Process and Systems

Okay, so I get that systems aren't very exciting. In fact, systems are difficult to set up (at least good, thought-out ones are). But I am a firm believer in the importance of good systems.

Now, let's get this truth out on the table: systems can be evil. But I am convinced that this is not an inherent trait of having a system, but rather how it is used. Systems can keep people oppressed, hide laziness in bureaucracy, on and on. BUT it is always the people involved that make a system that way. One can only conclude that having a good system only allows them to do those things more consistently and efficiently.

SO...if systems can be bad because of their consistency and efficiency, then I am also sure they can be both consistently and efficiently (and effectively) good. And I think it is worth it to think not just about what we intend to end up doing, but indeed how we plan to do it.

So, my work this summer has largely involved what I call my "summer projects." Summer doesn't exactly slow down, but the pace is different, and for me, it provides an opportunity to work on systems--work that is much more difficult when our church schedule is running at full tilt.

So this summer my summer projects involve working (or continuing work) on many different systems at Calvary, including congregational care, weddings, young adults, worship, communication, confirmation and training.

The trouble with systems work is that it rarely bears immediate fruit, and only a very few initially see the value of creating or reworking the system. A good system, though, saves time, allows for more to be done, provides for consistency and structure that empowers people to be involved. A good system is a glorious thing to behold.

It is pretty easy to spot a situation or process that needs a better system. Conversations usually expose some function that people have this nagging sense just isn't working as well as it should. The absence of a good system (as opposed to the presence of a good system that isn't being followed, which, in reality, is the same as not having a good system--as in, it doesn't matter if no one does it) is usually indicated by people involved not really understanding how decisions are made, whose responsibility different steps are (and thus an absence of accountability) and often a general feeling like things are not handled fairly (when people don't understand the process and see things handled inconsistently, they will naturally feel it to be unfair, no matter the intentions).

For those of us who work on systems, our life's dream is to leave things better than we found them, with systems that outlast our presence in a situation, and to make everyone's lives a bit easier, clearer, and just, well, better.

So off I go...with my flow charts and analyses and meetings, hoping to get a few good systems rolling...