Lesson #8: Big teams need a smaller team within the team
Mars Hill Church is a big team. Ten campuses, a couple dozen services, forty-something elders and growing. I don't know how many hundreds of deacons, hundreds of community group leaders. There are a lot of big teams that need smaller teams within the teams.
Jesus has the seventy. They're mentioned as a number in the Bible. There are twelve that he's appointing as apostles, and within that team he's got Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Peter's the senior leader, but the inner team of leaders is Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They're listed together. They get special access to Jesus. They get special training from Jesus, and they make certain decisions that others don't get to make. So big teams need teams within the teams.
Is he really comparing the Mars Hill organization and hierarchy to the twelve apostles and the seventy who were sent out? I can't imagine he is but boy it sure sounds that way. It is always appropriate to be extraordinarily cautious when reading your tradition or organization or preference back into the pages of the New Testament.
2 comments:
If I could actually interact with the "Preaching Pastor" on his "blog", I would ask for a couple of scripture references for "They get special training from Jesus, and they make certain decisions that others don't get to make."
I'm wondering how he would explain poor old John there at Patmos with those three unfilled "team" positions - especially Peter's "senior leader" position. I mean really, how could he possibly function?
But then I guess I'm probably just considered a "listening laity" (small "l"). Or for that matter I could be one of the hundreds of deacons or group leaders he doesn't even know exist.
Eric,
I found that odd as well that the "church" he leads has hundreds of leaders that he admits he doesn't know. If he doesn't know the deacons, he surely doesn't know the laity. How exactly is he "pastoring" people he doesn't even know?
Post a Comment