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Mindsets
Shutterstock Image by Andrey Popov
Without going into detail, I will simply say that May ten years ago was a turning point in my life, a painful time for Jeannie and me. We have also noted that May in other years has been a hard time for some of our friends in the academy, church, and elsewhere. It’s a month when people experience changes, moves, and terminations. And while difficult to see at the time these things are happening, many of us have come to realize that such moments were emancipating, sometimes from prisons we did not even realize we were in. Liberation from the “corporate” is a reality, and today I am thinking about it as a necessity if our spiritual formation is to continue in a healthy way.
Before I go on, let me be clear that I am using the word ‘corporate’ deliberately, rather than the word ‘institutional.’ Institutions are sociological necessities, and we create them in every aspect of life. But ‘corporate’ (as I am using it) is a mindset which can take root and grow in the seedbed of institutions. It offers a harvest of toxic, addictive fruit that seduces our souls and sickens our spirits over time. It’s summed up in the adage “selling our soul to the company store.”
The corporate is fertile soil for narcissism to flourish, often in disguise through the language of leadership. “Strong leaders” are praised, even touted and recruited. Their abilities are called on by boards and congregations to clean house and right the ship. Their toxicity is only seen (and even then, not always acknowledged) when their “my way or the highway” style evolves into retribution toward those who see things differently. Disagreement is the unpardonable sin in the minds of those corporately imprisoned.
The corporate is also where arrogance grows. Narcissism adds supremacy to the picture. Our whatever it is, is the best. Our schools are “ivy league,” our companies are “Fortune 500,” our denominations are “truly Christian,” and our churches are “flagship.” We recruit students, faculty, employees, and members on the basis of these images, and we compensate and promote the staff persons who best represent them. Preserving the alleged superiorities becomes increasingly consuming. “Being number one” is wearying work, soul-draining labor.
The corporate is where ethics are compromised in favor of winning. The end justifies the means, sometimes to the extent that lies are touted as truth and misinformation is minted as the coinage of reality. The standards created by these false narratives become sacred cows, alleged means for discerning who “is of God” and who is not. And when combined with the previous two aspects, the repeated false witness does, in fact, become a prison–even for those who have ceased to believe the lies, but continue to choose the preservation of their status and reputation over integrity.
But thanks be to God, there is corporate emancipation. It is a version of what Charles Wesley described in his hymn, ‘And Can It Be?’……”my chains fell off, my heart was free. I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”
The new awakening in our day is advancing through the devotion and effort of those who have experienced corporate emancipation. Paradoxically, some serve their institutions better than ever because their hearts are free. Others move on to serve God, who is doing new things (Isaiah 43:19) in other ways. Together those corporately emancipated sing, “Free at last, free at last! Thank God almighty, we’re free at last!” They raise their sails, allowing the fresh wind of the Spirit to fill and propel them into places and experiences they could never have imagined, saying with Dr. Seuss, “O, the places you will go!”