Happy Easter – O glorious day!

However, the part of the blogosphere that has caught my attention today isn’t about Easter at all. Instead, it’s Brother Maynard’s post on authority and the emerging church, in which he compares the “structure” of the emerging church to that of the Open Source movement which has given birth to Linux (among many other things). As a keen Linux user (currently enjoying the Ubuntu experience at home and work), I find this idea fascinating and intriguing.

He comments on open source that “Stature in that community is gained through one’s contributions” and suggests that this is how the “emerging church” is developing – not so much being led by any one person (although there are some who are more prominent voices) but instead with commitment to the common good, sharing ideas and being happy for others to use them to fuel their own thoughts and developments.

I’ll have to ponder it a bit more but I’m certainly keen on the idea that authority is earned by the measure of your contributions rather than enforced by power or rank or wealth!