Empowered Team Development

Many pastors, writers, and consultants agree that developing ministry teams are a major key to effective ministry and building a successful church. There is, however, a big difference in a group of people working together and a team. A group is normally defined as two or more people who interact in some way, whereas teams are usually thought of as groups with shared goals and common objectives. This suggests that teams are more than mere work groups. I have been part of "teams" with conflicting interests that resulted in poor team participation, communication, and effectiveness. In reality, they were teams in name only.

A team is a collection of individuals who exist within a larger social system or organization. These individuals are identified by themselves and others as a team. They are interdependent and perform tasks that affect the other individuals and other groups.

Teams have several common characteristics. A team can be of any size, but a team of relatively few members are easier to manage and tend to be more effective.  Think of an NFL football team. Each team is allowed fifty-three players on the active roster (only forty-six can suit up for a game). The players are categorized as offensive or defensive players. They are further divided  by the position they play. A football team is really a team of teams. Each player and each team have different functions and goals, but they all share in the ultimate goal of winning the last game of the season. A church is also a team of teams with the same God-given mission.

The main characteristic that differentiates a team from a group is that teams are formed around common interests and values. Common interested and values bond the team members to one another. A shared values system creates a sense of identity and purpose. The second important characteristic of a team is their purpose. Teams are not appropriate for every church function, but they should be formed when the team is likely to outperform individuals or groups working independently. When a team is formed, their purpose should be well defined with specific goals and objectives.

Some churches and organizations have teams that meet perpetually like church boards and budget committees. Some ad hoc teams are formed for particular projects then disbanded when their tasks are completed. In either case, team building are formed in phases.

1. ORIENTATION PHASES- this is about the make-up of the team. Team members learn about the other members as they come together. They share their personal goals, values, dreams, and plans, etc.
2. CONFLICT PHASE - the ground rules are established, roles are identified, and procedures are clarified. Tension is necessary just as friction is necessary for movement. During this phase different ideas, procedures, jobs and tasks are discussed.
3. EMERGENCE PHASE - The outcomes of the group discussion regarding team structures, procedures, and relationships and the establishing of the individual roles begin to emerge. This phase ends when a consensus is reached and recorded.
4. PERFORMANCE PHASE - During this phase, the team functions are executed. If the team is perpetual, periodic evaluation of the members, their roles, and procedures is necessary. 
5. TERMINUS PHASE - Only temporary teams will come to an end. There are advantages of having teams with a predetermined life-cycle. This is especially true if the team is experiencing conflict or they are not effective.

Effective teams have a clear understanding of goals to be achieved and an enthusiastic commitment to accomplishing those goals. Recent polls have shown that the average organizational member does not have a clear understanding of their organizational goals. It can be assumed that the top leadership has a clear understanding of their overall purpose. Often this understanding is not clearly and continually communicated to the members. Many churches are guilty of the same mistake. Every Church differs in size, location, and make-up. Each church strives to accomplish God's plan in a unique way. The uniqueness should be communicated to the ministry teams.This mission keeps church leaders focused and the ministries aligned.

Teams should be developed in accordance with the various functions of the church. "24 to Double" (http://www.24todouble.org) suggests seven teams:

1. Outreach
2. WOW (First Impressions)
3. Shock & Awe (Production of cutting edge services)
4. Worship
5. Follow-up
6. Children
7. Small Groups

These represent some natural teams that leaders form. However, churches will develop teams according to their resources and what are needed to accomplish their mission.

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Crisis in American Churches

Is the Church Really in Crisis?

Book Review: The American Church in Crisis

David Olson, in The American Church in Crisis writes  an intriguing essay about the state of the church in America. Although written in 2009, it feels relevant and timely as ever. If you are interested in statistical numbers about the condition of the church, this book is for you. He also provides ample charts for the visual learner.

Olson provides interesting nuggets of fact such as "Fast-growing churches...were more likely located in zip codes where the population growth was higher than the national average. If a church declined or was stable, it was more likely  located in a low-growth zip code where the population growth was lower than the national average." This seems to indicate a direct correlation between church growth and decline and population growth and decline.

