Forget it's a church. The way people should be acting has no bearing; people in a group engage in internal politics and power games, no matter what the organization might be. You have three basic options, as I see it:
1) you can become involved in the politics yourself and align yourself with those who want to move in a similar direction as yourself. Be aware that this will cause you to become actively 'against'' those who want to go any other way, and that may/will affect friendships and other relationships. You can push your own agenda and try to make the organization look and act the way you want it to.
2) Don't take sides and stay out of the fray. You can be passive and watch the politics play out. Eventually one faction or the other will become influential enough that it will move the group in the direction it wants to go. Maybe the New Order will be just fine for you. Then again, maybe it won't.
3) You can leave and find a place that feels better suited for you. Just be aware that it too will have internal politics and conflicts that may not be visible to you until you're inside the organization.
I know that sounds cynical, but in every group of more than a half dozen people of which I've been part or which I've seen close enough to know, assembled for any purpose at all, there have been politics involved. The three basic options above seem to be the only alternatives to me. This includes churches, dojos, academia, corporations, small business, RPG groups, fandom, writer organization, bands, and just plain old everyday social circles.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-09-12 07:12 am (UTC)Forget it's a church. The way people should be acting has no bearing; people in a group engage in internal politics and power games, no matter what the organization might be. You have three basic options, as I see it:
1) you can become involved in the politics yourself and align yourself with those who want to move in a similar direction as yourself. Be aware that this will cause you to become actively 'against'' those who want to go any other way, and that may/will affect friendships and other relationships. You can push your own agenda and try to make the organization look and act the way you want it to.
2) Don't take sides and stay out of the fray. You can be passive and watch the politics play out. Eventually one faction or the other will become influential enough that it will move the group in the direction it wants to go. Maybe the New Order will be just fine for you. Then again, maybe it won't.
3) You can leave and find a place that feels better suited for you. Just be aware that it too will have internal politics and conflicts that may not be visible to you until you're inside the organization.
I know that sounds cynical, but in every group of more than a half dozen people of which I've been part or which I've seen close enough to know, assembled for any purpose at all, there have been politics involved. The three basic options above seem to be the only alternatives to me. This includes churches, dojos, academia, corporations, small business, RPG groups, fandom, writer organization, bands, and just plain old everyday social circles.