Colossians 2:5 (NASB)
For even though I [Paul] am absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good discipline and the stability of your faith in Christ.
Jim Collins in, “Good to Great,” says all great companies have a culture of discipline. It is not about accountability structures (people or systems) that impose compliance (them). It is about shared values reinforced by everyone (us). That is what creates, preserves, and perpetuates the culture.
This is true in movements as well. Human nature causes us to drift early and often from what we should do. So how do you keep things on track as movements grow and spread? Create a disciplined culture. Not a culture of accountability to standards (which can easily degenerate into control) but a culture of obedience flowing from the spiritual DNA of “if you love Me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
This is what the “Shema” in Deut. 6 is all about. Parents using every aspect of daily life to nurture an all-encompassing love for God in their kids and grandkids that naturally expresses itself in obedience to His will. The cultural “discipline” required to guard against the ever-present risk of drift is to reinforce the right DNA every day in every way.
Blessings,
Harry Brown