This book has four sections. In the first section, observation, Olson looks at the many statistics collected over the many years. After collecting and analyzing the data and trends, Olson makes many good observations and draws some good conclusions such as:

A denomination lays the foundation for its future by (1) each year planting quality new churches, equal to at least 2 percent of the number of congregations in the denomination, (2) creating synergistic systems of health and growth between both new and established churches, and (3) reinvesting the assets of closed churches into the planting of multiple new churches.

Not satisfied with merely communicating the state and challenge for the church in America, in the last section, Olson relates the message and mission of Christ for the church. The message is what Jesus spoke about, what He did for man, and the mission is what Jesus came to act out for man. Solutions are most profitable when churches align their behaviors and resources with their missional values. This book will challenge church leaders to take a hard look at their churches and denominations.

Olson, David T. (2009) The American Church in Crisis: Groundbreaking Research Based on a National Database of over 200,000 Churches (Kindle ed.) Zondervan, 

A Proud Ambivert

Everyone that knows me well would say that I would be more of an introvert than an extrovert. We live in a world that tends to see things in black or white terms (yes/no; positive/negative; good/bad; etc.). However, things are not usually as simple as this. When I was an undergraduate student I socialized with a group of friends every afternoon in the cafeteria. I was always a part of the group, but not always a part of the conversation. I felt I needed to interject myself into the conversation only when I had something of value to add. One afternoon, a new addition to the social group asked me why I didn't join the group. Her perception was that I was not a part of the group because I did not talk as much as the rest. I felt I was very much a part of the group and the conversation regardless of my verbal input. This person went on to state that "I didn't have to be shy and that I should come out of my shell." I did not agree with her assessment of myself, but it did make me realize that the perception others have of me is different than my own. I admit that I tend toward introversion, but I have never felt shy. In fact I have always felt to be more of an extrovert than introvert, but behavior says differently. Being shy and being introverted are not synonymous, but I think that extroverts would see them as being the same. 

About ten years ago, I took a personality test and I came out on the extroversion end of the scale. I felt somewhat vindicated, but felt that the scale was probably not accurate. About five years ago I was given the Myers-Briggs Personality Type assessment. The result was ESTJ. For those unfamiliar with the Myers-Briggs test, the "E" indicates the person (in this case me) is an extrovert. In two separate personality tests, I was scored as being more of an extrovert than an introvert. If this is true, then why would myself and others always assume that I was an introvert? This caused me to investigate the matter more thoroughly.

Then I read about "ambiverts". If introversion and extroversion are opposite ends of a scale (introversion being 0 and extroversion being 10), what about those that fall in the center of the scale? There is a third personality type that nobody talks about--the ambivert. An ambivert has a balance of extroversion and introversion tendencies. Carl Jung, the psychologist that developed this theory, said that there were no truly introverts or extroverts and if they were, they would be in an asylum. In fact, it has been estimated that ambiverts make up about 68% of the population. Ambiverts are the shades of gray in the black and white world of introverts and extroverts.

Understanding that I probably have as many extroversion traits as introversion traits helps me to understand myself and others much much better. One article says:

1. Ambiverts are more flexible in social settings.
2. Ambiverts are more emotionally stable.
3. Ambiverts are intuitive.
4. Ambiverts are more influential.

Consider this, you may be an ambivert! Chances are you're more of an ambivert than an extrovert or introvert. The next time you are asked whether you are an introvert or extrovert and feel uncomfortable with either label--there is a third option.

I AM A PROUD AMBIVERT!!!

I want to hear from you. Does knowing that you may be an ambivert change your thinking? I want to hear your story.

Please post a comment.

Thank you

Don't Shoot the Wounded

If you are a Christian, you have faced some hard situations. Many situations we find ourselves in can cause us to experience profound guilt and sorrow. Recently I have been going through some old (I like the term classical) Christian songs. I ran across an old favorites song I  listened to often. "Don't Shoot the Wounded" by Chuck Girard (1982).

 

The words are as relevant now as they ever have been.

