"Leading Ideas: Too Few Sunday School Teachers? Try a Team Approach | Why You Can't Build a Church around the Pastor" Lewis Center for Church Leadership for Wednesday, July 27, 2016 From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., united States

"Leading Ideas: Too Few Sunday School Teachers? Try a Team Approach | Why You Can't Build a Church around the Pastor" Lewis Center for Church Leadership for Wednesday, July 27, 2016 From the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C., united States 

Too Few Sunday School Teachers? Try a Team Approach by John W. Wimberly, Jr., Leading Ideas
John Wimberly reports how creating a team of four teachers for each children’s Sunday school classroom had the paradoxical effect of easing the burden of recruiting teachers at Western Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC. It also led to a greater sense of camaraderie and more creative problem solving.
I had been having the same conversation with Christian educators at Western Presbyterian Church for years. Frustrated, even angry, each one came to me saying, “I simply cannot get anyone to teach Sunday school. I’m using most of my time recruiting rather than supporting teachers and students. Our members say they don’t want to miss worship to teach, or they don’t want to have to come to church every week for a month while they teach because they have other things to do on some of those Sunday mornings. I have tried everything and everyone, and I just can’t get enough teachers.”
The creative approach to caring for and educating a child that developed in our new team approach led to wonderful strategies and a sense of camaraderie.
Actually, we had tried everything except one: teams. We decided to create a team of approximately four teachers for each Sunday school class. This actually meant recruiting more, rather than fewer, teachers. However the entire group, not one or two teachers, would be responsible for teaching the class. By spreading the responsibility across a group, we hoped and prayed that more people would say “yes” to teaching.
The Christian education committee members knew the current system was not working well due to a lack of teachers; however they didn’t like the idea of teams. Their concern about teams was channeled into a fair question: “If we can’t get two people to teach each class, how will we ever get four?” But after a couple of months of discussion during which the members, in good biblical fashion, gnashed their teeth, the committee voted to make the move to teams.
We were surprised at the response we received when we asked people to be part of one of the teams: “So I don’t have to be there every Sunday?” “I can trade off with another team member if something comes up at the last minute?” “We use teams at work, and I enjoy them.” In contrast to our prior struggles recruiting people to teach, we were able to fill the teams without twisting too many arms.
Emergency Coverage
As the teams began to function, wonderful things started to happen. First, our phones didn’t ring early almost every Sunday morning with a frantic teacher saying, “My daughter is sick, and I can’t make it this morning. Can you cover for me?” Instead, the teacher with the sick daughter called a teammate who came to the rescue. The Christian educator on our staff did not have to be the substitute teacher.
Creative Problem Solving
Second, teachers began to share important insights about their students with one another. When “Jimmy” acted out, the team called a meeting and developed a strategy to work with him and his parents. No one teacher felt responsible for Jimmy. They all felt responsible. The creative approach to caring for and educating a child that developed in our new team approach led to wonderful strategies to keep Jimmy engaged in class. Jimmy’s parents came to me and expressed gratitude for the way the team was caring for their son.
Camaraderie
Third, the teams developed a sense of camaraderie. People who didn’t know each other became friends and trusted each other. The bonds that developed in the Sunday school wing of the church were among the strongest in the congregation.
With the success we witnessed using teams for Christian education, Western began to use teams in many other areas of its life — ushering, caring for the facilities, providing flowers for worship, and setting up the chancel, to name a few. Members who had previously been uninvolved in anything other than attending Sunday morning worship were mobilized as team members for important tasks in ministry. Technically, I suppose the engagement of more members wasn’t a miracle, but it felt miraculous to those of us who recruited members for various jobs in the congregation.
This article is adapted from John W. Wimberly’s book Mobilizing Congregations: How Teams Can Motivate Members and Get Things Done(Rowman and Littlefield, 2015). It is available through Amazon.
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Why You Can't Build a Church around the Pastor by Roger Lovette, Leading Ideas
Reflecting on the forced resignation of a mega-church pastor in South Carolina, Roger Lovette says serious problems follow any time a church is built around a particular individual. Pastors and congregations must remember that the church belongs not to them, but to Jesus Christ.
