CLBA Structure
Administrative Division
Founders
Board of Directors Administrators Legal Affairs Public Relations Membership Activity |
Religious Division
Senior Council
Ifa Council Oriate Council Ordained Council Certification Committee General Assembly Education |
Most people associate the word
"church" with a Christian denomination. However, the familiar
"church" is historically associated to the colonial influences found
in Nigeria and the Diaspora. After much research and professional suggestions,
we concluded that our religious organization was closer to the term church than
to other English and Spanish language possibilities.
We recognize that the term "church" may confuse some people. It may lead them to associate our Lukumi religious organization with a Christian institutionalized structure and religious standards of governing its ministers. By example, mislead to believe that we are attempting to function like the Vatican system -- with a Pope figure and centralized hierarchy. Such notions would only serve as reminders of what we are not and it would be a misunderstanding of our traditional reality. CLBA uses the term "church" as a religious organization in equivalence to mainstream religions but it is designed to fit our own Lukumi traditional religious system without association to other religions.
After years of research and study of the traditional religious structure found among pre-colonial Yoruba, Cabildos established during colonial Cuba, and, attempts to establish an equivalent to "church" in Cuba, we concluded that our CLBA structure would be practical and faithful to our tradition. Moreover, we believe that our structure could sustain the test of time and better fit within the eurocentric secular framework. Therefore, we've created our own Lukumi organization in accommodation to the present realities. We are now at the crossroad of three decades of existence, with a longstanding record of valuable accomplishments which are presented in the History page for your review.
Past historical attempts in Cuba and the USA to institutionalize indicates, that common failure was caused by structures where the highest ranking religious elders had complete control over the administration and religious affairs. In most instances, the elders did not have the adequate administrative skills. For example, a junior priest that was a CPA could not be the chief of finances, controller, or treasury director because of the inferior religious rank. The past structures often lead to a dictatorship system that was not community oriented and functioned like a home worship system for the benefit of a few.
CLBA has two divisions corresponding to corporate administrative functions and a separate religious body that functions on community religious affairs. Therefore, the structure provides two hands or paths that lead to a common goal. Corporate posts are handled by the best qualified member for a particular corporate work description. For example, a corporate secretary needs organizational and legal skills but doesn't need to be a theology expert or have a hundred godchildren. The logic is that a badly structured system will make talented people fail in their task. A well structured system will allow less talented people achieve the goals. The system must work in a way that achieves a level of zero-defect.
The religious division must be operated by members of various lineages to avoid a clan type monopoly. The clan type has been a fundamental error of past organizations. A clan type situation misrepresents or alienates other groups in the religious community and leads to the old dictatorship type failure. To avoid failure, CLBA has successfully used a formal tribal order system. The model provides the means of equal representation and participation of many Lukumi home worship groups that may not be directly associated with each other. In order to accommodate everyone several organizational levels have been adopted. In whole, they focus on religious community affairs. In this structure a clan type imposition or organizational monopoly is not a realistic possibility. The structure has its form of checks and balances that can effectively avert past errors. This is one good reason why CLBA is almost forty years old and counting.
However, being almost forty is not a realistic measurement of time. It is something that provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our past achievements. Moreover, it serves as a reminder of what needs to be improved for the betterment of our religion and community. To become forty teaches us how young we are and how much more needs to be done for a better future that is meaningful to ourselves and our families.
We invite you to review our structure and consider becoming a member. CLBA still has much work to do and improve its capabilities. In order to better embrace the new millennium challenges and our membership diversity, it requires more proactive members with a wide range of workplace experience. Visit the CLBA Membership page and familiarize yourself with our views. Under the direction of the orishas our new stage of development requires expansion. CLBA by orisha directive is to make the organization more tangible in every main Lukumi community. We hope that you consider membership and become part of this new orisha directive.
We recognize that the term "church" may confuse some people. It may lead them to associate our Lukumi religious organization with a Christian institutionalized structure and religious standards of governing its ministers. By example, mislead to believe that we are attempting to function like the Vatican system -- with a Pope figure and centralized hierarchy. Such notions would only serve as reminders of what we are not and it would be a misunderstanding of our traditional reality. CLBA uses the term "church" as a religious organization in equivalence to mainstream religions but it is designed to fit our own Lukumi traditional religious system without association to other religions.
After years of research and study of the traditional religious structure found among pre-colonial Yoruba, Cabildos established during colonial Cuba, and, attempts to establish an equivalent to "church" in Cuba, we concluded that our CLBA structure would be practical and faithful to our tradition. Moreover, we believe that our structure could sustain the test of time and better fit within the eurocentric secular framework. Therefore, we've created our own Lukumi organization in accommodation to the present realities. We are now at the crossroad of three decades of existence, with a longstanding record of valuable accomplishments which are presented in the History page for your review.
Past historical attempts in Cuba and the USA to institutionalize indicates, that common failure was caused by structures where the highest ranking religious elders had complete control over the administration and religious affairs. In most instances, the elders did not have the adequate administrative skills. For example, a junior priest that was a CPA could not be the chief of finances, controller, or treasury director because of the inferior religious rank. The past structures often lead to a dictatorship system that was not community oriented and functioned like a home worship system for the benefit of a few.
CLBA has two divisions corresponding to corporate administrative functions and a separate religious body that functions on community religious affairs. Therefore, the structure provides two hands or paths that lead to a common goal. Corporate posts are handled by the best qualified member for a particular corporate work description. For example, a corporate secretary needs organizational and legal skills but doesn't need to be a theology expert or have a hundred godchildren. The logic is that a badly structured system will make talented people fail in their task. A well structured system will allow less talented people achieve the goals. The system must work in a way that achieves a level of zero-defect.
The religious division must be operated by members of various lineages to avoid a clan type monopoly. The clan type has been a fundamental error of past organizations. A clan type situation misrepresents or alienates other groups in the religious community and leads to the old dictatorship type failure. To avoid failure, CLBA has successfully used a formal tribal order system. The model provides the means of equal representation and participation of many Lukumi home worship groups that may not be directly associated with each other. In order to accommodate everyone several organizational levels have been adopted. In whole, they focus on religious community affairs. In this structure a clan type imposition or organizational monopoly is not a realistic possibility. The structure has its form of checks and balances that can effectively avert past errors. This is one good reason why CLBA is almost forty years old and counting.
However, being almost forty is not a realistic measurement of time. It is something that provides us with the opportunity to reflect on our past achievements. Moreover, it serves as a reminder of what needs to be improved for the betterment of our religion and community. To become forty teaches us how young we are and how much more needs to be done for a better future that is meaningful to ourselves and our families.
We invite you to review our structure and consider becoming a member. CLBA still has much work to do and improve its capabilities. In order to better embrace the new millennium challenges and our membership diversity, it requires more proactive members with a wide range of workplace experience. Visit the CLBA Membership page and familiarize yourself with our views. Under the direction of the orishas our new stage of development requires expansion. CLBA by orisha directive is to make the organization more tangible in every main Lukumi community. We hope that you consider membership and become part of this new orisha directive.
