The story in Matthew 20 sums up all this. When James and John’s mother came and knelt at the feet of Jesus, asking if they could have the spots next to Jesus in heaven, she was asking Jesus to make them more important than any of the other disciples. Jesus goes on to say that if we want to be considered leaders, we must first serve others. As a team member, you must serve before you can lead. The same is true for your team. Your team must serve before they can lead. This is also true for your church as a whole. Your church body must serve before they can lead. Becoming a team member is not always the easiest thing to do, but it brings tremendous individual blessing and grows the body of Christ.
Considered now to be one of the greatest presidents of all time, he was once believed to be a horrible failure. A great football coach who won multiple Super Bowl titles ended up coaching a different football team years later and failed miserably. What is it that made Abraham Lincoln and George Siefert great in the eyes of people? Both were gifted leaders who had great teams surrounding them. So, why were Abraham Lincoln and George Siefert considered failures during different stages of their careers? At those times, they were gifted leaders who had poor teams surrounding them. You’re only as great as the team that you build around you. It doesn’t matter how great a leader you are—or think you are. If you fail to build a winning team, you will fail to win. When we speak of building a team, we have to do two things. First, you have to admit that you aren’t the greatest children’s pastor or worker since the invention of sliced cheese. Second, you have to submit yourself to being part of the team. Too often, the greatest, most dynamic leaders in children’s ministry fail to allow themselves to become part of a team. They believe, or are led to believe, that they have to be the end to every problem, a superhero with Herculean strength that can solve all the problems of the world before they have had their morning coffee. Take, for instance, the ongoing ministry struggle of recruiting. Many children’s pastors end up in the box of believing they are the sole recruiter for the nursery, preschool, elementary, Wednesday night, etc. The fact is few children’s pastors are great recruiters. That is why we find so many articles and books on the art of recruiting. But I bet if you look around your church, you will begin to notice one or two people who are able to get anyone involved in a project. They have that personality that draws people to want to help. Get that person on your team, and let them solve your recruiting problem. You build your team by looking at your weaknesses, and we all have them.
Take the example of Moses from Exodus 18. Moses, after talking with his father-in-law, Jethro, and realizing what his weakness was, found people that could do the same job he was doing, and some were better at it than he was! He wasn’t afraid that someone was going to take his place as the chief judge among the Israelites. He was the man that God wanted in that job. You are the person that God wants in your job. Once you accept this, you won’t be so threatened by someone who does a part of your job better than you. My pastor and I are a great team. While we are very similar in personality type, some of my strengths are his weaknesses and vice versa. I take on those tasks that I know he doesn’t necessarily enjoy. Our team accomplishes much more and is more effective because we work together as a team. My pastor isn’t afraid that I am going to take his job. I don’t want it. I just want to be the biggest blessing I can be. Let people help you. Get over your own insecurities, and allow God to use others to make you a better person.
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