2012 Gathering Canceled
Fellow Pastors,
Unfortunately we were not able to get enough interest in our upcoming event and need to cancel our 2012 Gathering in Chicago. Though we were excited to discuss doing ministry in teams and learn from Scott Chapman and Jeff Griffin from the Chapel, we just did not get a large enough response from everyone to warrant moving forward.
Thank you for your continued support! Be sure to check back for future updates on YPN.
Dan Spino YPN Director
The Individual and the Team
Recently we asked Jeff Knitt, Hinsdale Campus Pastor @ The Chapel (http://www.chapel.org/) to share some of his thoughts on working on a team. When asked about the challenges he faces that come with being part of a large team, this was his reply:
In my current role at a multi-site church, I work with an amazing staff team of just under 100 people. I love the people I serve with, and I’m thankful for what we get to do together…but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy.
While there are many blessings to sharing the demands and requirements that come with leadership, there are also some challenges that I didn’t initially anticipate. Multisite churches can take a variety of approaches to leadership. Our church has a strong campus leadership team for each of our campuses, but we also work very closely with our Central Teams. Our Central Teams provide support to all of the campuses and make it possible for us to be one church in multiple locations. Having this many leaders driving things on each campus allows us to provide more opportunities for the people attending, but it also creates some obstacles.
In an example Jeff gave, he talked about not being present when the team made a decision to roll out a new training program. Though he wasn’t there for the final decisions, he still had to own the training curriculum and implement it. Jeff said it was his passion, together with his team’s resourcefulness, that led to a successful implementation of the program.
I’ve learned that if we’re going to be a successful team, I need to be ready to lead with passion in all of the things we’re doing to serve our people, even if it’s something that I wasn’t a part of from the beginning.
Ministry almost always happens in teams. Teams require a unique mix of personal drive and, at the same time, a collective spirit – a give and take between the individual and the individuals.
To learn more about doing ministry in teams, join Jeff and some others this July at our next Young Pastors Network gathering.
Early Bird Registration Extended!
We have decided to extend our early bird registration period. Originally the reduced rate was good only through April 15. Now you can still take advantage of the early registration discount through April 30! If you register by April 30, 2012 you will receive an additional $50 off of registration.
Click here to register today! We hope to see you in Chicago!
2012 Gathering Details!
We have changed our conference length and have provided our schedule of events for our 2012 Young Pastors Network gathering. We will be meeting July 10-11, 2012 (instead of meeting July 10-12) on Trinity Evangelical Divinity School’s campus in Deerfield IL: 2065 Half Day Road, Deerfield, IL 60015. The conference details and logistics are listed below.
We are looking forward to our time together!
Life on the Playground: A conversation about team ministry with Scott Chapman and Jeff Griffin (co-senior pastors of The Chapel)
Remember the carefree days on the playground? We learned a lot as children there: how to swing and jump rope, how to make friends, the pleasure of independence. But at the same time, the playground is where many of us got in our first fight, first felt left out, first experienced real conflict with others. The playground is where we first learned that life is so much better, but so much harder, with other people.
Pastors live in this tension every day, whether they do so in a professional staff, with a team of elders, or a group of volunteers: ministry is so much better, but so much harder, when you do it with other people. So, how can young pastors lead teams of people well?
The Young Pastors Network invites you to join us in Chicago, July 10-11, 2012, for a conversation with Scott Chapman and Jeff Griffin, co-senior pastors of The Chapel, as we explore together the joys and frustrations of doing ministry together.
Schedule of events:
Tuesday, July 10:
11:00am – 12:30pm Check-in / Lunch in the Waybright Center
12:30 – 1:00pm Introductions
1:00 – 3:00pm Session 1: Alone in the sandbox
3:00 – 3:30pm Break – snacks provided
3:30 – 5:30pm Session 2: Team captain
5:30 – 6:15 Break / Get ready for Dinner
6:15 – 9:30 Dinner / Night Out – Location TBD
Wednesday, July 11:
9:00 – 9:30am Coffee and snacks
9:30 – 11:30am Session 3: I’ll take my ball and go home
11:30 – 1:00pm Lunch and Networking
1:00 – 3:00pm Session 4: Getting in the game
3:00 – 3:30pm Wrap-up
3:30 – 9:30pm Dinner and Fun in Chicago*
*If you plan to head back to your hotel or home, you will want to plan accordingly as we will be in Chicago this evening. There is access to the airports via the train from downtown; visit metrarail.com for more information.
Session 1: Alone in the sandbox
This session is about setting the stage for the conference. We start in the sandbox because it is one of the first places on playground where we transition from solo play to team play. It also speaks to the temptation to create on our own because it is easier than involving other people.
