The Journey of Ministry by Gibbs Eddie;Mouw Richard J.;
Author:Gibbs, Eddie;Mouw, Richard J.; [Gibbs, Eddie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780830866953
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2012-04-25T00:00:00+00:00
4
Teambuilding
Walking and Working Alongside Others
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:12
Beginning in the 1970s and into the 1980s, I found myself with management responsibilities in two Christian organizations, but my seminary education had left me unprepared for the challenges that faced me. In an effort to learn how to lead people, I avidly read books on leadership and management. Many contained the acronym PLOC, which stood for Plan, Lead, Organize and Control. They represented the management style that had built the big, prosperous companies after World War II. They were geared to the hierarchical, top-down controlling style that had been the norm for military strategists as well as for companies involved in the war effort. This management approach became known as Management by Objectives.
On the positive side, Management by Objectives strengthened accountability and enhanced individualsâ motivation to achieve their potential. The downside, however, was that many lives were destroyed and careers threatened, especially in the more ruthless organizations. Employee loyalty was eroded as more and more demands were made to maximize efficiency and profits. People felt dispensable. Their health broke, their family life suffered, and many ended with burnout, heart attacks and other stress-related problems.
Gradually the realization dawned in the more progressive companies that Management by Objectives had to be seriously reconsidered and reevaluated. It was no longer working, not only because of the human cost involved, but also because it was proving too ponderous a model. It was also de-motivating to many employees. It failed to recognize people as individuals with their distinctive personality, gifting and talents.
Many churches in North America uncritically adopted management models from the business world. This was especially the case among boards of laypeople who transferred their management insights and experience from the corporate world to the church. Pastors were often unduly influenced because their academic training had not included courses on church leadership and management.
The church should function more as a family than as a business enterprise, welcoming people of all ages and backgrounds. It does not hire and fire, and its range of ministries is comprehensive. Leadership in such a context is far more relational and caring of the whole person. This requires building teams.
Into and Beyond the Information Age
The advent of the information age also revealed the old model to be too ponderous and lacking in creativity. Its silo structure prevented creative collaboration, creativity and risk taking. It rewarded success, while failing to recognize the importance of learning through failure. In the old model, failure was likely to lead to rejection and firing. A learning organization benefits more from processing its corporate failures than from celebrating individual achievements.
Some are calling our times the conceptual age rather than the information age, because the underlying issue is what to do with all the information cascading upon us. We need skills to sift, discern and establish connections, often across disciplines that previously existed in isolation from each other.
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