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LEADERSHIP LETTER ARCHIVES
A
MONTHLY READING FOR ALL ARC LEADERS
Whitewater Ministries Update
Two years ago I believe the Spirit of God led me to begin a work entitled Whitewater Ministries. The purpose has been threefold:
It wasn’t until last March that Whitewater Ministries blossomed. Since then, I have begun to work with five churches and various individual leaders at multiple levels—some quite in depth, others at some initial stages. One of the areas that has been more prominent during this season is the work that I have begun to do with leadership teams. Jim Olson (a St. Paul MN pastor, 2003 ARC Conference speaker and close compatriot of mine) introduced me to Patrick Lancioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and then bravely invited me to co-lead a set of meetings with his staff to work through the exercises in Lancioni’s book. Jim and I shared some perspectives during our April ARC Conference.
Since April I have used this tool to address a fair number of leadership teams and leaders. I’ve also been more diligent to reconsider the nature of teams in the Scriptures with renewed perspective on the varieties of giftings that are displayed in different contexts within the New Testament. I don’t think Lancioni’s model provides ultimate answers for all of our challenges, but it is an extremely helpful launching pad to begin the process of evaluating the dynamics of a team—its strengths, weaknesses, prominent giftings (that may contribute largely to defining mission), “stuck places,” and visionary possibilities.
The first book I ever read as a young pastor in 1975 was Robert Coleman’s The Master Plan of Evangelism. Very few weeks pass by without my consideration of some aspect of this book. Coleman’s thesis is quite simple—the public ministry of Jesus was prioritized around the Father’s will and the weight of His will centered on the training of 12 men who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, would begin to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth. That focus was utterly captivating to me—the priority of raising up a team of leaders who would learn how to love each other, fit together in their different giftings and gradually enter into the same mission initiated by the Father through the Son. Now the Spirit invites us and even urges us down similar paths shaped by those priorities. What remains so compelling to me is the very bulk of time that Jesus invested into this team and the call to primary leaders to follow His lead by doing the same.
It has occurred to me that building a solid leadership team is not dissimilar to building a healthy marriage. There are differences of giftings and disposition that must be properly recognized and understood so we fit together fruitfully. There must be sufficient and clear communication. Authentic love must be central. Learning to pray together and hear the voice of the Spirit are not optional. Conflict resolution is crucial, as is the understanding and practice of creative conflict. Embracing the mission together, washing each others’ feet, dealing with competitiveness and pride—there are dozens of areas to explore and improve upon.
Consequently, we will make this the focus of our Fall Leaders Conference in Toledo, Ohio October 6-7. A brochure will follow shortly, but let me urge you to set a side these days and gather together with fellow team leaders, emerging leaders and potential leaders. We will try to weave insights from the Scriptures with Lancioni’s model, make room for corporate dialogue and a few break-out sessions for your own team to begin to grapple with this focus. I’m quite sure that the same Jesus who formed that first team will be among us to help us gain some traction and momentum for the days to come. He hasn’t changed, but He’s all about helping us to change, improve and increase our fruitfulness together.
I’ll look forward to being with you in October.
For the sake of Jesus,
Ned
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