As our churches partner together to serve our city, we can more effectively show and share the love of Christ with our neighbors. To God be the Glory!
The apostle Paul believed that diversity is a key to effectiveness in the body of Christ. In I Corinthians 12, he makes clear that diversity is not only essential to the body of Christ, it is by the direct design of the Holy Spirit. This type of diversity is also essential to the effective working of a team. The various team roles as identified in R. Meredith Belbin’s works are helpful to understanding how diversity can be both strengthening and frustrating in the team setting.
Teams are going to fail. That failure can be devastating, disheartening, or frightening. It is also inevitable. If you are committed to innovation and take on God-sized tasks, you are sometimes going to fail in a particular initiative. As painful as it may be, the failure in itself is unimportant in the grand scheme of things. God’s purposes will not be ultimately thwarted. What you learn from that failure is what is important. Here are some important considerations.
How many licks to the center to a Tootsie Pop? No matter how hard various cartoon creatures have tried, they have all failed to slowly make to the candy center. Because it's the center—that tootsie roll (or bubble gum) core—that everyone loves. It's that core that makes a Tootsie Pop what it is. Otherwise, it's just another run-of-the-mill lollipop. Likewise, there are certain elements that make an effective team: diversity, trust, competence, empowerment, and dialogue.
I haven’t always been a big fan of teams. My perception of teams was what is commonly known as the 80/20 rule—20% of the people are doing 80% of the work. I generally equated “team” with “committee” and saw both as sterile ground for finding solutions and fertile forums for discord. It was not until I arrived at UBA in 1990 that I encountered a learning culture that differentiated between a group of people on task and a truly high performance team.
Over the years, I have often heard the phrase, “It’s quicker if I just do it myself.” But is that really true when it comes to leadership? The problem with this approach is that it does not take the long view. It saves time only in the short term. You accomplished in a few seconds or a minute or two what it might have taken you half an hour or more to train someone else to do, but you have trapped yourself. Can we use those extra minutes to invest a bigger opportunity?
Every month, we feature people, events, and ministries we want our people to pray for. So, join us as we pray to and praise God for what He's done, because we're always better together.
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Recently, I was told that I have the best work/life balance of anyone on the team. We were joking because I never leave vacation on the table at the end of the year, and I fuss at the other staff if they do. UBA doesn’t hire slackers, so it is not uncommon for one of the staff to get a little wrapped up in work, the to-do list, and unexpected challenges that arise. Before you know it, things are out of balance.
Over the years, however, I’ve come to believe that holding all the areas of my life in balance before God brings honor to him. My theology about balance involves the belief that all the aspects of my life are meant to be lived fully to the glory of God. Here's what that has looked like for me.
Although it's long passed, I want to share with you a practice my husband and I use on Good Friday to deepen our observance of the day. We call it “Go Silent; Go Dark.” It is especially meaningful on the day that we remember the crucifixion of Christ, but it is also a practice that can be implemented at any time of the year to slow your life down, heighten your focus on spiritual things, and increase your openness to the nudgings of the Holy Spirit.
In an age where we're easily divided into camps, churches must fight to remember our common purpose. We must make an effort to be counter-cultural, not only in what we believe but also in the way we live it out. At UBA, we're proud to have several examples of churches doing innovative collaboration, pooling resources, and working together to advance the gospel of Jesus Christ. Here are just a few of those stories:
