorious end!

Rocky J. Malloy

There was another great man in history that also had the audacity to enter into an overwhelming situation.  His name was Aaron, the brother of Moses.  After an extended ritual Aaron entered the Holy of Holies where he stood totally transparent in the presence of God!  He faced death dressed in a beautiful long robe with golden bells sown onto hem and a cord tied around his ankle.  The bells dragged along the floor signaling to those in the outer chamber that he was still alive; however if any sin was found in him he would have dropped dead.  The cord in that case would have been used to drag him out of the chamber.  To be sure, it was a brazen act of boldness much more daring than Frederick the Great to stand bare before your Creator.

It is all about a pure heart.  As the Creator, God knows how we work.  The reason we need a pure heart to approach God is not because He is ‘The Law’ but because He is The Father.  He is absolutely pure.  He is love.  He is forgiveness.  When we step into His presence without a pure heart He hears us alright and desires to give us our every desire but unfortunately we don’t believe it.  If we don’t believe it we can’t receive it.

Unanswered prayer gets down to mechanics.  The paradox is created when we come to God in need but don’t allow Him to help.  Like Adam we feel too guilty.  Sin creates the guilt.  We feel like we don’t merit help but that doesn’t stop us from asking.

The book of Revelations gives us a great picture.  Jesus is standing at the door of our heart knocking (Rev 3:20-4:1).  He wants to come in but we have the key.  We are calling for help but He can’t do anything unless we open the door.  But we don’t want to open the door because that would expose our messy little lives.

Unfortunately this door is the only way that help can come because it is the door to the things of the Spirit.  Every single thing that God gives to us must come though this door because God is Spirit.  Every thing begins in the Spirit, our healing, our joy and even that new car.  Spiritual things manifest themselves into the flesh.  That is how Jesus was born of Mary; the Spirit becoming flesh.

So we go though the vanity of asking God for stuff we don’t think we can receive.  We keep asking and asking, going through all kinds of formulas and gyrations but with the safety of having the door locked.  God gets a bad rap about not caring or being cruel when we are the ones at fault.

Aaron gave us a great example.  He cleaned up before an audience with the King.  He went through a complete cleansing, sanctification, purification process to insure that he was right with God which meant that he was right with himself.  This is what gave him the confidence to talk with God and the faith to receive.  Even though the tabernacle in the wilderness was under the law, it is a great way to rehearse what Jesus has provided for us in the Spirit.

Rocky J. Malloy

If you live in a world in which you experience misery more often than joy, adaptation is very beneficial.  It may be the only thing that gives you the strength and courage to get through the day.  But if you live in a world of plenty, in which sources of joy outnumber sources of misery, then adaptation defeats your attempts to enjoy your good fortune.

Whereas adaptation does nothing to negate improvements in our lives it does much to negate the satisfaction we derive from those improvements.  An example of hedonic adaptation would be walking into an air-conditioned building on a hot humid day.  At first the feeling of the cool dry air is very refreshing and pleasant but within a few moments we no longer notice it because we have adapted.

Pleasure derived from positive experiences does not last.  What’s worse, people seem unable to anticipate the process of adaptation.  The waning of pleasure or enjoyment over time always seems to come as an unpleasant surprise.  That high quality sound system, luxury car and the 10,000 square foot house will not provided the same level pleasure it gave when first experienced.  Once the excitement of the “new thing” wears off our happiness index falls back to where it was before we had the experience.

Faced with this inevitable disappointment, what do people do?  Some people wise up realizing that lasting pleasure is not derived from things.  However most are driven instead to pursue novelty, to seek out new commodities and experiences.  They are captivated by the “grass is greener somewhere else” syndrome.  In time, these new commodities lose their intensity.  Ignorant of adaptation, people get caught up in the chase, a process that has been labeled the “Hedonic Treadmill.”  What follows is a vicious cycle of materialism: obtaining more and more stuff while experiencing less and less joy with each acquisition.

Jesus called it the “deceitfulness of riches” (Matt 13:22).  King Solomon said, “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase” (Eccl 5:10).

Being aware of adaptation makes us more prudent in our decision-making processes understanding that the “high” we get from new things will not last.  Many times we are still paying the note on things that no longer bring us joy.  That leads to buyer’s remorse: the guilt we experience for trying to find satisfaction in the accumulation of things.

The only antidote to the unconscious process of hedonic adaptation is gratitude!  Expressing gratitude makes us physically healthier, and more optimistic, alert, enthusiastic, and energetic.  Giving thanks makes us feel better about our lives and more likely to achieve personal goals.  By focusing on how much better our lives are now than what could have been, or how bless we really are we can defeat the adaptation process allowing us to truly enjoy life at levels no material increase can provide.

The Bible tells us to give thanks continually and express our gratitude praising God for all He has done for us.  As Americans I believe we should be doubly grateful for the freedoms we enjoy and the liberties we have.

Rocky J. Malloy