Teams And Leadership of Teams

by Cliff Murray

Even from the very beginning, creation indicates the need for a team. It is not good for the man to be alone (Gen. 2:18)

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up........A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecc. 4:9-12). So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (Rom. 12:5). From Him, Christ, the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work (Eph. 4:16).

Team Ministry Defined

It is several people working together while exercising their spiritual gifts under the call of God to serve a certain group of people in achieving the goals God has given them towards the end of glorifying Christ.

Team Work has to do with the interactions and relationships of the team members while working together to fulfill the given task or ministry responsibility.

We will see in the New Testament a wonderful quality of team leadership and ministry that our Lord both taught and practiced. Without a doubt, team leadership became the model for the New Testament church and it is a model that is needed today.

Anyone who has ever experienced being on a team knows that being a part of a successful team can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. (Examples of team from every day life include sports, band, project, church ministry, corporate intercession).

A team is more than a group of people who happen to be physically in the same place at the same time. For instance, those waiting at a trolley stop are not a team.

To be a team,

What this group needs is commitment. It ensures the group will work together no matter what the circumstance.

See this group of mixed people. Ages, races, occupations, ...when the packed trolley pulls up they all scramble for the few available spots. A mother with 4 kids can't make it and has to wait for the next one.

At the next stop is a team of high school baseball players. They scramble and shout and the coach holds the door and does a head count and they all make sure everyone gets on.

It takes a team to be really successful. We all should want to be that in God's eyes. It takes a great team to make a great church.

We will talk about the Value of a team. Its value to the whole church and to each of the team members.

John Maxwell says "Team work makes the dream work."

What It Takes To Make Great Team

Everyone must be involved.

The Amish can put up a whole barn in one day. Hundreds will come together. That is amazing. What an example of team work. Each one having a part to play and submitting their skills and talents to others for the good of the whole.

A car is more than a pile of different parts and pieces. If it were just that it would not get very far. All the parts need to understand team work.

A really successful marriage takes husband and wife working, praying and growing together. It is the same for a Pastor or Christian leader. You can run your marriage or church like the army, going around barking out orders, but that is not the Biblical way or the true successful way. It also leads to burnout, physical or nervous breakdown, personal exhaustion and a spirit of frustration. You just can't do it all yourself:

The Body Metaphor

1 Cor. 12 demonstrates in detail how the unity of the physical body offers a model for team work. God has a place of everyone in the church and everyone's place is important!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 Paul introduced the human body as an illustration of the interrelationship of the members of Christ's body, the church. Paul said in the context of the Lord's Supper, "Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread." From that point on through the end of chapter 12, Paul refers to the human "body" to describe the church sixteen times. It's an important image he wants us to grasp.

The human body must be the most amazing organic creation in God's whole created order. The human body is marvelously complex, yet it's unified with unparalleled harmony and interrelatedness. It's a unit. We can't subdivide the body into several bodies. If the body is divided, the part that is cut off ceases to function and dies, and the rest of the body loses some of its functions and effectiveness. The human body is immeasurably more than the sum of its parts.

One of the important marks of human maturity and self-awareness is a growing understanding and respect for one's own body. There is a parallel in our spiritual life: as we mature in Jesus Christ, we gain a deeper understanding and a more respectful appreciation for the church, which is the body of Christ.

In Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Corinthians 12 Paul emphasizes the church as the body of Christ.

In 12:1-11 We see that as members of the body who are growing in spiritual maturity, we are to exercise our spiritual gifts. We learned that every one of us has been gifted by God, and there is tremendous variety in our respective gifting. Every one of us has been given a ministry, a variety of places to serve, tasks that we're called to do, areas in which we're to exercise our gifts, and Jesus Christ as Head of the church is responsible for that. We saw as well that God himself is responsible for the results, the effectiveness of our exercise of ministry. That takes a tremendous weight off of us. We're called to be faithful, and to trust him for the eternal results. We saw that gifts are given not for our personal, selfish pleasure, but always for the good of the whole body. And we also saw how well-organized this distribution process is: all these gifts are given under the sovereign care and direction of God himself.

