The second principle from the book Good to Great by Jim Collins is: First Who . . . Then What. The premise of this chapter is that it is less important to set a direction than it is to get the right people "on the bus." The "on the bus" concept is used to denote those who are aligned with the nebulous thought of being involved in something great, and who have faith (although I'm not sure Collins would use that word) in the leader.

He states: "The good-to-great leaders understood three simple truths. First, if you begin, with 'who,' rather than 'what,' you can more easily adapt to a changing world. . . . Second, if you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. . . . Third, if you have the wrong people, it doesn't matter whether you discover the right direction; you still won't have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant." (42)

Collins' emphasis upon the right people is accurate. It doesn't take much thought to come up with enterprises/ministries which we would consider effective, without also recognizing the importance of the individuals who are part of the team producing that effectiveness. Look at your own life. Consider how much personality plays into effectiveness. Collins states: "If you have the right executives on the bus, they will do everything within their power to build a great company, but not bacause of what they will 'get' for it, but because they simply cannot imagine settling for anything less." (50) Those who invest the most have the greatest likelihood of seeing the best effect, i.e. you get out of anything about the same as you put into it.

Collins' work when applied to the Christian is missing two crucial aspects. The first is calling. God calls into the church a unique blend of individuals which by the world's standards might never be called the "right" people. Herein is the great mystery of God at work in people - His strength is made perfect in weakness. The church has been compared by the Apostle Paul to a body, with the right parts ready to function in coordination and with purpose. That takes us to the second crucial point: spiritual gifts. The gifting of God of divine gifts for the edification of the body (church) is without comparison in the world. The model of these good to great companies who strive so hard to get the right people on the bus is NOT the model of the church. God places the ones HE wants on the bus. Now, as Collins points out sometimes the people on the bus are in the wrong seats and I think this is a definite match to what we see in most churches.

The focus on "who" then "what" is interesting in theory but in actuality, I think it ignores the reality that a certain amount of direction (mission, vision, etc.) has to be in place to attract the right people. Jesus approached some of his disciples and said follow me and I will make you fishers of men. Human nature is drawn to the desire to leave something behind that is greater than themselves. For the Christian and the church the focus of this chapter has to be a realization that God calls the right people - we may not like who he has called and wish for different people, and of course some staff will be hired, but the work of the church is not done by the staff but by the believers who combine their gifts to bring about the mission. The concern then should be focused on an understanding of spiritual gifts and getting the right people in the right seat on this bus going to Great.