Wondering about the Creation of Teams

Lori Modisett, Rick Viet, Warren Frelund and I formed the team which went to the annual Living Stones conference in Des Moines this year. This sounds a little like the beginning of a bad joke: Did you hear the one about a local priest, a rector, a deacon ministry developer and a canon who all went to a conference together? But while we did a lot of laughing at ourselves, it turned out not to be a joke at all. Instead it was the creation of a real team which came up with important questions (notice: not solutions) for the Church. Which led me to wondering how we go about creating an environment which allows such unlikely but surprisingly creative teams to be born.

Elements that I identified as being important to this environment were as follows: First and perhaps foremost was the diversity of the members. This may not be evident to outsiders, but each of us on this team came with very different self-interests and perspectives. From my own balcony view of the whole diocese, to Rick and Lori’s more focused lenses in their particular kinds of congregational life, to Warren’s insistence on considering the impact on the diaconate….all of us were standing in different corners.

The second important element which shaped us was a shared interest, in our case an interest in creating a Church which is as healthy and vital a community of God as possible. We were not, and still are not, in complete agreement about what actions to take to get to this goal. What mattered to the creation of the team, though, was the absolute trust we shared in the veracity of this goal for each of the four of us. Because we trusted each other’s sincerity, we listened deeply to differing opinions. Because we trusted that God was speaking to each of us, we bit our tongues when we wanted to debate, patiently waiting for the Word to appear in discussion.

Some elements that begin to emerge in the previous paragraph need to be lifted up: trust and patience with the process. It also took time. The case study we presented at the conference required us to work together for three months before we even went to Des Moines.  In those months (all our meetings were done on the web!), we explored our presenting question with some discipline and intensity, as we had to produce a paper to share with others. So we needed both time and a time limit to be as productive as we were. And then we spent five days together at the conference, presenting our case study and acting as consultants to others as they presented their papers. Of all the things that we brought to the process, time may have been the scarcest commodity, the most valuable thing we all had to give. This common sacrifice was certainly one factor which bound us together and helped us all squeeze the most possible out of the experience.

So, ingredients for an environment in which a truly creative team can be born: diversity, shared interest, trust, patience with process and time. Come to think of it, these are not just the elements which produce good teams, but are also key nutrients for deep and vital community. I wonder how we might pour more and more of these ingredients into our common life……

(BTW-The Living Stones case study this year was on the feasibility of using local priests in rector-led congregations. Copies are available from the diocesan office.)