A Team Defined: "A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable"
Rich mentioned the need to tell the truth and be completely honest with eachother during the whole process...regarding future plans, changes in direction, viewpoints and convictions.
Russell West, Professor of Leadership Education at Asbury Theological Seminary stressed to our class that he is always worried when he hears about a team that does not have any conflict. To him that signifies avoidance, pseudo-community, and a group of people who are unwilling to be truth-tellers. When that happens, they look like a team on the surface, but they are not united at a deep level. It is pretense, not teaming.
All that to say, lets commit to being truth-tellers, and let's not shy away from conflict with eachother. Let's teach ourselves to see conflict, primarily as a necessary part in the team building process and only later as a reason to disband.
Prof. West outlined this typical path for the formation of authentic teams:
Russell West, Professor of Leadership Education at Asbury Theological Seminary stressed to our class that he is always worried when he hears about a team that does not have any conflict. To him that signifies avoidance, pseudo-community, and a group of people who are unwilling to be truth-tellers. When that happens, they look like a team on the surface, but they are not united at a deep level. It is pretense, not teaming.
All that to say, lets commit to being truth-tellers, and let's not shy away from conflict with eachother. Let's teach ourselves to see conflict, primarily as a necessary part in the team building process and only later as a reason to disband.
Prof. West outlined this typical path for the formation of authentic teams:
- Pseudo-Teaming (initially nice, but characterized by avoidance)
- Chaos (people are beginning to tell the truth...conflict is inevitable)
- Emptiness (No one is manipulating anymore, and common ground is scarce)
- True Teaming (Something finally comes together out the ashes of conflict and respect)
4 comments:
My role on the team...based on the way I've experienced God working through me...
1. Teaching Pastor - this title, ir you will, is most often used in churches with a large staff of pastors. But why wait until we get there? I feel like communication is a strong gift in my life and personally I'd like to get better at sharing the message of the Kingdom of God. I envision myself as the primary teaching pastor working with others to shape sermon series and other churchwide communications.
2. Visioneer - I have a good sense about where we are and where we need to go. My weakness has always been HOW and WHEN we get there. I'm generally insensitive on later.
3. Leadership Development - Our church will have a limited shelf life if we don't handle this area carefully and strategically. I want to work and serve out of my sweetspot/gifting. I realize that in the early phases of a church plant I'll be doing a lot of things I don't have a passion or gifting for, but it will need to get done. However, we should continously be thinking about getting people involved and passing off ministry.
4. Marriage and Family - I think I will always have a passion for these areas and I also think they should be key emphasis in our church.
I am not at all gifted or equipped to handle finances or budgeting. International missions is another passion, but how does that fit into my desire to plant North American churches? I have no experience in campus ministry, althrough I think there is untapped resource available at OWU. I love to sing, but do not have any strong convictions about what the worship should look or feel like. I like everything...which means I like nothing at all! I can be administrative if I have to, but I would rather not so I can focus on other issues.
That's it for the night...sorry I'm responding so late. Shane just informed me that I was still using the old blog.
Rich
Following up on Rich's thoughts:
I fear that we as a group may be too similarly gifted. Anyone else share that concern? Leadership development, teaching, communication, visioneering, etc. I'm reading Rich's comment thinking yeah, that's stuff I'm passionate about too! And that's stuff I know Jon and Shane are gifted in too! Does that create a problem? Are we too similar? Would it just be easier if Rich taught em, Shane governed them, Jon developed them, and I married and buried them?
Let that sizzle for a while. In the meantime, a couple other thoughts come to mind.
1. International missions is close to my heart. I always wondered if God would one day lead me to preach the gospel in a far away nation. Not anytime soon it seems. Well, I would like to think of it in terms of International "church planting" or assisting indigenous church plants. I see it as complimentary to our efforts here in Columbus and central Ohio, not contrary to it. Particularly those mission efforts that would take the gospel to places that have no current gospel witness among them...i.e. closed, dark countries. In response to your question Rich, planting a North American church is one way to accomplish this mission if you are a church that raises up and sends families to go. Just because I care about it deeply doesn't mean I nor my family should go. But it does mean I/we should labor to pass on the vision and equip the saints to go with the blessing and support of our local congregation. This is an area I would like to see valued from day one, as God provides, rather than the mentality of let's just gets things established real nice here first, and then 10 years later get serious about international missions. So I guess this philosophy would be the same as what we've discussed with planting other local churches and maybe it all falls under the same umbrella of "church planting, here and abroad."
