Team Synergy

Synergy is a trendy word in the business world.  Every organization wants to develop synergy.  It seems every leadership book at some level points people in the best way to gain synergy within their organization.  Synergy is the difference between acceptable and exceptional results.  Synergy exists when the team accomplishes more together than they would as individuals.  As I think about that definition, I see a picture of the church.  As the Body of Christ we produce more as a group than we could as individuals.  I also see a picture of how we organize as Southern Baptists through the Cooperative Program.  We accomplish more through cooperation than we would as individual churches doing missions on our own.  I truly believe that when you give a team a significant goal and the power to accomplish that goal, then synergy will soon be the result.  Synergy can only exist within a team.  “A team is a group of interdependent people committed to a common purpose who choose to cooperate in order to achieve exceptional results.” 

As we consider the need to reorganize the structure of our church we must consider not only if something works but if it is the best way for us to live as the Body of Christ.  I have first hand experience in the efficiency and effectiveness of the team structure.  I know it works.  There are also thousands of churches, both large and small, that have testimonies of how it works.  But beyond whether a team structure works is whether it serves as a catalyst in living as the Body of Christ.  When we think about a human body we see a picture of the most powerful team in existence.  It is amazing how the different parts of our body work together to accomplish the same goal.  The body is the greatest example of team synergy.  Remove one part of the body and it affects the efficiency of the whole.  There is also not a single part of the body that can function in its designed purpose disconnected from the whole.  This is the example Paul gave us in 1 Corinthians 12.  I believe that the most efficient and effective model for us to live out our purpose and accomplish our vision is through a team structure.

Sunday night at 4:00 we will meet for another opportunity to inform and answer any questions you may have concerning a team structure.  In next Sunday’s business meeting I will make a motion that we commission a Restructuring Team, nominated by the Nominating Committee and approved by the church, with the task of presenting to the church a team structure that is built around our purpose statement.  They will also be tasked with rewriting the Policy and Procedure Manuel in the areas it relates to the church structure.  It will be the goal of the Restructuring Team to present a plan in the September business meeting to be voted on in the October business meeting so that if passed it could be implemented in January of 2015 as part of our 45 year anniversary.  I am excited to see how God uses this to build synergy within Eastern Heights Baptist Church.