TEAMNET MINISTRIES

Teamnet Ministries Blog Changes

2010-08-08T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've made a few minor changes to the Teamnet Ministries blog page. I've removed the ads below each post, so now the ads from adSense appear only on the sidebar. Also, there is now a "share" bar attached to each post, so a reader can share a specific post by email, twitter, facebook, or blogger. (Just in case anyone out there is actually reading the blog! :))

Teamnet Ministries Featured in Oregon Conference eCommunique Newsletter

2010-08-08T15:05:00.000-07:00

Teamnet Ministries was recently featured in the electronic newsletter "eCommunique" from Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. The article by Chuck Burkeen tells how Teamnet Ministries has made a major difference in member involvement in the Canyonville, Oregon Adventist Church over the six+ years it has been in place. You can read the entire article here:

Teamnet Ministries at Canyonville Church article in Oregon Conference eCommunique

Thanks, Chuck! And thanks also to Krissy Barber, Administrative Assistant in the OC Communications Dept. Blessings to you both!

Wall Street Journal Article on Effective Leadership

2010-04-21T04:36:00.000-07:00

Well, the WSJ article isn't directly about leadership, but reading it provides an invaluable picture of the true and best relationship between a leader and subordinate. Please read this piece all the way through. It will make you a better leader of those within your circle of influence, even in a volunteer organization such as a church. This philosophy of leadership is exactly on target for what Teamnet Ministries is all about.

Here is the link: Yes, Everyone Really Does Hate Performance Reviews

Enjoy

Buy In

2010-02-26T12:05:00.001-08:00

I've been impressed again recently how critically important it is for leaders of change to do everything they can to create "buy in" by the people who are affected by the changes they implement *BEFORE THE CHANGES ARE PUT IN PLACE*. Without "buy in," those who are forced out of their comfort zone by whatever changes are made are going to experience mild irritation at the least and bitter resentment at the worst. Any degree of confusion or dissatisfaction will make the job of the change agent more difficult.

So, how do you create "buy in"?

First, include as many people as possible in the change process. If people don't understand something they are usually against it! You might explain the changes a hundred times, but if the people don't want to hear it, they won't listen!

Second (related to the first point), people own what they help create. So give opportunities for a broad spectrum of people to give input or express their opinions about a particular project. Let people feel like they actually can have an influence on the final outcome.

Third, if a small group is assigned to make certain changes they need to take their proposals back to the larger group for approval or ratification before going forward. For instance, if a team needs ideas for an advertising brochure to promote an upcoming event and they assign the development of the brochure to a small committee, the committee needs to bring back their ideas to the rest of the team before they trot off to the press! Get "buy in" by the team members, and life will be much more pleasant!

Here's to full and open communication everywhere!

The Most Challenging Element in Teamnet Ministries

2010-02-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

In my experience of working with Teamnet Ministries in several congregations, I have observed that the idea of a Human Resources Council (a standing personnel committee) is both the most promising within the system, and simultaneously the one that gives the most grief. Some congregations simply cannot escape the paradigms of the past to make the leap from an annually elected Nominating Committee to the idea of a standing personnel committee.

Other congregations, even though they may accept the HRC, tend to quickly slide into routine management mode, focusing more on going through the motions of ministry than on visioning and empowering effective ministry for every member.

In such cases, for Teamnet Ministries to succeed, the model must be modified to fit the needs of the local congregation. It is virtually impossible to simply adopt the entire Teamnet Ministries model and make it work in any given church. Flexibility and adaptability are mandatory attitudes for would-be Teamnet Ministries leaders.

2009-07-22T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a short video on teamwork. I love it!

Book Report: The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, by Patrick Lencioni

2009-06-14T19:19:00.000-07:00

Well, I might as well admit it. I'm a sucker for this genre. The novella has proved to be a powerful medium for business writers. I love the stories, but beyond that I love the lessons they teach. All the way from Ken Blanchard's The One Minute Manager to the latest, hot off the press volume I find the management and relationship principles conveyed through these little books both fascinating and inspiring.

Now, if I could just learn to apply all this inspiration . . . .

The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive, by Patrick Lencioni doesn't disappoint. The storyline takes some unexpected twists along the way, but the underlying lessons are framed and focused. The four principles Lencioni teaches in this book are:

Build and Maintain a Cohesive Leadership Team

Create Organizational Clarity

Over-Communicate Organizational Clarity

Reinforce Organizational Clarity Through Human Services

Of course, this is all written with the business community in mind. I read these books through the lenses of a church pastor thinking, "How can this be applied to church organizations, and specifically to MY church?" I'm thinking, that shouldn't be so hard, but inevitably it turns out to be much more difficult in real life than on paper.

If anybody actually reads this note, how about it? Give me some brainstorm ideas of applying those four principles of a healthy organization to a local church. I would really be interested in your thoughts.

