By Tom Campisi, Managing Editor
When Dr. Ben Pascut prepared to teach a workshop on organizational excellence for CU Lux at Yale University, he did not have to look very far for subject matter—it is one of Christian Union’s core values.
“Teaching organizational excellence equips and empowers students to become transformative leaders in both church and society,” said Pascut, Christian Union’s ministry director at Yale.
A Christian Union paper, “The Theology of Organizational Excellence,” states, “Those who thoroughly embrace and understand a true theology of organization will excel in organizational management and, ultimately, make a greater impact in the kingdom.”
“Organizational structure exists in God Himself, in the created order, in examples of government in the Scriptures, and also within the context of ministry in both the Old and New Covenants.”
For the workshop, Pascut taught on the four common elements of an organization’s essence proposed by Edgar Henry Schein, a renowned professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Schein’s elements include common purpose, coordinated effort, division of labor, and a hierarchy of authority.
The biblical text was Philippians 2:1-11, which focuses on the selfless pursuit of harmony among believers. In verse two, Paul states, “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.”
To demonstrate the four elements of organizational excellence, Pascut described the structure of Christian Union, which “recognizes the inherent godliness of an excellent organization and therefore strives to embody organizational excellence.” He also had student leaders teach on how the concept is demonstrated by an orchestra, a soccer team, and the human body.
At Christian Union, “organizational excellence is to be pursued like other godly pursuits because it reflects the nature of God, and therefore brings honor to His name and blessing to humanity.” Pascut said organizational excellence is God’s way of bringing order to a broken world.
“When we embody a common purpose, coordinated effort, division of labor, and hierarchy of authority, we live with one another in our true humanity toward rebuilding our world,” Pascut said.
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