{"id":6298,"date":"2023-08-16T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-16T23:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=6298"},"modified":"2023-08-12T18:49:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-13T00:49:49","slug":"the-shirky-principle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drbobewell.com\/?p=6298","title":{"rendered":"The Shirky Principle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A few days ago, the blog Bird-Brain?<\/a> asked why, instead of “normal” progression from infant -> children -> young adults -> parents…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…in many churches the pastor looks out and sees a sanctuary full of baby birds, beaks open, saying, \u201cFeed me! Feed me!\u201d and both the pastor and the people like it like that?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blog reader Laura McGlothlin’s answer was:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hmmm, great question!
Because making disciples takes lots of time, hard work, and patience? Maybe it\u2019s easier just to nurse them along!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good answer. Maybe it’s an example of the Shirky Principle, which I just discovered the other day. What’s the Shirky Principle, you ask? Here’s an explanation by Sahil Bloom<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Shirky Principle, named after writer Clay Shirky, states, “Institutions will try to preserve the problem to which they are the solution.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In simple terms, companies (or people) have a tendency to avoid fully eliminating the problem that they sell a solution for, lest they become obsolete.<\/em>…Potential examples of the Shirky Principle in action:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n