Loren

Links to Akrana.com

2009-04-05T23:42:00.000-07:00

I've updated the links on the left side of this page to the Teamnet Ministries pages on the new Akrana.com website. I hope to begin adding regularly to the Teamleader101 Resources page with recommended materials for team leadership. If you come across something you would like to have added, please let me know.

It's Alive!!

2009-04-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

The new website is up and running. I have quite a bit of work to do on it still, but for now you can reach the Teamnet Ministries page by going to www.akrana.com and clicking on the Teamnet Ministries tab at the top of the page. While you are there, you might want to take a look at some of the other pages i.e. Akrana Music.

I'm really pleased with the progress at this point. Hope to see the site develop as time goes on.

New Website -- Almost ready to go live

2009-03-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Getting a LOT closer. Stay posted!

New Website Coming

2009-03-24T23:12:00.000-07:00

I'm working on some new things for the Teamnet Ministries website. Lot's to learn yet, but eventually I'm sure it will all get put together.

Discipleship of New Members Through Teamnet Ministries Teams

2008-11-06T11:55:00.000-08:00

During the calendar year 2009 Canyonville Church plans to conduct a minimum of two full-message evangelistic series. These meetings will be conducted by our Evangelism Team leaders and members. Canyonville Church is organized as a networking system of individual teams focused on various aspects of church life.
The team responsibilities relating to discipleship of new members are as follows:

• The Evangelism Team will lead out in continuing personal Bible studies with the new members, utilizing the Good News for Today Bible study guides and the gift NKJV Bibles.

• Discipleship Team will encourage new members to active participation in the Pastor’s Bible Class during Sabbath School time.

• Ministry Team will give support to health education, lifestyle changes, and group clinics for victory over destructive habits and addictions as may be needed.

• Fellowship Team will foster integration of the new members into the fabric of the church family by providing safe and wholesome social events and encouraging healthy relationships.

• Worship Team will encourage worship leaders and “up-front” participants to always be sensitive to the needs of new members and guests who may not be familiar with in-house “Churchese.”

• New members will be immediately included in one of the 12 Pastoral Care Parishes led the church elders, deacons, and deaconesses.
It should be noted that although the organizational structure is in place, the responsibilities and relationships outlined above are still somewhat formative. We are growing in our understanding of these ministries, but we believe that by God’s grace we can truly make a kingdom difference in the lives of people in our communities who are hungering and thirsting for the gospel.

SGST Yahoo! Group -- New!

2008-10-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

I've just created a new group on Yahoo! Groups for discussion of spiritual gifts. It is primarily for members of the Spiritual Gifts Support Team at the Canyonville Adventist Church, but we will gladly allow others join in the discussion. Our motto in Teamnet Ministries is "None of us is as smart as all of us!"

You can visit the Yahoo! group by clicking HERE

I've also posted a link on the left in the "Related Links" box.

2008-09-11T21:10:00.001-07:00

"Brave New World"
Loren L. Fenton

The following is a description of Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World taken from the online information source Wikipedia.

"The world the novel describes is a dystopia, presented satirically: humanity lives in a carefree, healthy, and technologically advanced society; however, art, science, religion, and all other forms of human expression have been sacrificed to create this 'Brave New World'. Warfare and poverty have been eliminated and everyone is permanently happy due to government-provided conditioning and drugs. The irony is that all of these things have been achieved by eliminating many things that humans consider to be central to their identity – family, culture, art, literature, science, religion (other than idolization of 'our Ford', Henry Ford, who is seen as the father of their society, and ritualized orgies), and philosophy. It is also a hedonistic society, deriving pleasure from promiscuous sex and drug use, in the form of soma, a powerful psychotropic rationed by the government that is taken to escape pain and bad memories through hallucinatory fantasies, referred to as 'Holidays'. Additionally, social stability has been achieved and is maintained via deliberately engineered and rigidly enforced social stratification."

I asked a small group of people recently, "Is this the kind of world you want to live in?" Their response was predictable:

"Hardly!"

"No way!"

"Absolutely not!"

I think most of us would agree with these sentiments.

Now, with the foregoing in mind, consider three items to cross my path within the last couple of days:

A report on a major news network of a new "bionic arm." This is an amazing prosthetic arm and hand that has been developed for amputees. The report showed a young woman who had lost her arm in an automobile accident. With this new limb, however, she is able to grasp a glass of water, fold clothes, and do any number of "normal" tasks, simply by mentally controlling the prosthesis – much as most of us do every day at a thousand mundane tasks. Incredible technology, with the promise of giving a step back towards normalcy for thousands of amputees – war victims, etc.
Within minutes of seeing the bionic arm story, I received an email describing a new regulation in California where now it seems it is not acceptable for a wedding party to be referred to as "bride and groom," but rather now they must be "party 'A' and party 'B'". No longer "husband and wife," but some other non-sensical term. Seems like Huxley's "Brave New World" isn't that far off. This is quite amazing, to say the least.
We have some new neighbors this week. I went over to say "Hello," and discovered that this household is composed of two women "partners." Hmmm. Well, I know that's the world we're living in now, but somehow it was always far away in distant places like San Francisco, Portland, and New York. Now it's right across the street, less than 50' from my front door. I can't say I was shocked, just that it caught me by surprise.

