Transforming Church

Team is one of the most misused terms in the lexicon today. How many times have we seen church committees renamed teams, and nothing else changed? I have worked in groups, both at work and church, my whole adult life. The typical output was a total not equal to the sum of the parts. Most groups I experienced operated somewhere between 40-90% of the potential of the individuals. Hence, the expression, “A camel is a horse designed by a committee.”

Teams, on the other hand, are about synergy. Look at the great sports teams. Everyone contributes out of their strengths, or they are not on the team. Everyone is clear about their role. They pursue team goals, not their own agenda. Expectations are clear. Norms of behavior are important. It is a rare church committee that exhibits these traits.

I never experienced an effective team until my EMBA at Georgia State University from ‘96-’98. Our cohort of 50 had to self-organize into work teams that would stay together for the entire two years of the program. Often, team projects made up the majority of the grade for a class. Through a very intentional process of developing a covenant, clear roles, expectations, consequences and norms, five of us bonded into a wonderful team.

Our work projects emerged from dialog on the team among very diverse people. Dialog is equal parts inquiry and advocacy. More often in groups we use discussion, which sounds awfully close to percussion. I beat you over the head with my ideas. While I’m talking, you’re thinking about your rebuttal, not listening to me. As soon as I take a breath, you jump in and beat me over the head with your ideas. Rarely do we change each other’s minds.

Inevitably, the product of our EMBA work team exceeded the sum of the parts. We created true synergy where we compensated for each other’s blind side, and contributed to great work together. We came from opposite ends of the personality and conflict resolution spectrums, had to reconcile gender and cultural differences. What made it all possible was the development of trust and respect that allowed us to hear very different opinions and learn from each other. Relationship was a critical factor.

Most groups are focused on the tasks to be done. Managing relationships is secondary at best. In teams, you do the work, and then you examine how you are working together. If a lumberjack spends all the time sawing wood, and never stops to sharpen the saw, his productivity slows and slows. Caring for each other, and developing trusting relationships is how we sharpen the saw in teams. Relationship creates the environment where synergy can develop. In Ministry Teams, we add prayer and study time to the mix, and we create the opportunity for the Body of Christ to emerge.

Listen to what scripture has to say.
Rom 12:4-8. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

The natural tendency is to let differences among us divide us. Implicit in these verses is that we can find ways to overcome the differences described here. As we see in John 17, we are called to complete unity:

John 17:21,23. Jesus Prays for All Believers that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Ephesians 4. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

So, we see that these gifts are to work together in concert so the Body of Christ can be built up. It’s as if God has composed a symphony, and we each have our own part. The symphony can only be realized when we can blend ourselves together under the direction of our leader. Team building methodology is all about blending diversity into a strong team where weaknesses become irrelevant because others on the team have strengths where we are weak. We overcome our differences and learn to trust those who can help us see our blind side. Building strong relationships helps us overcome defensiveness.

1 Cor 12:12-14, 24-27. For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.... But God has so composed the body ... that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Permission-Giving. There you have a great picture of team: Different people coming together in unity around a noble purpose. So, when we anticipate the shift from committees to Ministry Teams, we must make the contrast between the two clear, and provide the coaching to make it possible. First, we seek to help people discern their gifts. Out of their gifts, with prayer and reflection, people can hear where God is calling them with their gifts. As the Holy Spirit plants seeds of ministry plans, we offer encouragement. When people bring forth a ministry initiative, rooted in their gifts, we ask them three questions:

What does this do to move us towards our Vision?
What does this do to get you involved in the accomplishment of our Vision?
Are there two or three here who are willing to join you in a Ministry Team to make this happen?

If the Holy Spirit is not touching two or three hearts with a ministry idea, it is probably not what He is leading us to do at this place at this time. If the person can gather people around this initiative, we empower them as a ministry team, and help them get started. Now we are back to team-building methodology. A covenant is created to support the growth of a synergistic team. Several elements are essential to the covenant:
1. Clear Roles
2. Clear Expectations
3. Explicit Norms of Behavior
4. Measurable goals
5. A commitment to prayer, fellowship, study, in addition to the focus on the ministry task.

TransformingChurch.com was developed by a virtual team of people living in four states. We started by creating a map of what we wanted to build. From that map, we developed roles to empower people to create the Ministry Network, the Resource Toolbox, the TLG and Academy sections, as well as the Newsletter. From there, we created explicit goals around each of the major milestones we had to complete. We created accountability by having teleconferences every three weeks, where each had to report progress on their goals. To this day, we have not had one face-to-face meeting of the team, yet we met our targeted launch date, and the results of our work together has exceeded all of our expectations.

Look for Part 2, Building Effective Teams, here.