Our Teams: A Reflection of the Godhead?

In a doctoral dissertation 15 years ago that was subsequently published as a book, George Cladis, a New England pastor, makes a bold statement. “I have come to a rock solid conviction that has revolutionized my ministry: if a church is to succeed in carrying out a healthy ministry and developing a good Christian community there must be stable and high-quality relationships among the members of the principal leadership team.”

Most leaders would agree with his statement and acknowledge the pragmatic need for healthy team dynamics in any organization or mission that is larger than just a few people. Teams are important and we need to attend to their effective working in the context of the church. But the insight that Dr. Cladis offers is that teams work not only on the foundation of an organization’s necessity but also because teamwork is an intrinsic part of the very imago dei (image of God) built into all of us as human beings.

How does the very nature of the Godhead (trinity) resolve into human teams? Theologian Shirley Guthrie writes, “The oneness of God is not the oneness of a distinct, self-contained individual; it is the unity of a community of persons who love each other and live together in harmony.” Cladis recalls the analogy of John of Damascus in the seventh century of the Trinity to certain imagery used in Greek theater. Perichoresis was the theatrical term used for a circular dance and in that sense the triune community of the Father, Son, and Spirit is a perichoretic reality that implies intimacy, equality, unity yet distinction, and love.

The true reality of God as Trinity is an excellent and insightful theological model for the establishment of meaningful, healthy ministry teams in the church of the twenty-first century. It also turns out that healthy, relational communities happen to be one of the most powerful longings of our ‘post-modern’ culture and are deeply attractive to the Ones for which we are praying! While much of the culture we live in is contradictory and our society may even embrace that which is sordid, we nevertheless can discern deep human longings that teams built on Biblical values can tap into. Look at the following list of post-modern characteristics and see if healthy teams do not resonate with our culture:

• The universe (creation) is viewed less as a machine and more as an organism.
• Structure and hierarchy are perceived with skepticism.
• Authority must be based upon trust rather than position.
• Real leaders are visionary instead of leading by dictate.
• Life and work are inter-twined and are spiritually rooted.
• Formal organizational structures are smaller but informal networks are bigger — even global.
• Innovation and creativity are rewarded.
• Work should follow gifts and passions and these should be collaboratively shared.
• Mainline denominations are seen as passé and a relic of an irrelevant past.

These nine statements were not true when MCC was founded in the early 1960s, but they certainly describe our world today. Many of these deep beliefs directly align with the team-based ministry model of our church. They offer essential opportunities for team participants to demonstrate the reality of the Gospel message to the world around us.

In our next blog we will take a look at several characteristics of healthy church teams that flow naturally out of the perichoretic nature of God and of the regenerated community that is the church.

*This post and the next will be largely based on concepts drawn from the book entitled Leading the Team-Based Church (Cladis, 1999).

Lee Beachy is a long time member of Manchester Christian Church and has served in a variety of leadership roles including treasurer, elder and part time staff member. He is currently a member of the Strategic Leadership Team and the Leadership Development Team.