Somehow, The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom is surprisingly useful, despite the fact that it is already becoming outdated.
The book compares spider (centralized) organizations to starfish (decentralized) organizations. Despite being published in 2008, drawing heavily from events that took place between 2000-2005, the book seems to already be outdated. Yet the overall lesson stands the test of time.
The big idea is that the future belongs to decentralized organizations. Examples include Quaker Abolitionists, AA, Al Qaeda and Skype. They reproduce faster than Fibonacci’s rabbits, and have the resilience of the Hydra. If you want to stay in the game, decentralize everything you can.
The lesson for the church is also clear: if you want to survive in the future, give the reins over to those in the pew. Get them to sit in circles instead of rows. Give them something simple enough to reproduce, and exciting enough that you want to.
Does anyone else want to be a part of that?
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