Chain of Command
Chain of Command is used in the secular world to represent the hierarchy of orders of power and control in a setting. For example, the President is referred to the commander in chief of the military meaning that his orders have a higher priority than anyone else in the chain of command.
In the business world, it means the same thing - whose directives have priority in any situation. I can tell you that at every company I worked for, any request verbalized by the CEO was assumed to take top priority in getting done.
Unfortunately, sometimes people focus on their own needs and wants and not on the benefit for the organization they worked for. For example, your boss tells you to do something that you don’t want to do or that you think might be done in a different way. If you go to your bosses’ boss that would be considered going around the chain of command. Usually, that ticks off the boss. And sometimes, these end runs around your boss are innocent or unintentional. Other times they are deviously intentional to try to make the boss look bad and, presumably, themself look better.
A good bosses’ boss will see the end run around the boss and refer the employee back to the boss. Regardless, relationship damage has occurred.
“The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.” - Exodus 18:13-23 ESV
Even though our church is part of the Church of Christ, we still struggle with the same problems. Patrick, as good of a Shepard as he is, is only one person. Our church has many volunteer leaders with responsibility in a lot of areas. I challenge you, before you share a concern or a problem with Patrick, to see if there is a ministry leader that may be able to help you, thus supporting you and Patrick.
