Leadership Communities, Part 1

I recently happened upon an article by George Bullard provocatively entitled, “Abandon Committees, Skip Teams, and Embrace Communities” (www.bullardjournal.org). It certainly caught my attention, and I read through the article, which I find helpful in explaining what’s going on in the wider Church.

The unspoken premise is that culture, relationships and systems of organizing have changed drastically in the last few decades. These affect the way ‘church’ is ‘done,’ and our exploring the differences may help us minister more effectively to the world around us. Here are four of the eight differences…

Difference One—Formation: Committees tend to be elected or appointed in keeping with the bylaws, policies, or polity of congregations. Teams are recruited or drafted to work on a specific task or set of tasks. Communities are voluntarily connected in search of genuine and meaningful experiences.

Difference Two—Focus: Committees focus on making decisions or setting policies. Teams focus on maturing to the point that they become high task performance groups. Communities add qualitative relationships, meaning, and experiences to the organizations, organisms, or movements to which they are connected.

Difference Three—Membership: Committees tend to have a fixed term of membership. Teams may have a defined term of membership, or may serve until a certain set of tasks is completed. Communities have no bounded membership and people tend to come and go based on their continuing interest in the journey.

Difference Four—Outside Assistance: Committees seek high quality training events or consultants if they need outside assistance. Teams partner with respected practitioners or coaches. Communities align with champions or advocates who come alongside them in long-term relationships.

Blessings,
JON