Doing The Right Thing, The Right Way!

The Guru of the World of Business

During the 70s-80s Peter Drucker was the guru of the business world. He invented the concept known as management by objectives. That concept is ingrained into nearly every organization. It has been modified for the educational field but it still adheres to its basic tenets. Drucker believed that too many managers were gloried paper shufflers. He wanted them to refocus on specific accomplishments that would translate in improved profit. Drucker also believed that the traditions, policies and procedures encumbered both creative thinking and new approaches to manufacturing of goods and the delivery of services. Drucker had a saying that challenged the “But we always have done it that way” mentality. He would say, “It is better to do the right thing, than to do it the right way.”

Now on the surface that appears obvious. Suppose I am manufacturing Gadget x and my best rate of production is 10 units per hour. But if I can make a change in the either the equipment or the method by which the part are delivered to the assembly line without violating any OSHA laws then I should switch to Option B. That is a rather simple example but it was the best I could do.

Drucker’s bit of pithy wisdom may seem obvious to you but its lack of application in America stymied our productivity in the 50s and 60s. The layers of tradition and policy and paper work created multiply roadblocks for change. Sometimes even egos threaten by the removal a person form the line of authority resist the change and would use their leverage to sabotage.

I believe that much of Drucker’s wisdom can be directly applied to the administrative side of ministry. However, there are times when doing the right thing requires doing it the right way. This is true when the action contain theological meaning. Two of the most important acts in Christian ministry bear this out. We have certain policies and procedures that govern the act of baptism and communion. Consider a window. If you stand in front of it, you can clearly see the landscape but if you move too far to the left, or to the right or to the floor you will lose sight of the landscape. A wall interferes with your view.

You may pour water over a person, or dunk them in a river but if nothing proceeds or follows little is gained. In the book of Acts a disciple named Phillip saw a eunuch was reading from the prophet Isaiah. (I know Roman roads were smooth but I can’t read anything in the car we are out of MI and on smooth roads. How this eunuch could read I have no idea) Phillip asked him if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch said that he needed an interpreter. Phillip got into the chariot and explained the words of the prophet. The eunuch believed then saw a pool of water and asked Phillip if there was anything preventing him from being baptised. Phillip baptised the man and was immediately transported by the spirit to another location. The eunuch went on his way rejoice in his new found faith. To think that Phillip had the audacity to baptise that eunuch without a Pre-baptism Class and Session approval. Its no wonder that the Church was persecuted during its early days it did not follow the rules.

Actually, the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch illustrates that sometimes doing the right thing is more important than doing it the right way.

However, Jesus recognized the importance of beginning his ministry the right way. He had to follow God’s protocol if he was to accomplish God’s plan.

I am always struck by the oddity in our society in which we honor those who work hard to obtain a goal yet the general populace is rather lazy. We would rather watch a sports event on TV than develop the discipline to play on the field. We award scholarships to young people who master their field of education but most obtain their information about world events from TV or the internet. Online gambling sucked $60 billion dollars out of the general populace and into the pockets of a few. We dream of finding buried treasure but few actually go in search of it.

Jesus was convinced that he had to submit to John’s baptism to accomplish God’s plan for his life. Therefore we must consider what the baptism of Jesus actually accomplish. First in his baptism Jesus identified with you and me. In baptism we have a shared experience with the Son of God.

Romans 6:3 NIV84

3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

ro 6

Paul says it much differently but the message is the same . In baptism we are united with Christ. We now become interrelated. Whatever happens to us in God’s economy happens to him. In the incarnation Jesus experience temptation and the human emotions of love, joy and peace but also sorrow, grief, despair, anxiety, depression, and anguish. However, by his baptism he shows us that he stands with us. He can be that friend who stands by us in painful situations. He can be that servant who is steadfast and allow us to walk over trouble waters.

Secondly, in his baptism we learn about our mission in life. If we are united with him in baptism so he learns about us, than we are united in baptism to learn about our mission to follow him. Just as he came not to be served but to serve so we are called to give ourselves to others with a particular focus on the poor and needy. He demonstrated by his ministry this compassion. He healed a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath. He cured 10 lepers of their dreaded skin disease. He allowed a woman who are exhausted all of her money to touch the hem of his garment and receive her healing. He cast a demon from a young and gave him back to his father. He restore the life of a dead son and gave him back to his mother. Each one of these people were peasants. No one was rich and famous. No one lived in a mansion on Orchard Lake, Middle Straits or Lower Straits.

Third in his baptism we see that he has the approval of God the Father. He was not mislead in his study of the ancient Scriptures. He is not pursuing an independent path. His contemporaries will misunderstand him, his own mother and brothers will think he is out of his mind, the men who are closest to him will be confused and even scared of him at times. But in the act of baptism his Father in heaven will proclaim with a loud booming voice “This is my Son in whom I am well pleased.” And his Father in heaven will send a gift—the Holy Spirit—to show the Fathers intent for all of humanity that submits to the waters of baptism.

All this transpires through the act of getting wet. All this is complete in the flash of a moment. But that temporal moment had eternal consequences because it was the right thing to do and it was done the right way.