I have to ask myself and other church members, With realities such as these saturating our society, can the church just continue with "business as usual"? I hope you hear my voice crying out with a resounding, "NO!" We can't just keep doing what we have always done – maybe just more of it with more intensity and thinking that's the working of the Holy Spirit. It seems we (the church) cling desperately to old familiar, secure forms of religion that become more and more irrelevant to an increasingly pagan and hedonistic society. Is it any wonder that the church is almost completely marginalized in our time?

Teamnet Ministries is one attempt to empower the church for effective ministry in this spiritually starving society. But I must confess some frustration. I've been doing this for well over ten years, now, and it seems I've seen little progress. I still have to deal with entrenched traditionalism, NIH (Not Invented Here) Syndrome, and the resistance of gatekeeper-controllers who are loath to release their power.

But there is one saving factor: In spite of all the obstructionism and difficulties, God is still on the Throne of the Universe. He is still in charge. And it is a privilege and an honor to be called into His service. To Him be the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever! Amen!

Spiritual Gifts Support Team

2008-07-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

The most current incarnation of Teamnet Ministries has seen the emergence of a group we call our Spiritual Gifts Support Team. The SGST came into being when the church I now serve as pastor decided to change the function and focus of what we had previously called the Human Resources Council. The HRC was basically a standing committee that functioned as a permanent personnel committee for the local church. Whenever there was a vacancy in an office, the HRC was called upon to find someone to fill it. The emphasis was always on Spiritual Gifts and finding the right person for the right job.

At a point about a year and three months ago, the church body decided they wanted to discontinue the standing personnel committee plan, but instead return to the previously tried-and-trusted annual nominating committee process. At the time, some Teamnet Ministries loyalists saw this as a serious retrogression back into lock-step traditionalism and control by the few. Others saw the step as a retreat from chaos, in that they could not understand the open system at the heart of Teamnet Ministries. Nevertheless, something very beneficial has emerged from that conflict.

What had been the Human Resorces Council was morphed into a Spiritual Gifts Support Team. The SGST has spent the last year and several months learning its new role, and most recently some tangible clarity has begun to emerge.

As we now see it, there are two main tracks of service lying before the SGST. (1) Spiritual gifts education for the church body, including promotion, awareness, training, and many other different aspects of helping the individual members become aware of their personal gifts and placing them in service for the Lord; and (2) a coaching/mentoring relationship with each of the team leaders/facilitators, in which the members of the SGST work in support roles with them. Their task in this track is to coach, ask questions, assist, and encourage the team leaders in their work to manage, inspire, and coordinate the spiritual gifts resident within the team members.

These two tracks are supported internally within the SGST through an intentional, focused plan of personal growth and inservice education. At present, the coaching skills of the SGST members are seriously in need of development. Communication skills and techniques need to be studied and put to use in sharing the inspiration and joy of service through using the gifts God has given to every believer.

The SGST is a wonderful outgrowth of a period of distress within the congregation. There are incredible opportunities lying ahead of us. It is truly amazing to see how God is leading in the ongoing development and evolution of this plan we call Teamnet Ministries.

As always, the glory is all His.

Strategic Networking for Kingdom Growth

2008-03-25T19:56:00.001-07:00

Introduction: The "Great Commission" Jesus delivered to his disciples on the eve of his ascension still rings in the hearts of his people today. "I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth," he said. "Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20 NLT). This is the heart and soul of our calling as Christian believers. It is the key to success in every aspect of every Christian's experience. It is the driving element of vibrant life for every church.

Networking for the Kingdom: The present era of our society can legitimately be labeled "The Age of the Network." More than at any other time in the history of humanity, our world is linked together by countless lines of communication and relationships. Both individually and corporately, we have ties to everything and everybody. John Donne's 17^th century proclamation that "no man is an island, entire of itself" was a revolutionary concept in Renaissance England, but today his poetry seems almost prophetic. Connectivity is the real watchword for today.

A Structure of Mutual Support and Encouragement: In Teamnet Ministries, five main teams focus on five core arenas of church life: Worship, Fellowship, Ministry, Evangelism, and Discipleship. The teams are each supported in their work by the Spiritual Gifts Support Team (formerly known as the Human Resources Council (HRC)) and the Administrative Officers. Each team also has opportunity to encourage and support programs and activities conducted by any or all of the other teams. Team leaders/facilitators are encouraged to share upcoming events and other plans at each Church Board meeting, thereby providing opportunity for all the other teams to contribute to everyone else's success. Working together for a common purpose creates synergy and enthusiasm.

