Rev. Don Campbell
“Groupthink,” a New Term, but an Ancient Error
“Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (Prov 15:22). When Solomon died, his son Rehoboam came to the throne. The people petitioned him to lighten their tax load and the required “voluntary” service in his kingdom, and they would serve him forever.
Ignoring the advice of his father’s advisers, who advised him to do as they requested, he turned to a group of his peers whom he knew would think as he thought.
Rehoboam, hearing from them what he wanted to hear, said to the people, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.” As a result, 10 of the 12 tribes rebelled, and the kingdom was divided.
It was not until 1972 that Irving Janis coined the term “Groupthink,” which occurs when a group values harmony and coherence over accurate analysis and critical evaluation. Individual members discern the leader’s wishes and stifle all disagreement, perceiving it as disloyalty. Janis traced several fiascos of the last half of the 20th Century to groupthink in government. Groupthink has gone wild in Washington.
The church is not immune to the phenomenon of groupthink. One can only wonder how many divisions in the body of Christ have been ignited and fueled by it.