Now Paul is going to illustrate this theme of unity and diversity in the body of Christ with a unique examination of the human body in verses 14-26.

And he is going to address two separate sinful tendencies (inferior attitudes and superior attitudes) that we find at work in our hearts as we evaluate our own place in the church and our individual spiritual gifting. (These we will deal with later on in the class).

This is a rather silly section of Scripture. The humor here is goofy. Paul has talking hands and feet and heads and eyes in conversation with each other. I have never considered the apostle Paul to be one of the great comedy writers in the Bible. I can't think of any other part of the Scriptures that Paul wrote that's funny. He's intense and passionate and a great scholar, but a humorist he is not! But there's wonderful humor here.

We have a talking foot and ear who feel jealously inferior to a hand and an eye, and they threaten to secede from the body, leaving it unable to walk or hear. Then we have an eye and a head who feel arrogantly superior to the hand and the foot. They think they can get along just fine without them.

The Roman writer Livy tells of a story that came from the fifth century BC in which the rest of the body got really frustrated with the stomach because all it did was lie there and accept all the food that they gave it. They started feeling that the stomach wasn't pulling its weight, so they decided to teach it a lesson to get it to do more for the good of the body. They went on strike against the stomach and refused to put food in it. It worked well - so well that the body died.

(1 Corinthians 12:12-31)

[12] 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. [13] For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--Jews or Greeks, slaves or free--and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. [14] Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. [15] If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [16] And if the ear would say,"Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. [17] If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? [18] But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. [19] If all were a single member, where would the body be? [20] As it is, there are many members, yet one body. [21] The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." [22] On the contrary, the members of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, [23] and those members of the body that we think less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our less respectable members are treated with greater respect; [24] whereas our more respectable members do not need this. But God has so arranged the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior member, [25] that there may be no dissension within the body, but the members may have the same care for one another. [26] If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it.

[27] Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. [28] And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. [29] Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? [30] Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? [31] But strive for the greater gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.

Team With One Spirit, One Heart and One Purpose

  1. ONE SPIRIT:

    1. Paul understands the need for unity in the Church. And he compares the Church to the body and refers to us as the Body of Christ. As the Body of Christ, he reminds us that we are all born of One Spirit. We've all received the same baptism from the same Lord and consequently are filled with the same spirit, God's Holy Spirit, the presence of the Risen Christ.

      It's the Holy Spirit that inspires us and moves us closer to God. But it's also the Holy Spirit that holds us together in the hard times of struggle and the hard times of tragedy and trial. Paul is right: "When one part of the body suffers, we all suffer." The Holy Spirit encourages us and strengthens us as we reach out to encourage and strengthen each other.

    2. You might be interested in knowing what science has discovered about why geese fly in that V formation as they head south for the winter. As each bird flaps its own wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

      (Christians who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier, because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.)

      Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front. (It's good for us to stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are going.)

      When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point. They share the task of leadership and do not resent the leader. (It pays to take turns doing hard jobs -- whether it's people in the church or geese flying south.)

      The geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. Finally, when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gun shot and falls out, two geese fall out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with that goose until it is either able to fly, or until it's dead, and then they launch out on their own or with another formation to catch up with their original group.

      That's what we're called to do. Sometimes we don't do it very well. But most of the time we do. Because of the presence of God's Holy Spirit and the unity of the body we are able to minister to one another and work together as a team. As a consequence we are all honored. But most important of all: God is glorified.

  2. ONE HEART:

    God is glorified because there is one Spirit and one Heart. That heart is the heart of Christ.

    I think I may have told this story before but it's worth repeating. A few years ago during the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants, all physically or mentally challenged, assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the sound of the starting gun they all started out, not exactly in a dash, but with the relish to run the race, to the finish and win.