The Primacy of Worship: The bottom line of the Great Commission is to "make disciples." However, the purpose of discipleship, and subsequently fellowship, ministry, and evangelism, is to multiply the worship, praise, honor, and glory that we as created beings bring to our Creator God. Worship is what the church is about. The commodity we carry is hope, and through the gospel of hope souls without hope can be drawn to God and find their life in Him. We must continuously strive for inspiring worship services, which both edify and encourage every person present at every service to connect with the Living Source of life.

The Administrative Function As It Relates To Power, Conflict, and Role Expectations

2008-03-24T14:56:00.001-07:00

Introduction: A Philosophy of Administration and Leadership

Every administrator is a leader. Regardless of the organization or its nature, from casual to complex, a leader projects his/her personal influence into the functions and relationships of the system. Eventually the system becomes an extended reflection of the administrator's own personality, character, and competence. The leader's values determine every choice, every decision he makes. In time, those personal values permeate, to a greater or lesser degree, the entire fabric of the organization.

Administration is the art of applying organizational principles and policies to solve problems and accomplish the purposes for which the organization exists. Art, however, is not an exact science. Every artist interjects into his artistry some element of himself, making the product uniquely his own. The same is true for administration and leadership. Every administrator forms the organization he leads into something of his own image. The stamp of personal identity is an inevitable and inescapable element of leadership. The primary administrative function for a leader, therefore, is to determine and apply those personal values that contribute most effectively to reaching organizational goals.

The foregoing assumes two important elements. First, that the goals of the organization are known and well defined, and second, that the leader/administrator knows his own values. If either of these is unclear, the result will be confusion and uncertainty throughout the organization. The inevitable products of this insecurity are frustration, discouragement and low morale in the entire system.

The Nature and Use of Power in Administration

Normally, the power of administration is the power of authority. Mr. So-and-so has the power to make such-and-such a decision because he has the authority, the right, to do so. It is that authoritative power that we are speaking of in this context.

Authority can be granted in a system either by virtue of position or by personal deferment. The question, "Who's in control here?" may be answered primarily on the basis of organizational structure, but that authority can not and will not be confirmed unless the rest of the people in the system experience significant respect for the person occupying the position of leadership.

The administrator's first job, then, is to gain the respect of those whom he leads, not only for the sake of his own leadership tenure and success, but more fundamentally, for the internal health and external success of the entire organization. Without this respect and cooperation, an administrator will be doomed to a plague of criticism, doubt, infighting, and insubordination. On the other hand, with the respect and appropriate honor of the organization for himself and for his position, the wise administrator can lead his team to accomplish the impossible.

Having said this, we must also note that respect cannot be just "commanded," especially in a volunteer organization such as a church. Metaphors notwithstanding, the church is not the military, neither is it an employer with economic leverage over its members. No one has to do anything! Therefore, respect (and consequently the power that goes with it) must be earned and maintained on the basis of personal relationships. Church members, for instance, must believe in the vision, integrity, and leadership of their pastor before they will respect his judgment. If he betrays their trust, they will lose their respect for him, and his power as an administrator will erode proportionately.

An administrator's power can only legitimately be used to promote or reach toward the organization's goals. A pastor, for instance, may not siphon church funds off to support his personal business. He may not open the church facilities for meetings not authorized by the church, or which may be counter-productive to the church's purposes. Power granted to a leader is limited, conditional power. Violation of this principle will inevitably result in the loss of respect and a consequential loss of power (authority) for the leader.

Conflict as a Test of Values

The test comes when two or more personal values collide with each other. When two or more principles, held to be inviolable – yet mutually incompatible – must each be applied to a given situation, what does the administrator do? Where does he find solutions? How does the leader lead?

The answer lies in the leader's vision of the bigger picture, and his ability to convey his insight to the rest of the organization. The leader must "go outside the nine dots" to reach the goals of the group, and he must take the group with him. He must paint the picture so vividly that his followers can smell the flowers and feel the breeze. In other words, the administrative function of a leader, when faced with organizational or personal conflict is to identify and effectively communicate a vision of the possible in the context of the impossible. It is to find and share the solution by opening up new and exciting possibilities of what can be done.

These solutions must be within the purposes and goals of the organization. But perhaps the very purposes and goals themselves need to be examined to see if they are accurately understood. The question must be asked, "What is it that we're about here?" It may be discovered that there is a bigger understanding of this organization than we have known heretofore. For instance, maybe God has more in mind than just the conversion of the Jewish world to Christianity. Maybe he wants to include the Gentiles as well. Maybe he wants his message of salvation to go to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. Maybe he wants to save the whole world!

It is possible, of course, that a conflict of ideas or values may truly be beyond harmonious co-existence, regardless of how big the picture is. If that becomes evident, the only solution is to discard one of the values entirely or modify one or both until they fit together. The unfortunate part of such a value conflict is that often each position is tenaciously held by some person, and the conflict is interpreted as being between persons rather than between the values and ideas. When an idea must be sacrificed, the organization loses the person as well, often with an aftermath of bitterness.