Since I have been back in South Carolina the last four years, I have heard the NewSpring Church mentioned often. They have 30,000 members and about 17 satellite churches. Right now they are building another satellite for worship in Clemson. I know some pastors who grit their teeth when they say the NewSpring name. I have never attended a worship service there, but I have observed their worship services on the internet.
Every pastor enjoys the spotlight. But we have to remember whose church this is — Christ’s. We also have to remember we really are not Jesus.
Almost every time I hear the church mentioned, I also hear the pastor’s name: Perry Noble. Newspapers recently carried large detailed accounts about Noble’s forced resignation. The charges are a mite fuzzy, but it seems he has an alcohol problem, some marital difficulties, and has been charged with “inappropriate behavior.” The news releases say that he is under psychiatric care. His wife has been quoted as saying that she supports the resignation.
You cannot build a church — any church — around a particular individual. Almost every time this happens, serious problems follow. Mr. Noble was called not the Minister or the Pastor but really the CEO. Whatever happened to the biblical terms? Remember Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggert, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, Robert Schuller of the Crystal Cathedral? Just to name a few. The rock on which you build any church is not the pastor. Why? We all have clay feet. Some feet are clay-er than others. But if we begin to believe all the good things many say about us, we are headed for a fall. The spotlight is mesmerizing and often intoxicating. It is very easy to get lost in the trappings of ministry.
Families suffer. Marriages suffer. The person suffers. The church staff suffers. The church suffers. I cannot rejoice in this church’s embarrassment or this man’s demise from his ministry. Thousands that followed him will be disappointed and devastated. Many will drop out of the church entirely. Unbelievers on the outside will say: “See. We told you what church was like.”
This man obviously had real talent and much charisma. Most of us clergy could not build such an empire. The church has done a lot of good. They provided school supplies for disadvantaged children in many schools. They have attracted hundreds of young people who did not attend church. At Christmastime, the church has provided each student in several Title One schools with a pair of shoes. Some of these children will never forget those pencils, backpacks, and shoes. Years from now, they may not remember NewSpring by name, but they will recall that back in a hard time, there was a church that really cared for them.
Paul says that we always have the treasure in earthen vessels. And earthen vessels are not much. When we mix up the treasure and the vessel, we are in trouble. Every pastor enjoys the spotlight. We love shaking hands at the door and being told we are so great. But we have to remember whose church this is — Christ’s. We also have to remember we really are not Jesus.
Pray for our brothers and sisters at NewSpring. Pray for Perry Noble and his family. We are not to rejoice in the wrong but in the right. We’re all in the same boat — standing in need of prayer.
This article originally appeared in Roger Lovette’s blog, “Head and Heart.” Used by permission.
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The Right Question:
Leaders do not need answers. Leaders must have the right questions.
Alan Roxburgh offers a right question for churches seeking God's missional future for them:
What are the challenges we currently face for which we presently have no answer but must address if we're to live into God's future for us?
Want more Right Questions? Read Right Questions for Church Leaders

Learn How to Partner with Your Local Schools
Our local schools provide many opportunities for mission within our own neighborhoods, and increasing numbers of churches support their local schools through ministries large and small. If your congregation is considering a school-focused initiative, check out ourEngaging Local Schools Tool Kit. Learn more and watch introductory videos now.
Quotable Leadership:
I've come to believe that "preaching to the choir" is exactly the right thing to do. If I can help those who already share certain beliefs and dreams sing their song a little clearer, a little more confidently, I know they will take that song back to their networks.[Margaret J. Wheatley]

How Do New People See Your Church?
The Lewis Center asked church members in several states to attend nearby churches as visitors and report on their findings. Many reflect the difficultly churches have in viewing things from the perspective of persons new to their church. The challenge is to think of everything from arrival to departure from the perspective of someone who has never been to your church before. 

Read "To the Point: How Do New People See Your Church?" for tips on signage, hospitality, bulletins, and more.
Editors: Dr. Ann A. Michel and Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr.

Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary
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