The mission statement of Tabernacle of Praise (TOP) is simple. Anyone can can see at a glance who we are and what we do. Strangely, such simplicity has had me working full time for the past two and a half years struggling to do it.
Tabernacle of Praise exists as a team to reconcile the lost and disciple believers here in Crawford County and beyond.
Easier said than done, right? I wouldn’t have it any other way.
All of my responsibilities as a pastor center around this small sentence, but this year I believe that God is wanting to focus on one phrase within that statement: “TOP exists as a team…” To me, this is the most difficult mandate ever given to a leader. Imagine God giving a pep talk to a new leadership recruit with the following:
“Alright, son. Just wait until you see what I’ve got in mind for you. It’s great! You are going to do amazing things–things that will change the world. You are going to heal the brokenhearted, bring justice to the poor and reconcile people who are lost to me. Don’t worry. I know that you’re not perfect. You don’t know everything, but that’s okay. I’ll lead you. To help you I’ve assembled a group of flawed, immature people just like yourself to help along the way. Make them a team, son. Have fun!”
Umm. Where’s the A Team? Why can’t we just fulfill the mission on our own? Most leaders would rather herd cats then build a ministry team. It’s tough. Beyond the fact that we are all flawed human beings who constantly rub each other the wrong way, there is the blaring challenge of producing a singular vision for the entire team to buy in to and follow. After a singular vision, then we have to produce an inclusive strategy to bring each team member (and potential new members) on board. This year, TOP is one step closer in our work of team building.
We have a strategy at TOP in which everyone can be a part: Prayer, Witness, Community, Worship and Service. This strategy will work, but we must have everyone involved or it will fail. Each year, we try to recruit more members to work with us in this strategy. Last year, the elders and I noticed that church projects involving performing arts received a lot of support from all of the members. Many volunteers, many contributions, and many compliments. We realized that this is because the sense of accomplishment in our team was immediate and strong when we hosted a performing arts outreach.
So, this year we are focusing our planning efforts on performing art outreaches. We are already seeing a large, positive response from our team members. In the last two weeks alone, we have recruited a volunteer team of actors and tech crew to help me preach a six week series called Romance God’s Way. Tomorrow is the kickoff for the series with the message entitled “Dating 101.” By merging performing arts with the series, we are able to involve a team of artists in the work of preaching.
This is what you can expect at TOP in 2010–more art, more music, more team work. There will be opportunities like never before to get involved for both artists and non-artists. Actually, I believe everyone is an artist. We exist as a team, and we are going to fulfill the mission together.
How do you encourage team work and participation in your organization?