Are Hierarchies Evil?

2008-03-19T22:47:00.001-07:00

A couple of years ago I made an "off-the-cuff" statement in a Sabbath School class that stirred up quite a bit of discussion here and there. I don't remember the exact discussion that precipitated my remark, but as I remember it I said something like "I believe hierarchies were invented by the devil." It is amazing how something like this can be taken out of context and changed quite dramatically as it flows along the grapevine. (Did you ever play the game of "telephone" at a party?) Now, I don't deny that I made the statement, but I thought maybe it would be profitable for us all if I commented a little more on the subject here.

As I have thought about this question of organization and hierarchies, I suppose a more accurate representation of my thoughts would be that I object to the abuse of power so often found in hierarchical organizations. A study of the history of secular hierarchies reveals that they are characterized by one dominant element: control of the many by the few. The early Christian church of the Dark Ages absorbed this spirit when Roman authority was imposed on all believers under its influence. In some places such as Ireland, however, the church flourished for centuries outside of the Roman influence. The result was an entirely different organizational structure, which, although eventually overwhelmed by the power of Rome, actually became the seedbed for the Protestant Reformation. If you would like to read more about this a good reference is The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach The West . . . Again, by George C. Hunter III, published by Abingdon Press, 2000.

In sharp contrast to this abuse of power through top-down, command-and-control authoritarianism is the example of Jesus, the teachings of Paul, and the example in the Old Testament of Moses and Jethro. Jesus taught and lived by the principle of "whoever is the greatest among you, let him be your servant." Paul declared, "I will glory in my weakness that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Jethro's counsel to Moses to organize the people into tens, fifties, hundreds, and thousands (see Exodus:18) was not for management or control of the masses, but to effectively serve their needs. Thus, it is plain to see that the purpose of any church organization, whether hierarchical or otherwise, is to serve the needs of the people and to give glory, worship, and honor to God. The church is neither a kingdom (in the classical, human sense) nor an oligarchy. Rather, it is the body of Christ, empowered by the Spirit of God, and called to a holy purpose. The purpose of church organization must ever, and always, be to effectively empower the people of God to live their calling.

Natural Church Development (NCD)

2008-03-19T11:14:00.000-07:00

A few years ago at Canyonville Church we began using the NCD tools to measure our overall church health. It was after the initial survey results that we decided to begin using Teamnet Ministries for the organizational system for the congregation. The results have been evident as follow-up surveys have indicated from year-to-year. In the 3+ years we have been using Teamnet Ministries, our composite percentile score has moved from 37.125 to 54.375. I'll post individual scores for the eight elements later, but I am really happy about these results. It is quite obvious that Canyonville is making great progress in the right direction.

If you would like more information about NCD, click on this link: http://www.ncd-international.org/

Nehemiah, Leadership, Teamwork

2008-01-30T11:16:00.000-08:00

I've been reading recently in the Old Testament about Nehemiah and the rebuilding of the wall of Jerusalem. That was a massive project that took some extreme efforts to accomplish. Obviously, everyone had to work cooperatively to make it happen. Nehemiah kept everyone focused in spite of hardship, opposition, and discouragement. The leaders (managers) at the various sections of the wall kept everyone working diligently. In chapter 3 of Nehemiah's book there are numerous expressions of how every group worked side-by-side with the neighboring group, all the way around the city wall, until the work was completed.

There are some obvious lessons for us today. Significant work requires teamwork. Groups of workers focusing on a common purpose, a goal. Businesses thrive on this idea. Politicians live or die by the dedication and support of their team. Suffice it to say, churches are no exception. The problem, however, is that far too often we (the church) become fractured, distracted, cross-purposed, and alienated from our fellow teammates. I'm afraid we'll never get anywhere without becoming a culture of love, acceptance, forgiveness, and mutual support. Jesus said as much. "By this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another."

For my way of thinking, Nehemiah was pretty harsh. But the wall probably wouldn't have been built without him. God puts the kind of leaders in place when and where he needs them. Whatever the case, however, we all need to pitch in and contribute according to our abilities.

The Flat Church Society

2008-01-10T11:43:00.000-08:00

There is a great article on the December 27, 2007 issue of the Adventist Review by Richard Osborn, President of Pacific Union College. "Is the Church Flat?" In this piece Dr. Osborn cites a best-selling book The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century by Thomas Friedman, in which Friedman shows how recent developments in the world of technology have "flattened" the world as we know it, making instant communication possible with just about anyone at any time, and Internet access to information available to anyone anywhere with a computer connection.

What struck me about Osborn's article is the inevitable and obvious "flattening" of effective church organizational relationships. As society moves ever more towards empowering every common man and woman with vast resources of information available at their fingertips, the church also must move away from the heirarchical, top-down command and control structure to structures that foster effective communication and ministry in every dusty corner. Teamnet Ministries is an attempt to move in that direction. It is not without problems, but the fundamental principles are sound. Teamnet Ministries (or something like it) is the future of effective church life.