    All, that is, except one boy who stumbled. He tumbled over a couple of times, and began to cry. The other eight heard the boy cry. They slowed down and paused. Then they all turned around and went back. Every one of them. One girl with Down's syndrome bent down and kissed the boy and said, "This will make it better." Then all nine of them linked arms and walked together to the finish line. Everyone in the stadium stood, and the cheering went on for 10 solid minutes.

    Why? Because they all had the same heart. And they knew that the goal was to win, but that the greater goal was to cross the finish and it was better to do it together, than to leave one behind, hurt and crying and alone.

    Having the same heart, one heart in Christ. One heart because of Christ allows us to rejoice together when any one of us is honored. And it allows us to reach out in love and compassion when any one of us suffers.

  3. ONE PURPOSE:

    1. When we have the heart and spirit of Christ, then we have one purpose. And that one purpose is to serve and glorify God. We become a community of faith. We become a team.

      And if we were to translate 1 Corinthians 12:12-26: into a Super Bowl version, it would read something like this:

      "For the team is one and has many players, and all the players of the team, though many, are one team ... Indeed, the team does not consist of one player, but of many. If the defensive end would say, 'Because I am not the quarterback, I do not belong to the team,' that would not make him any less a part of the team. And if the right tackle would say, Because I am not a wide receiver, I do not belong to the team,' that would not make him any less a part of the team. If the whole team were tackles, where would the running backs be? If the whole team were running backs, where would the kickers be? And if the whole team were kickers, where would the cornerbacks be? But as it is, the coach has arranged the players of the team, each one of them, as he chose. If all were quarterbacks, where would the team be? As it is, there are many players, yet one team. The quarterback cannot say to the tackle, 'I don't need you.' Nor can the defensive ends say to the running backs, 'We don't need you.' On the contrary ... if one player suffers, the team suffers together with him; if one player is honored, the team rejoices with him."

      Each Super Bowl team has one thing in common. They are there to play and win. That is their purpose. If the members of the team forget and each try to be the only one getting the attention, they will fail miserably. Their purpose is to play football.

      [See also: A Hockey Model of Healing by Teresa Seputis]

    2. We too, are a team. We are a community of faith. Our purpose is to serve and glorify God. When we do that, when we reach out to one another in support and prayer; when our hearts and spirits combine in purpose we create a wonderful harmony of faith.

      The "Atlantic Monthly" (11/94) told about superstar tenors Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti performing together in Los Angeles. A reporter tried to press the issue of competitiveness between the three men. But Placido Domingo pretty much stopped him in his tracks when he said: "You have to put all of your concentration into opening your heart to the music. You can't be rivals when you're together making music."

      That's also true in the church as a whole and the local expression. What ever size team you are on within the larger team, it is true also. When we are making the music of faith, when we put all of our concentration into having one heart that is open to the one Spirit, then we are that team, that community of faith that reaches out to each other and to others and glorifies God.

Conclusion

Sometimes life throws us curves. Sometimes we get at odds with each other. Sometimes we fall out of formation or we get tired of being the lead goose. But when we dedicate ourselves to God and belong to a team, we can help each other hold on, we can support and strengthen one another, we can rejoice with each other. Because through our faith in Christ we are able to have one spirit, one heart, one purpose.



There Is Always A Leader!

In Num. 27:16-17, Moses, a shepherd-leader, prayed that the Lord would set a man over the congregation that would go out before them and go in before them, that the congregation be not as sheep without a shepherd. There must be a set man, whether he be apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher, and whether he be called senior minister, or whatever. There must be a helmsman at the helm of the ship or shipwreck will result. You have to have a bus driver and a pilot. We will talk more about his.

Five Forms Of Church Government

  1. ONE MAN RULE

    This is the mentality of "one man rule" in a church setting:

    Pastor is the supreme ruler. It is the Boss mentality. He alone sets the goals and makes the decisions. He is the source of enthusiasm, new ideas and programs.
    Jesus in Mark 10:42-44: You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.

