Leading the team

 For a number of years I coached baseball in our parks department leagues. The leagues had rules that ensured that every child played in each game that I thought was fair to everyone involved. At the start of each season I had a meeting with the parents of my players and went over the rules and my expectations of the players. One of the things I explained to the parents was that I would ensure each player got to play in the game according to the rules that were in place, but I would not guarantee that every player played an equal amount of time in the games. While I wanted to be fair to each player I also had a responsibility to another group, and that was the team itself. I had to coach in a way that gave the team the opportunity to win the game. Having that meeting before the season caused me to have fewer parent problems during the season than some of the other coaches had. Occasionally, there would be an issue with a parent, but I would remind them of the earlier meeting. Only once or twice did a parent remove their child from the team I was coaching.

My last year of coaching a parent came to me after the season ended thanking me for coaching his son. I had him every year on my team, and until the last year he didn't play a lot. But, he kept getting better, and the last year he became a starter. The father told me how fairly his son had been treated and how much he had developed through the practices we had over the year.

Those in leadership positions at every level face the same thing, and this is true of church leaders as well. We cannot ignore the needs of individuals while at the same time we have to remember our greater responsibility is to the organization. Colin Sewell, the owner of several auto dealerships, has said, "Leaders have to make the best decisions for the largest group of people. Therefore leaders give up the right to cater to an individual if it hurts the team or the organization."

Most pastors tend to be people pleasers, so this can be difficult, but it doesn't make it any less true. Too often, churches give veto power to an individual or small group of individuals even if most of the church agrees with the direction in which the church wants to go. This is hurtful to the church and, more importantly, the work of the Kingdom of God. What is best for the team, whether that is a church, a business or an organization, must take priority over individuals.

When I worked in denominational ministry a lady called one time complaining about how the pastor of her church dressed on Sundays. She felt he should wear a suit and tie, but she said he dressed more like he was going to the golf course than to church. I asked if the rest of the church felt as she did, and she admitted most of the church had no problem with his dress, but it prevented her from being able to worship God. She wanted to know what she should do. I told her she probably needed to find another church where the pastor dressed according to her expectations. That was not the answer she expected!

In an old Star Trek movie Spock has a line with which he was forever associated. He entered a nuclear reactor to shut it down before it exploded and was dying as a result. When asked why he did so he responded, "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Leaders need to be reminded of this truth and not allow a handful of controllers to prevent the church from moving forward. We have a responsibility to meet the needs of the individuals but not at the expense of the team. I know from experience how difficult this can be at times, but no one said leadership was easy.