Relational Evangelism

2008-01-02T16:27:00.000-08:00

For far too long the emphasis of Christian evangelism has been on proclamation and little else. We preach from pulpits or rostrums, even via satalites, television, radio, and now the Internet. Once we've delivered the message we "make an invitation" that basically translates to, "Now that you know this, what are you going to do about it?" We assume that the mere delivery of information, i.e. Bible doctrines, prophetic interpretations, original language nuances, etc., will somehow result in people changing their lives for the good. Unfortunately, the reality is that most don't. Here is a profound truth: Information does not change lives. Experience does. In other words, you really don't learn something until you personally experience it. So the question is, Why do we spend thousands and thousands of $$$ on proclamation and little or nothing on building healthy relational bridges? Maybe because proclamation is easier and cleaner. Relational evangelism is a lot messier.

But here is another inconvenient (?) truth. About 95% of Christian conversions happen because of personal relationships and tangible experiences. It seems to me then that the primary goal of evangelism must no longer be to convince people of what we believe to be the truth, but rather to establish bonds of friendship and godly love across the great gulfs of separation. If we are to faithfully pattern our life after God's way of doing things, relationships MUST be at the forefront of our thinking. After all, the heart of existence is the Trinity -- a bond of holy relationships between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Of course, a growing understanding of biblical truth is essential to discipleship. I'm not throwing that out at all. But first things first! God's way is to first establish the relationship, then to encourage growth in grace.

New Year's Party

2007-12-30T12:44:00.001-08:00

OK, so we jumped the gun a couple of days. At Canyonville Adventist Church we did our annual New Year's party last night. We didn't stay up 'til midnight, but as always, we had tons of fun with food, active games for the kids, and table games for others. I saw some pretty enthusiastic Rook players and turkeyfoot dominoes enthusiasts having a great time, and the suitcase race for the kids was hilarious. It was a wonderful, positive time of sharing and fellowship for the church family, including all ages from babies to the elderly.

The reason I'm sharing this on the blog is that all of this is organized by our Fellowship Team. They put it together every year without any input from the pastor, the church board, or anyone else. It is part of their ministry, as expressed in their mission statement: "To allow God to create through us, a safe, united community. To nurture genuine relationships with acceptance, respect, love and bonding as a caring family." The Fellowship Team organizes and leads out in several similar events throughout the year. They give us an annual church campout, a community-wide corn feed and country gospel music jamboree, and other special times for fellowship and bonding for the church family. The point is, the team does this. They plan it, organize it, and make it happen.

Teamnet Ministries is about teamwork. Other teams within the system also carry out their purposes, and the entire system works together in a network of cooperation and mutual support. For each team to effectively do its work it must be given the A.R.K. of Empowerment: Authority to make decisions for the team; Resources needed for the task; and Knowledge of both the "what-to" and the "how-to" of thier responsibilities. When all three of those elements are in place, people are empowered for excellence in whatever field they serve. They add their talents. God multiplies the increase.

Leadership Coaching

2007-12-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

A book I recently finished reading -- Leadership Coaching: The Disciplines, Skills and Heart of a Christian Coach, by Tony Stoltzful -- has to be one of the best I've read in a long time. Teamnet Ministries lives or dies with leadership -- but not just any kind or style of leadership. Teamnet Ministries is about empowering leadership, in which leaders are focused on guiding their people into success through the A-R-K (Authority, Resources, Knowledge) of empowerment. The new discipline of coaching is tailor-made as a model for leadership and leader development in the Teamnet Ministries system. For more about Tony Stoltzful and Transformational Coaching you can visit http://www.coach22.com/ or http://www.transformationalcoaching.com/. The book is also available at http://www.amazon.com/. Kewords: Leadership Coaching.

I'll be talking more about the coaching model in future posts. I'd welcome your thoughts.

Staying Flexible

2007-12-05T14:54:00.000-08:00

It is terribly important to stay flexible if you ever want to get anything done in any organization, especially a church. Sometimes the battle over protocol or policy is just not worth the heartburn. You have to ask, Is this a mountain I am willing to die on? If not, there's nothing wrong with some compromise. Give and take is the name of effective efficiency. If you're too inflexible you become a stick-in-the-mud that stops all progress. How much more important to bend a little here or there for the sake of working together for a common goal. No, of course I'm not talking about great moral issues here. Methods rarely equate to morality. In other words, who cares how a job gets done just so long as it actually gets done! Team members and networking teams have to bend and flex in order to keep from breaking.

Well, maybe I need to modify that next-to-last sentence above just a bit. It really doesn't matter how a job gets done, just so long as it actually gets done -- and the way it gets done isn't illegal, immoral, or doesn't hurt someone. The real question is: Do we equate methods with morality. Think about it.

Eleven Months!!