    This is a weak form of government. It is not scriptural. Rom. 12:3-5 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

    THE DANGERS OF ONE MAN RULE:

    Jim Jones
    Waco Texas... David Korash

    As the leader goes so goes the church. Pride, failure, self importance become problems in the body, as they are learned from the pastor.

    EXAMPLES OF FAILURES:

    The book, "Gods Generals" by Roberts Liardon, shows why many of Gods great leaders succeeded and failed. One fault you can almost always find is the "I don't need any advice from anyone by God" attitude.

    1. John Alexander Dowie succeeded in shaking the world at the turn of the century. He brought to the forefront the church of the living God, primarily in the area of divine healing. Converts numbered in the millions. John stood against opposing clergy, fierce and slanderous tabloids, murderous mobs and relentless city officials. He had a great passion....sometimes working over 30-40 hours straight. He was arrested over 100 times for practicing medicine without a license in Chicago where he ended up with his base. (This was because of the many miraculous healings God did through him.) He opened healing homes to soak people with prayer. The press try to discredit him by calling them "Lunatic Asylums". John had a newsletter, Leaves of Healing, which had world wide circulation. The Post Master was Catholic and took his second class permit away, making his mailing expenses skyrocket. Chicago was shaken. He prayed for 1000's every week. He rented the largest auditorium seating 6000 and filled it every night for 6 months. His church had multiplied into tens of thousands.

      He did not take advantage of divine relationships with others that could have helped. He denounced Maria Woodworth-Etter after meeting her in Calif. He did not approve of her style. He built the city of Zion. This became the focus. He began to believe he was Elijah. He was not open to correction and counsel. The enemy destroyed his worldwide influence, killed a member of his family, destroyed his marriage and hit him with many diseases. Even the most anointed men and women of God can fall if they try to stand alone. We need one another.. God designed us this way.

    2. Evan Roberts was a shining light for God. The churches of Wales were crowded for more than two years. One hundred thousand outsiders were converted, drunkenness cut in half, and many taverns driven into bankruptcy. Crimes were so diminished that judges were presented with white gloves signifying there were no cases of murder, assault, rape, robbery, or the like to consider. The police became unemployed in many districts. (Orr, Evangelical Awakenings, p. 114)

      Horses in the coal mines were accustomed to obeying commands that involved yelling and cursing. Now they needed retraining because they couldn't recognize their owners redeemed language.

      Prior to the revival, Wales was in a frenzy over their favorite sport, soccer. With the revival, the stadiums stood empty. No one preached against soccer, the players and fans had simply become so captivated with the Lord that they were no longer interested in the game. (Rick Joyner, The World Aflame)

      A revival without a plan. Dedicated to following the spirit. No advertisements or advance announcements of speakers. They scorned organization. They hated the presumption that the Spirit would automatically go with them and bless their own plans.

      Sometimes Evan Roberts, the most well known leader, would sit on the front seat and say nothing for three hours. Then get up and preach and pray for 15 minutes and sit down. Or he might preach the whole time or pray the whole time. No matter what, the people would carry on under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

      They understood that apart from the presence and power of the Holy Spirit they would accomplish nothing!!!

      Evan Roberts came from a humble background. He was from a coal mining family and worked there since the age of 9, but had a burning desire to preach. In his teens while seeking a more intimate relationship with the Lord, a message one night at church got to him. Thomas was not with them when Jesus came. Ever since then he set his heart on not missing God. A deacon told him never to miss the prayer meetings in case the Holy Spirit would come. So, he faithfully attended 5 nights a week and classes on the weekends for thirteen months and prayed for a visitation of the Holy Spirit.

      PRAYER WAS A MAJOR FOCUS!!

      This revival was initiated and carried by a devotion to prayer and intercession. At times congregations would simultaneously intercede for hours. There cry was for the lost. Prayer became their first nature. Prayer meetings were not boring meetings.