 

Chorus

Don't shoot the wounded, they need us more than ever

They need our love no matter what it is they've done

Sometimes we just condemn them,

and don't take time to here their story

Don' shoot the wounded, someday you might be one

 

It's easy to love the people who are standing hard and fast

Pressing on to meet that higher calling

But to the ones who might be struggling,

we tend to judge too harshly

And refuse to try and catch them when they are falling

We put people into boxes and we draw our hard conclusions

And when they do the things we know they should not do

We sometimes write them off as hopeless

and we throw them to the dogs

Our compassion and forgiveness sometimes seem in short supply

So I say....

 

Chorus

 

We love them and forgive them

When their sin does not exceed our own

For we too have been down bumpy roads before

But when they commit offenses outside the boundaries we have set

We judge them in a word and we turn them out,

And we close the door

Myself I've been forgiven for so many awful things

I've been cleansed and washed and bathed so many times

That when I see a brother who has fallen from the way

I just can't find the license to convict him of his crimes,

So I say....

 

Chorus

 

That doesn't mean we turn our heads when we see a brother sin

And pretend that what he's doing is all right

But we must help him see the his error, we must lead him to repent

Cry with those who cry, but bring their deeds into the light

For it's the lame that need the crutch

It's the prodigal who needs the loving hand

For a man who's in despair, there should be

Kindness from his friends

'Lest he should forsake the fear of almighty God

And turn from God and man

So I say....

 

Chorus 

 

Listen to the song here.

 

 

 

God will be with you "through it all'!

Tonight I am thinking about the recent loss of the great gospel singer Andre Crouch. He was truly the first singer that I ever really listened to and his music was able to take me to a place in the Lord that few sermons had. As I am typing this blog, I am listening his song "Take Me Back" and I must admit that I am doing this with a tear in my eye. Looking back through all of my trials and circumstances, God has always guided me and has been with me every step of the way. Although I am at a place now that I would have never guessed when God called me into the ministry in 1981 I would change very little.

 

I would never choose to have a stroke again, but without suffering the stroke in 2006, I would probably never have pursued my doctorate. I did and will always be grateful for what I have learned and for the doors that it has opened for me. Also, I have always been the type of person that would rather "do it myself" than impose on anyone to help me. Having the stroke has caused me to rely on other people because of some physical limitations. I am not sure if this is good or bad, but I do know that moving out of our comfort areas is good for us.

 

I would like to encourage you. If you are in a hard place, remember that God is there with you even if you are unaware of his presence.

 

PLEASE SHARE how God has brought you through trying circumstances. Leave your response below in "Post a Comment".

 

Thank you!

Leadership is like an Oreo cookie

Last Thanksgiving one of the family brought Oreo cookie balls for one of the deserts. I got hooked on them. Since then I have bugged my wife and daughter to make them for me. The recipe is quite easy. You put a box of Oreo cookies in a blender and blend them. Mix in some Philadelphia cream cheese. Roll the mixture into small balls and dip the balls into chocolate. We refrigerate  them so that they will not melt. I am sure by now you are wondering what this story has to do with leadership. But first a little about the study of Leadership.

I was introduced to "leadership" as something to be studied and developed in the 90's. A pastor that I worked for gave me a couple of books on leadership. I am not sure if he was telling me that he spotted leadership potential in me that needed developing or that I was such a poor leader that I needed  help. I would like to think the former. That was my introduction to "leadership" as a topic or discipline. Today, information about leadership has exploded. Hundred's of books and thousands of research articles have been written. More about leadership is known today than at any other time in history.

I got involved in the study of leadership because I did not want to assume that because I was in the position of a leader, I knew what makes a good leader. I felt that there was something about leadership that I was missing--if there wasn't I would be a better leader and my organization would be more effective. I wanted to learn what I had been missing. Maybe I shouldn't have opened that can of worms. The more I learn about leadership, I see how much more there is to learn. Leadership will be a personal pursuit of learning for the rest of my life.

How is leadership like an Oreo cookie? 

Leadership is not like an Oreo cookie, I just thought it was a cool title! However, what made me think of the title was how a simple thing like an Oreo cookie, which I had always taken for granted, could be transformed into one of my favorite snacks. This caused me to compare leadership and oreos in three ways:

1. Leadership and Oreos are simple things, but have great potential.

2. An innovative idea can have transformational effects.

3. Don't assume that we know everything about something. That kills innovation and leads to maintaining status quo.