A Story about People and Structures
Some are institution people. They see processes and procedures as the best way to meet needs. Others people see processes and procedures as irrelevant or even obstacles to meeting needs. I’ll call them pragmatic people for this post. Needs are met most effectively when both types of people work together. ⁂ Robert Strawbridge Asbury's Most Wanted™ Robert Strawbridge is a little-known name. In fact, it may not have been known at all if it weren’t for his pragmatism in opposition to institutional Francis Asbury. Asbury’s name is well-known. He was one of those responsible for setting up the circuit-riding system of Methodist preachers in America early in the history of American Methodism. Asbury was a masterful administrator who lived up to the strict demands he placed on others, winning the respect of nearly everyone who worked with him. Because of the system he set up, Methodist influence spread and endured far and wide. Strawbridge, however, saw needs that were...