“The older an organization becomes (age), the larger it grows (size), and the wealthier and more influential it becomes (affluence), the greater is the tendency for people to transfer their loyalty from the founding principles of the organization to the organizational structure itself.”
Age + Size + Influence = Trust in the Organization
Kevin Bauder from his summary of George Houghton’s life
Does this explain how institutions start good and end bad? And should this give us an inherent distrust of institutions?
Perhaps it is better to see this as a warning against fame. The more our ideas and actions are honorable, the more attention they receive. But the more eyes we attract, the more our eyes are pulled away from God and the truths He entrusted to us which made our movement or group worthy in the first place.
In order to keep the organization going, we must have funds, and to keep the funds coming in, we must keep everyone satisfied. Compromise is then called wise planning and loving accommodation.
Didn’t this happen with the Scottish Presbyterians in the 19th century?
Didn’t this happen with the American Baptists, then the Conservative Baptists, then the Northern Baptists, then the Southern Baptists?
Didn’t this happen with Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary, and before them all the Ivy League schools?
Somehow we must keep our loyalty to truth and our logic laser-focused on vital Scriptural ideas. But this will require spiritual judgment, month-by-month course corrections by degree, humility that searches for our own errors, and a willingness to lose applause.
There have always been men led by the Spirit like this, but they are rare. Though I did not know him, I am grateful to have read about the strength of character apparently found in George Houghton.
