Back in January our leadership and staff teams from our Lincoln Park and Lakeview locations took a few days to get away together, connect, plan, pray, worship and have fun. We had a really great time together.
One of the fruits of this retreat was a plan for more consistent connection for this group. We call it our CORE team. Whereas before our staff and leadership teams were not spending a lot of time together, now we gather every other Monday for a few hours to eat together and then to have an activity which is at the discretion of that week's host.
It has turned out to be a great tool for deepening our connection and team identity. It really functions as the core small group of the church.
This past Monday we gathered at our Lincoln Park location for a dinner of Mr. Sub, had a brief group time for catch up and encouragement and then split up into smaller teams and prayer-walked through New Life Lincoln Park's building. It was powerful to hear people praying together that evening. I sensed that God was moving in each prayer group. No one seemed in too big a hurry to stop and go home.
I feel like I am in a constant learning process about how to build and maintain healthy teams. I believe it is probably my most important and challenging responsibility as a pastor. A team is a little bit like a garden. If you ignore it, it will become overrun with weeds and will be robbed by little furry varmints. But if you tend to it regularly, it can yield incredible fruit.
Here's what I'm wondering--garden's have the "Garden Weasel". Is there an equivalent for leading teams? Hmmm.
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