We all know teams are a good thing for ministry (whether you are a pastor at a multi-staff church or a solo pastor) but they are also hard to manage well. There are many advantages to teams (seems to be the biblical model, avoiding burnout, avoiding cult of personality, etc.) but lots of dysfunction as well. Sometimes, it feels like it’s easier to do it on our own. Why is that? What have been your experiences with this at The Chapel?
Session 2: Team captain
This session is about the perils of choosing the right people for our teams. How do we choose well? How do we recognize our own weaknesses and create a complimentary team of people around us? How do we create unity around a common goal/vision? Are the dynamics different between staff teams and lay teams? If so, how? How do you facilitate a team that doesn’t become a rubber-stamping group (where the leader/pastor is “answer man”)?
Session 3: I’ll take my ball and go home
This session is about dealing with conflict and general team health. What do we do when we have chosen the wrong people? What if you had no choice in your team to begin with? What if members don’t like each other or don’t like you? How do you “fire” bad volunteers? How do you cultivate healthy disagreement (to get good ideas) without stepping on people’s toes? How do you deal with bad team leadership if you aren’t leading?
Session 4: Getting in the game
This is a wrap-up session designed to target more specifically where these young pastors live and work. Topically, we’ve moved out of the sandbox and into the game.
What if you aren’t a high level leader in your organization? Can you affect change to healthy team ministry? How do you lead well from the middle (leaders over you)? What if you are in a highly silo-ed team where specialization works against global organizational thinking? How do we lead teams of volunteers with excellence? How do we lead multiple teams well?
Registration
You can register for this event here.
Lodging:
If you need to make hotel reservations for your stay while at the conference, we recommend La Quinta Inn and Suites, located at 2000 South Lakeside Dr, Bannockburn, IL 60015. Phone: 1-847-317-7300. When calling, please ask for the Trinity University Rate.
Transportation:
If you need transportation while staying in Chicago, please let us know when you register.
Vulnerability…ug!
In his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni lists five things (go figure!) that impede teams from being successful. Granted his research has been working with CEO’s, the list that he came up with is applicable to teams in the church as well – whether they are volunteer-led, staff based, or a mix of both. Here are the five things that he identified:
- Absence of Trust (evidence of this is a lack of vulnerability)
- Fear of Conflict (evidence of this is artificial harmony)
- Lack of Commitment (evidence of this is ambiguity, a lack of buy-in)
- Avoidance of Accountability (evidence of this are low standards on the team)
- Inattention to Results (evidence of this are status and ego)
At the base of every team working well together is trust. Lencioni says that an absence of trust “stems from their [team members’] unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group.” Without getting into the other dysfunctions and how they manifest themselves (I defer to Lencioni’s book, which is an easy weekend read), I thought I would spend some time on building trust and unwillingness to be vulnerable.
As I look at the various teams that I have been in and are currently in, I realize that what is often lacking is trust. I don’t trust others and others don’t trust me – it becomes a bit of a chicken or the egg thing. But at the root of it is an unwillingness to be vulnerable.
Being vulnerable means being weak. It means exposing myself as someone who is not perfectly put together and who doesn’t have all the answers. How could I function? As someone who lives under the false delusion of perfection, being vulnerable is risky. Besides my marriage, I haven’t had much success with being vulnerable either. It seems that we are not setup well in our culture to receive vulnerabilities – unless I tweet them or post them on my facebook page. At times, vulnerability requires a bit of risk management – how might this person receive what I am about to share?
And guess what happens when I start to think like this – I AM NOT VULNERABLE!
A vicious cycle. Am I alone here?
I know I have at least one person who is with me. There was a recent talk about this very topic at one of the TED Lectures – (TED.com). Brene Brown, author and researcher, discusses this very topic. Check out the video from her talk, it takes only 20 minutes.
And let me know your thoughts.
Gathering 2012…In Chicago!
Alright everyone. It’s time. Our second gathering as the Young Pastor’s Network is going to be held this summer in our new venue: Chicago!
On July 10-12, we will be hosting Scott Chapman and Jeff Griffin, senior pastors of The Chapel, a multi-site church with campuses throughout the North Shore. The conversation will center on the practice and perils of doing ministry through teams: all pastors work with teams, but how do we do it well? We are calling our gathering “Life on the Playground.”
Mark your calendars; we’d love to see you there! Be looking for more updates in the coming weeks.
Early Bird Registration Ends April 15
Don’t forget to register for our summer gathering this week to save $50 off the off the cost of registration. For more information check out the Gathering 2011 page or click here to register.
