139. Disequilibrium and the Mission of God, with Markus Watson

We live in a time of great disequilibrium.

When we talking about disequilibrium, it is helpful to think of it in the context of a “complex adaptive system.”

A complex adaptive system is a network of organisms, relationships, and connections that interact in such a way as to maintain some kind of balance.

Complex adaptive systems want to remain in a state of equilibrium.

Disequilibrium happens when something in the system changes.

The dodo bird went extinct because it had lived in a state of equilibrium for so long that it couldn't survive changes in its system.

In Surfing the Edge of Chaos, the authors argue that "prolonged equilibrium is a precursor to death."

But when a system experiences disequilibrium, it has the opportunity to become stronger, more resilient, and healthier.

For about the past 1700 hundred years, the church in the West has existed in a state of relative equilibrium.

But the culture changed and now the church exists in a state of disequilibrium.

The church needs to embrace the disequilibrium because that will make it stronger, more resilient and healthier.