2. Leadership development is crucial and should focus first on raising up elders and deacons who will shepherd the church in truth and in practice and be willing to practically shepherd via lifegroups...and hopefully it is from this group of people that men will raise up to be trained as future pastors and church planters.
3. I want to preach / speak / train / teach / possibly write?...but not all the time, and not all at the same time!! And yet not just fill in occasionally either. I've only had tastes of preaching/teaching, here and there, but I spent 3 years doing that Toaster-oven thing with the conviction that I needed to improve my ability to speak publicly and compellingly the gospel and expound the riches of Scripture for the good of God's people. So, I need to do more than just dabble in that arena in order to feel like I'm being faithful to prior confirmations about how God has shaped me. I would want a significant part of my mental ability daily involved in those efforts.
4. I'm good at driving things forward once a direction is decided and enjoy thinking critically about issues that define and shape the church.
5. Laura always says I should do counseling, but I'm not sure how many people would like coming to me, because I don't like to beat around the bush or talk in circles which seems to be common among people who are sent to counseling.
In response to Kyle's comment about the four of us having similar strengths; I would be more interested in knowing what we are lacking when it comes to getting this ship moving. Once the ship starts to move, then others will become involved who will fill needed gaps at that stage of the plant. If we have concerns about what's needed upfront, then we need to identify them early and come up w/ a game plan. Maybe we should perform a Force Field Analysis (Current Condition - Desired Condition). We determine what the Driving Forces are to successfully launch a church plant and subsequently determine the coinciding Restraining Forces. More than anything else, we could be the first church plant to perform a Force Field Analysis, which should get us something. Maybe a smell and sniff sticker!
My Role:
This is tougher for me to describe than what most of you may think. At this juncture, I struggle in understanding what my future looks like from a career (secular or ministry) perspective. I don't know whether my role to serve God in the fullest sense is going to take place w/in the institutional church walls or on the outside in a different initiative. Right or wrong, I find it difficult to confidently commit to something that doesn't have much shape. We have thoughts and ideas, but nothing concrete. Fortunately, there are some of you who have dreams and visions of a church plant and that will eventually provide more shape and take “thoughts and ideas” to the next level. My dream or vision hasn't been cast out in front of me as clearly as it has to some of you. I would like to think that God will stir up w/in me a passion and commitment for this future church plant, but I really don’t have a clue w/ what God’s up to when it comes to my future. I’ve been trying to figure that out for nearly three years! Opportunities other than a church plant may even cross paths w/ some of you in the next few years that may take you somewhere else for a period of time. In the end, what I don’t want to do is say what I foresee as my role and then in a year or two withdraw my commitment. I could probably share w/ you what my strengths are, but you probably already know those. To what level are my strengths or desires going to used at this future church plant? Your guess is as good as mine. Ask me in another year.
Well fellas we are back and I am starting to catch up on my comments here on the blog...
As I am reading what all of you have said I would like to state a few things first. In response to the comment about all of us having basically the same giftings, I would have to differ. I see us having some similar but then we all have gifts/strengths that the others do not. It is like four rings that overlap in some areas but are unique in others. Just some thoughts there...
As for the international missions and some of the other areas that fall into the same vein, ei marriage. Those areas we believe are a necessity and are passionate about going, improving etc. but we would step into different roles to be most effective. I don't know if my rambling is making any sense, Shane just called me and I lost my complete train of thought:)
As for my giftings...I want to preach every Sunday so Rich and Kyle tough! Joking...I would like to bring the Word here and there but not that often. I would stay in the area of discipleship and evangelism, small groups, men's ministry and fill in gaps for marriage stuff, vision casting/direction. But discipleship is an area that I would be most competant.
Also, I would like to develope and network with international missions in sending and developing missionaries and mission teams.
Just some thoughts and ideas; not sure if I even stated gifts specifically, but a few dreams at least.
Jonathan
Post a Comment