Skip to main content

Wolves, Packs, Leadership, and False Naturals


I recently read an article's title that caused me to think, "What could that mean for leadership in realtime?" I was not disappointed as I took some moments to reflect on wolves, packs, what has been shown in cartoons about them, and on the 'what ifs' of all I know about wolves not being true. Can you say, "epiphany?"

The subheading summed up the article quite well, "The idea that wolf packs are led by a merciless dictator, or alpha wolf, comes from old studies of captive wolves. In the wild, wolf packs are simply families." [Scientific America - Feb 2023]

Wait. Wolves in captivity or in a setup environment are different than those in nature? Hierarchy emerges when the same old members are the same old members in a closed community. Not unheard of as this is how cults make things work--authority is ... well now I have an open-ended question: is it needed or is it a false natural? A false natural in that if the group had a choice hierarchy may not be necessary. Alpha males/females? Un-herd of. We need to un-pack this more.

But in nature, wolves are found to be simply a family. Life is lived, elders are respected, but so is the understanding (expectation?) that the younger will go on to start their own versions of family packs.

What could this mean for the church? Well, one thought is that hierarchy isn't natural. It is a false natural. It only takes place when it is forced or an 'old study' is submitted to or imposed on a group. If there is a natural hierarchy, isn't God the head? God does give spiritual gifts for the betterment of the body, and while the head is important, it doesn't float off the body but remains attached as the body is essential to its purpose. What is the purpose of imposed or false natural hierarchy? 

So I have minimal conclusions, but several thoughts playing themselves out with hopes for a more true reflection of what God has created to find its order in Him. I do know I don't wish to be a part of a false natural or promote one.  

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

"Just Thinking About Jesus"

I was wondering today about how I could start meaningful, spiritual conversations with others whom I know are not Christians but perhaps once were. I wondered how I would come across if I was deep in thought and he or she asked me, "What are you so deep in thought about?" and I replied, "I was just thinking about Jesus." I wouldn't want it to be annoying, just bridging. I was reading over an article adapted from The Evangelism Study Bible, that explored responding to people who have had a bad experience with Christianity. I found their five reminders worth repeating and good for keeping in the back of your mind, once practiced in your "holy imagination" (aka, spiritual reflection). 1. Don't be defensive. Remembering that it isn't so much that you do not agree, but HOW you disagree that will stick in their minds when they walk away. Take into yourself their comments as if you were the one who did them wrong and then reflect it back to the...
Read more

Revelation's Whore as Today's Culture

  https://thehustle.co/originals/why-you-almost-never-see-a-clock-at-the-mall The word “whore” may have different definitions to some, but I want to use it as a woman who markets herself for the sole purpose of robbing men of their life for her own gain--whatever her “gain” is: monetary, lust, or otherwise. She is the reverse-consumer and profiteer at the same time, a vampiress, a luxurious drunk, functioning alcoholic. Her appeal is a marketing scheme based on not just years of study, but an exquisite composition of research and development where she is both scientist and evidence, psychologist and client--in an endless cycle and sinister feedback loop of trial and error, hypothesis and investigation, feeding and consuming. All the while tricking you into believing you are the main character. But it isn’t about you. You have entered her Nirvana constructed for you to “remain inside” her. Once her legs are wrapped around you, she is sure to suck your life away. And as titillati...
Read more

What if Metallica Came to YOUR Church?

A reaction to John Van Sloten's, The Day Metallica Came To Church: Searching For The Everywhere God in Everything ,  2010. This book caused me to rethink some of my foundational theologies, specifically Creation and the Fall. If God created us in His image and declared His creation as ‘very good’, what consequences did the sin of Adam and Eve have upon us? How deep does it go? I have some very strong thinking patterns that hold everything as either good or bad, God’s or Satan’s, black or white. This either/or (dualistic?) outlook doesn’t leave room for the mysterious. But what if all of these things were meant to lead me to something more? What if I always stopped short because I was led to believe that when I came to a certain point I had arrived—mission complete--stop here and move on to another subject? And what if that wasn't true? I was challenged by the thought of how God speaks to us outside of the Bible. I have believed that God speaks to me through many things (...
Read more

Family Time Videos