      Whole towns were gathering to march around neighborhoods and claim them for Christ. On several occasions whole towns would march to a neighboring town to pray for it and revival would be ignited there.

      No classes were given on how to win souls. Every Christian erupted with a burning agony for the lost. The joy of salvation simply could not be contained.

      Evan Roberts could have been rejected as the messenger of revival because they all knew him and he had no education.

      His vision of seeing 100,000 converted in Wales was fulfilled in less than 2 years. People were converted just reading about the revival in the newspapers.

      Rick Joyner says, "The Welsh Revival is one of the classic examples of how a people heard the Lord when He knocked on their door, how they opened to Him, and were able to experience His presence for a period of time. Many revivals have begun only to be quickly short-circuited by ambitious men who tried to use them for their own purposes. Many others never got started because men, overreacting to the selfish ambition, rejected the messengers the Lord sent to them." (World Aflame, p. 43-44)

      What happened??? The revival was over in two years.

      Roberts would not receive the counsel of mature leaders and cut himself off from family, friends. Once when his father came to see him, he refused. The reason given was that he had been set apart for a highly spiritual task and had thus been obliged to forget ties of blood. He became a forgotten man. Spent the last years of his life writing dark and depressing poetry and keeping a journal. In his 60s he wondered if there was any purpose left in his life. He felt loneliness and failure. He died in 1951 at the age of 72

      One man can't carry the weight of revival or ministry alone. He can lead a move of God or church but the people all have a part to play.

    A word about top-down leadership...

    Hans Finzel in his book "The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make", says that this can become like a chain reaction. The boss barks orders to the employee. The employee goes home and barks orders to his spouse. The spouse barks orders at the children. The children kick the dog, and the dog chases the neighborhood cat...

    Why do a lot of people fall into this trap of top-down leadership attitude? Here are four reasons that he suggest:

    1. It's traditional. This is historical. It is the way it has been done.
    2. It's the most common.
    3. It's the easiest. No problem in giving orders.
    4. It comes naturally. For some reason, the natural self prefers to dominate others, and to try to amass power that can be held over other people.

    This attitude would be characterized by the person who believes that everyone should serve them, as opposed to them serving the others on the team. It is the opposite of what Jesus was. He was a servant!! John 13:15-17. (1 Peter 5:1-7 is also a good scripture on this.)

    It is this kind of attitude and leadership style that isolates people and brings many problems.

  2. CONGREGATIONAL FORM OF GOVERNMENT

    Kind of unlimited democracy. The people vote to paint the building and hire and fire preachers. The minister has no ruling power at all.

    Israel wanted this. When they left Egypt they were at odds with the men of God chosen to lead them. 1 Sam. 8:7-9: And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.........

    This usually results in great damage to ministers and their families. I have been there and done that.

  3. THE BOARD OF COUNCIL CONTROL

    The deacon board has control. They hire and fire. They are usually elected by the people. They make the major decisions for the church while the pastor is usually confined to perform religious rites and to preach on Sundays.

  4. CENTRAL OR EXTERNAL CONTROL

    The church is controlled by local or national headquarters. They can come in and move the pastor when they decide. They usually own the property. When there are problems they come in and take care of it.

    This is good if the pastor is a flake. Some pastors need to be removed.

  5. ELDERSHIP MANAGEMENT

    Here several ministers (spiritual elders) work in overseeing the local church. Together as a team they minister to the people. We could call this Team Ministry.

Conclusion

All teams need leaders, but not all forms of leadership are conducive to the effective operation of a team. If a leader truly desires to build a team, that leader must not use the "one man rule" leadership style.. it is, by its very nature, counterproductive to the concept of team. If you want to build a team, you must allow the team players to have a say. One the other hand, all teams need leaders, and the leader should not abdicate leadership to rule by committee either. There needs to be an effective balance between responsible God appointed leadership and sharing ministry (and ministry decisions) with the other members of the team.

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