2007-12-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been eleven months since I posted anything here! I've probably long since lost two-thirds of the three readers I had back then (myself plus two family members!) but my guess is that I can pick them back up without too much trouble. Dare I fantasize that someone else might actually still have the Teamnet Ministries blog on an RSS feed? If that's you, and you are reading this, blessings on you! May your tribe increase!

Now, there are some things I really want to share with you that I've experienced during these intervening months, some to do with Teamnet Ministries directly, and some things about organization health, leadership, coaching, and the like. I do want to do that in a separate post, however. So, watch for some more feeds from Teamnet Ministries blog coming soon. And, as always, your comments are coveted.

Loren

Prayer Power

2007-01-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

There is great value in using an organization model that is in harmony with the economic realities of our times. Networking is the model that grew out of the emerging information age of the late 20th century. Anything that gets done today in any field is accomplished through some kind of network. As times change, any organization wanting to stay in touch with the times seriously needs to adapt and change the way it conducts its business. A church is no exception.

There is a major difference, however, between churches and other organizations such as businesses. Churches, by definition, include a spiritual dimension. Other organzations or corporations may be able to get along just fine without prayer or Holy Spirit direction. Not so, the church. Prayer is an absolute essential for successful church life. If the Holy Spirit is not resident in the church, the church has no hope of being what it should be.

Specifically, as relates to the subject of this blog, Teamnet Ministries can only work as the entire process of church life is bathed in prayer at every step. This is vital to the success of the mission. As prayer is the life of the believer, so it is also the very life of the church. Without prayer -- serious, constant, and searching prayer, neither this nor any other system of church governance has any hope of success.

Communication Rules!

2006-12-29T21:22:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not talking about grammar. Today, after our noon meal I grabbed a piece of candy out of the left-over Halloween candy jar. I ripped the wrapper off and popped the candy in my mouth. I turned to my wife and said, "Ah ree-y aak ees sma unk-a bg unk!" She laughed at my attempts to talk with my mouth full. I tried several times, but she only laughed harder. I started to giggle myself, and finally when things cleared out sufficiently I was able to speak clearly, "I really like these small chunks of Big Hunk!" We both had a good laugh over the silliness.

But that got me thinking. How often do we try to communicate something and we might as well be speaking a completely different language? The people we're talking to just don't get it!

Teamnet Ministries -- or any networking organization for that matter -- is fueled and driven by communication. LOTS of communication between all elements of the network! Every organization operates at some level of balance between functional and dysfunctional (just like families). Mark this down: The level of dysfunction is directly related to the presence of secrets and lies within the system. Conversely, the more honest and open the information flow within the system, the healthier the system. The system will work marvelously if all relevant information is freely shared -- in a language everyone can understand!

So, there needs to be a forum, or clearinghouse of sorts for sharing plans, ideas, visions, available funding, or whatever else. Or, a telephone call or email from one team leader to another, just to ask advice, or perhaps invite the other team to share a project. It seems to me we need to develop a culture of communication, where sharing with everyone in the system comes as naturally as breathing. Is that a worthy goal? Or practical? How can we do it?

Ok. Brainstorm with me here. I'm listening.

Networking Teams

2006-12-28T09:17:00.000-08:00

I first discovered the idea of networking teams while on a long train journey from Portland, Oregon to Cincinnati, Ohio during Christmas week, 1994. To pass the time I bought a book I thought looked interesting. The contents of that book revolutionized my understanding of effective organizations in today's world. The core concepts formed the structure on which we would eventually develop Teamnet Ministries. The book was The Age of the Network: Organizing Principles for the 21st Century by Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey Stamps, Oliver Wight Publications, Inc., 1994.

In The Age of the Network, Lipnack and Stamps proposed a new type of organization, what they called a "teamnet." The idea is that while teams are the best way to get anything done, a network of teams working together creates a nearly unstopable force. They coined the term "teamnet" to capsulize their idea.

As I read the book, I got more and more excited. I could see a church organized around this principle, coupled with the biblical doctrine of spiritual gifts, and administered by visionary leaders rather than status quo managers. Old-fashioned committees that normally talk more than act could be replaced by lean, focused teams composed of dedicated, passionate church members driven Holy Spirit inspiration. At the next Nominating Committee season in the church I was then pastoring (Hamlet, Ohio) I presented some of the ideas that had been rattling around in my mind since reading Lipnack and Stamps' book. One thing led to another, and eventually the intial organizational structure of Teamnet Ministries began to take shape. In time, I wrote my doctoral dissertation on the project, which I defended in 1998, and graduated in June of that year from Andrews University with my D.Min. degree.

Since then, five churches that I have pastored have decided to try the Teamnet Ministries experiment, with varying degrees of success. Some have continued, while others have gone back to a more traditional method of filling church offices. Teamnet Ministries continues to be a work in progress as needed refinements are recognized and corrections are made.

