Teams can be a great place to grow in our character and competencies. Check out these paraphrased comments by Dr. Greg Livingstone in his book Planting Churches....A Team Approach Baker Books (1993); pp. 114-115:
- A successful church planting team: members feel secure even when they have different convictions...others do not have to conform to one's convictions. They can discuss all types of things together including doctrine, strategies etc in a "non-censorious environment."
- The team leader: understands the overall picture, can handle ambiguity and setbacks in order to help the team persevere, avoiding skism...and all this is keeping with the goal of producing a resilient church--whose resiliency refelcts the team's resiliency.
- Team fellowship: Members of teams sin, and the team can address this. This is normal and to be expected. Members will act badly at times. We all do!
- Emotinal baggage; We all have it. We have been damaged, there are areas in which we are blind and we don't see our own self-centeredness and selfishness at times. For some this will even invoved neurotic, addictive behavior. Teams must know how to do reconciliation well according to Scriptures such as Matthew 5:23-24 and Matthew 18:15-17
- Alas: Workes don't folow the Scriptural guideliines! Relational wedges form. And our many sins hinder love--love no longer covers a multitude of sins.
Reflection and Discussion
1. How relevant are these comments for your team?
2. Any additional comments to help teams be more resilient?
