How a Good Team Is Getting Better

The elders of Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois, with writer Barton Shaw standing second from left.

Over the years, I have had the pleasure to serve with 14 other men””all of them godly and devoted Christ followers whom I deeply respect.

Though we are united in a common love for the church, it probably comes as no surprise that we are a collection of men from different stages of life with varied careers, temperaments, and perspectives. This is a good thing. We are empty nesters, grandfathers, and fathers of young children. By day we are accountants, attorneys, contractors, executives, salesmen, builders, and retirees. Some are talkers while others are reflective; some are assertive and others reserved. All have passion and deep personal convictions.

In spite of these differences, we feel very fortunate to have enjoyed great unity for many years. Our discussions are open and honest, and disagreements (when they occur) are respectful. Some of the guys (the really old ones) who have served far longer than I have, remember times when things were not always so harmonious.

Growing Closer

Still, as smooth as our service together has been, a couple of experiences have shown us we need to work on growing closer as a team.

One involved changing the length of our elder terms. Last year we revised our elder terms from five years to perpetual. The five-year term had worked well in the past. It provided consistency by ensuring we always had experienced elders in place when someone”s term expired and when new elders were affirmed. The downside was the mandatory sabbatical when we would lose experienced elders as their terms expired.

With no scriptural directive for elder terms, we adopted a perpetual model with each elder subject to an annual reaffirmation by the team. We believe that growing closer will make our team stronger, and we will be more effective leaders and shepherds. With perpetual terms, this becomes even more important since we will be together for a very long time.

A more profound experience came through our long-held conviction that we needed to pray more. Elder meetings are at 6 a.m. every other Thursday. The agendas are often full, and since people need to get to work on time, meetings are focused and efficient. We open each session with a few minutes of devotions and prayer, but that hardly affords the time we need to pray as a team.

A few years ago we began meeting only for prayer on the alternate Thursdays””no agenda items. We pray for the church, salvation for the lost, unity in our team and in the church, our wonderful staff, strong marriages, and wisdom to discern the Holy Spirit”s leading.

As I said, we get along and work well together, but outside of scheduled meetings, our personal lives rarely intersect. Most of us lead our own small groups, our kids go to different schools, and we run in different circles. Other than our annual elder retreat, we are simply not around each other enough to be that involved in each other”s lives. Sure, we pray for each other, but often it is for a particular need””an illness or a work challenge. Most often we find ourselves praying for the church.

Praying for Each Other

On a prayer Thursday a few months ago, our chairman simply asked, “How is everybody doing? How can we pray for each other?” One by one each elder shared””really shared””what was going on in his life: the impact of the dismal housing market, the effects on one marriage from years battling depression, a wife”s suffering from cancer treatment, stress from enormous work pressures, and on and on. Like the others, I was aware of some of these concerns, but not all, and not to this depth.

Our prayers for each other were different that day. It is one thing to pray for the housing market to recover, but it is another thing entirely when I see my brother humbled, having been driven to his knees daily because he feels he has nowhere else to turn. I know cancer is hard, but when I see my brother broken over his wife”s pain from daily radiation, I understand in a whole new way.

Now more than ever we see the importance of growing closer as a team, and even if we cannot say we have arrived, we are getting there. We are stronger when we confide in each other, of course. My elder brothers lift me in my struggles, and I am truly encouraged. Likewise, I gain strength from them when I see them persevere and testify with their lives what it means to walk in faith. Iron does indeed sharpen iron, and the process makes us better equipped to lead.

Barton Shaw works in sales for a technology manufacturer and is an elder at Eastview Christian Church, Normal, Illinois.