Got involved in an interesting discussion the other day.

Heard about a resort where the developer did an unusual thing–he sold off parcels of land to various businesses within the resort. This is highly unusual because of the loss of control.

Most resorts are highly integrated and developer/owners want to control everything from signage to the products marketed. At first I thought this guy must be nuts.

But then I heard that he came through the recession with no problems–in fact he has no debt.

That changed my tune. I began to think how a lack of control can equate to less responsibility. In other words, he didn’t need to bail out those resort businesses since he didn’t own them. The losers couldn’t swallow up the winners.

This, of course, is the way healthy families treat their grown children–no control other than relationship.

Unhealthy parents, on the other hand, try to control their adult kids. Doing so requires them to also protect their adult children from whatever mistakes they make, often breaking the parents financially and emotionally.

Then I started thinking of churches. Healthy movements don’t own their church plants, they accept them as peers. Unhealthy movements institute controls, but also accept financial and other responsibilities that can break them.

This is food for thought when some church groups are dying over finances and others are struggling because people under their control broke laws of morality, etc.

You control ‘em, you own ‘em!