Prevent the High School Experience in Church
One of the labels that makes me ill is the division of volunteers into “core team” or “first team” instead of just team. I don’t know how many times I hear ministry leaders talk about how a team member is part of the “core team”. It is as if we are all back in high school, comparing ourselves and those we hang around based on who they hang around. Let’s examine what kind of impact this makes on your church and how you can prevent it.
Outsider Syndrome
Imagine what it must feel like if you are not part of the core team – you are second rate, less important, not a priority. If you are segmenting your team into primary and secondary teams, you are missing out. If someone is told they are not part of a primary team, most likely they will disconnect, care less, and often leave your team completely.
Team Division
If those outside of your core team remain, the team will become divided. Often, those on the outside will start to gravitate toward one another, often gossiping about those in the core team. Meanwhile, those in the core team feel better than those on the outside, so they often become more demanding or condescending of others. Teams become less effective in their outreach and activity.
Church Division
If this division comes from a staff member, or is allowed to escalate by the church staff, church division can emerge. Those within the church will often take sides, pointing fingers at the others or leave entirely. This may sound far fetched to some, but others may have already experienced this – it can happen!
Take a few minutes and think about how you may be segmenting your team into primary and secondary groups. Also consider if you are providing preferential treatment to some within your team. Spend time on your knees, asking for guidance on how you can better create a cohesive team and prevent turning your church into just another high school experience.
[tags]church teamwork, volunteer management, church division[/tags]
Popularity: 1% []
One for all and all for One!
[...] Not only is the design of his blog awesome and simple, I appreciate what he writes. Check out his latest post or visit his site for his free book called Handle with Care: Practical Steps for Leading Your [...]
good observations. i do think there is a natural thing that happens any time a group of people form a “team” or a “group” – and that this “insider – outsider” dynamic is something natural.
i say it like this, “any time a group of people join hands they form a circle – a circle of which some are a part and some are not.”
i am not even sure that removing the labels “core” or “first” will truly work to change this phenomenon – except that the leadership might need to always keep advice like yours in their minds – and be constant in sowing a mentality of a welcoming circle.
truth is … a leader can only invest in so many people – and while this need not be “preferential treatment” in the bad sense of the phrase … it will be seen that way and in many respects work out that way.
Jesus was loving to all – but he invested himself in the 12. i suggest that, in many ways, it was the nature of that investment which made all the difference as to how the group progressed beyond a closed circle.
peac4d.
amos
Stop seeing yourself as Jesus and your group as the disciples. That’s how wrong thinking and acting starts in the first place.
If brown nosing is ever seen to work in an organization, that is the end. All you will have left are the brown nosers that compete with each other and those who refuse to do it because they know it is not right, but they will be paralyzed.
Any leader worth a flip would never put up with it.