This blog is open for input from people who have experienced working with Teamnet Ministries, for those who want to learn about it, and for those who believe in the potential of a church organized as a network of ministry teams working together for the purpose of God in the earth. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!

Teamwork - The Heart of Everything

2006-12-27T09:48:00.000-08:00

Think about it. Nothing happens anywhere in the known Universe outside of some kind of relationship. Even the physical cosmos is governed by the relationships of heavenly bodies balanced by gravity and centrifugal force. In other words, everything that is contributes to the way things are. As John Donne said, "No man is an island." We all make a difference, one way or another.

Synergy is the product of two or more entities working together for a common purpose. Synergy accomplishes more that the sum of what each individual could achieve alone. Ducks and geese fly farther together in formation than if they all flew separately. Teaming up for a common cause makes everyone in a team more successful. Teamwork works, because that is the way creation works best.

It seems to me, then, that teams and teamwork should be the most natural organizational structure for the church. Hence: Teamnet Ministries. The whole doctrine of Spiritual Gifts is built around this concept. God gives different gifts to different people to use in concert with everyone else's gifts to accomplish His purposes through the church -- the body of Christ on earth. See Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; and Ephesians 4.

In another post I'll talk about using our gifts as priests in the priesthood of all believers.

Website Update

2006-12-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

I've done a little updating and rearranging of some of the material at http://www.teamnetministries.com/ . The Introduction to Teamnet Ministries is now much easier to read and follow as I brought all the pages together onto one page. Sometime next week I plan to add several more articles to the website, spelling out the thinking behind Teamnet Ministries in more detail. As always, your comments are welcome. Let's talk!

Also, you'll notice on the left column of this page there are some new items. The "Ads by Google" are there if you want to click through to any of those sites. Plus, I've also added a section called "Some Relevant Links." If you have suggestions for some websites or other Internet places that would be appropriate to this blog, please email them to me directly at loren@akrana.com. Thanks!!

Purpose-Driven Teams Create Mission Statements

2006-12-21T08:51:00.000-08:00

In the previous post I referenced Rick Warren's book Purpose-Driven Church, with a link to the PD website. Teamnet Ministries uses the purpose-driven concept, but drives it down even further into the organization of the local church by creating purpose-driven teams for conducting the mission of the church. As I noted before, each team is created to concentrate on a specific arena of church life. After the team is formed (more on that later), the very first action the team members must work on is to formulate their own "mission statement," aka "statement of purpose."

I have found that this exercise does more to bond the individual members of the team more quickly than just about anything else. The process is every bit as important as the final product. In other words, the resulting mission statement itself is a good thing, but the time, energy, and combined efforts of the team members is actually what forms the foundation for their effectiveness as a team.

Full Steam Ahead! is a great little book by Ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner, that gives valuable insight into the components of a mission statement. You can easily order it from www.amazon.com, www.bn.com, or your local bookstore.

A Quick Introduction to Teamnet Ministries

2006-12-18T13:34:00.000-08:00

Teamnet Ministries is about trying to find a way to organize a local church for widespread involvement and broad cooperation among the people who really are the church: the individual members. I am completely convinced that the vast majority of church members really do want their membership to be meaningful and fulfilling, and they want to serve their fellow members with the gifts God has given them. Everyone wants to believe that his/her contribution makes a difference. Unless, of course, they've become so discouraged for whatever reason that they just don't care anymore. That's another story. But most church attendees/members are there for more than just the music or the potluck dinners.

Teamnet Ministries tries to address this need by organizing church life into five major arenas: Worship; Fellowship; Ministry; Evangelism; and Discipleship. If you're famaliar with Rick Warren's Purpose-Driven Church (learn about it at http://www.purposedriven.com/en-US/AboutUs/WhatIsPD/What+is+PD.htm.) you will immediately recognize where these came from. In Teamnet Ministries, each arena of church life is served by a team of people who are especially gifted or passionate about that specific ministry. Team leaders network with each other, and lead the teams first in discovering their purpose, then developing plans and excuting them to reach toward their goals.

I'll have more to say about how this works in future posts. Meanwhile, you can still jump over to www.teamnetministries.com to explore further. I've still got quite a lot of work to do over there, but all in good time . . . . I promise!

A New Beginning

2006-12-13T15:54:00.000-08:00

Ok. Here we go again. I tried to get a Teamnet Ministries blog going a while back and got discouraged with it. Now I've got inspired to give it a try again. I would welcome suggestions for future posts dealing with any aspect of Teamnet Ministries. I'd also be glad to get your emails with questions, frustrations, success stories, or whatever. Let's see if we can develop an online community for mutual support, encouragement, and active promotion of Teamnet Ministries. Anyone care to join me? Let me hear from you! God bless.

If you are reading this and wondering what Teamnet Ministries is about, you may find the material at www.teamnetministries.com helpful. After you have browsed around there for a bit, I'd be pleased to hear from you. You can email me at loren@akrana.com.