Working in Team Ministry

Table of Contents

Working in Team Ministry

Case Study Pack

/ Case Studiespage
Can You Discipline a Volunteer?
by Matthew Woodley...... 2
Re-evaluating Staff Roles
by Dave Wilkinson...... 3
Are Two Heads Better than One?
by Richard Doebler...... 4
The Awkward Nominee
by Larry Osborne...... 5
The Slump of Second-Guessing
by Ben Patterson...... 6
This Case Study Pack from BuildingChurchLeaders.com is a collection of tools to use with your leadership team. Each Case Study involves real-life, common church situations that invite your team’s discussion. Your leaders will be better prepared to analyze problems and make effective decisions for your church in the future.
Here’s how to use your Building Church Leaders Case Studies with your board, committees, or staff:
Print and photocopy the case study tool you’d like to use (you have permission to photocopy for church or educational use)
Hand it to your team to read
Lead a discussion based on the questions and your own experiences.
For more case study packs, complete training themes, or other training tools for church leadership, see our website at

Working in Team Ministry/Case Study

From Recruiting & Staffing

/ Can You Discipline a Volunteer?
Holding a problem worker accountable.
Matthew 18:15–20; James 4:11–12

The Case

/ Jenny Patricks served as a Sunday-school teacher, junior-choir leader, gospel-choir director, coordinator for our church auction, and a blur of other positions. Busy, creative, talented, energetic—Jenny did it all. Unfortunately, Jenny was also controlling, huffy, explosive, and hypersensitive, especially when criticized. As a result, she often stomped on the feelings of other church members.
For a few years, everyone tiptoed around Jenny’s abrasive but fragile personality.
“After all,” we reasoned, “she is doing such a wonderful ministry for our church” (and she was). Besides, her in-laws were powerful, dedicated, longtime members of our church. As time went by, however, more people were quietly gossiping or mumbling about Jenny’s destructive “servanthood.”

What WouldYou Do?

/ What are the dangers of not confronting Jenny?
What are the dangers of confronting her?
Who should confront her, if anyone?

What Happened

/ Our pastor-parish committee began discussing the problem—honestly and confidentially. Jenny had wounded nearly everyone in the room, but we worked hard to avoid a “trash Jenny” discussion. We prayed for the welfare of the church and Jenny’s soul.
After much discussion, we resolved to follow the pattern in Matthew 18, dealing gently but directly with the situation. Our committee decided the pastor should talk to Jenny first. After only a few sentences from the pastor, however, Jenny flew into a rage, stomped out of the church, resigned from every position, and then called our pastor-parish committee to complain about the “worst pastor this church has ever had.”
Our committee members didn’t waffle; they supported the pastor, quietly explaining to Jenny why we felt it was necessary to confront her. Although the experience was unpleasant, the committee actually felt tremendous relief that someone finally spoke up. Neither Jenny nor her in-laws left the church.
—Mathew Woodley

Discuss

At what point should church leaders intervene with a volunteer? What are the indicators the damage can’t be ignored any longer?
What is the biblical pattern for dealing with a destructive volunteer? How does Matthew 18 work in this situation?
How do we determine who confronts a destructive volunteer?
How well do we hold volunteers accountable?

Working in Team Ministry/Case Study

From Recruiting & Staffing

/ Re-evaluating Staff Roles
What determines the pastor’s priorities?
Acts 6:1–4; Romans 12:3–8

The Case

/ A pastor spoke to the church board of elders: “I’d like to take my study leave to attend a national seminar on preaching. It will give me some needed exposure to voices, viewpoints, and styles I don’t usually hear.”
“I think your preaching is just fine,” replied an elder. “Where you need help is in counseling. I believe you should find a training program on counseling to attend.”
“I see the importance of counseling,” the pastor responded, “but it’s not my strong suit. As this church continues to grow, quality preaching will become more and more important. I’ll have less and less time for counseling. There’s not much point for me to be better trained in something I’m going to be doing less and less.”

What WouldYou Do?

/ What’s at stake in this discussion?
What is the perspective of the board member?
What is the perspective of the pastor?

What Happened

/ The board voted to allow the pastor to attend the seminar on preaching. The board also looked at the budget and realized the congregation could add a part-time associate pastor who would focus on counseling and small groups. Six months later the congregation called a second pastor. A potentially divisive issue served as a catalyst to move the church to visionary thinking.
—Dave Wilkinson

Discuss

How does a pastor’s role change as a church grows? How does Acts 6 speak to this?
Who decides the ministry priorities for the pastor?
Can our congregation experience numerical growth with our current staff size?
What is our philosophy of staffing? Do we staff for growth or do we staff once the church has grown to support a new staff member?

Working in Team Ministry/Case Study

From Handling Conflict

/ Are Two Heads Better than One?
Help for handling a conflict between key leaders.
Proverbs 18:15; 25:11

The Case

/ Crest Falls Assembly hired two part-time children’s directors, Sue and Cindy, to co-direct the growing children’s program. Their roles in the Christian education department were defined carefully—Sue would handle preschool, and Cindy would handle elementary. When their functions overlapped, they would combine their efforts, and both would answer to Phil, the associate pastor.
Sue and Cindy’s personality differences soon led to problems. Cindy was driven to excel while Sue worked in a more relaxed mode.
“Sue won’t carry her share of the load,” Cindy complained to Phil. “She’s big on talk but doesn’t get things done.” Cindy spent hours preparing only to see Sue show up barely in time for an event.
Sue saw things differently. “I’m getting paid for only 25 hours a week,” she said with a shrug. Sue didn’t feel obligated to work extra hours without pay just because Cindy did.
Phil suspected Sue, who spent hours building relationships with her workers, could work more efficiently. But his guess was that no matter what he said, Sue would remain unmotivated while Cindy would always push for more.

What WouldYou Do?

/ If you were Phil, what would you say to Cindy?
Would it help if Phil pronounced one director right and the other wrong? Why or why not?

What Happened

/ Phil used a personality assessment to help both women understand themselves better, but he still had to deal with the problem.
Phil listened as Cindy vented her frustrations, a process that helped her gain perspective. She also learned that to lower her expectations for Sue wasn’t compromising her work ethic—as long as Phil wouldn’t hold her liable for Sue’s unfinished assignments.
Phil challenged Sue to spend her work hours more wisely. “We don’t need you as a counselor,” he said. “We need you doing those things that most benefit the children’s ministry.” Sue began to let go of less productive activities and adjusted her work style.
Together Cindy and Sue distributed assignments more evenly, dividing them so they could work independently. One teachers’ workshop, for example, would be Cindy’s responsibility alone, allowing her to do her best without begrudging Sue’s lack of involvement. The next workshop would be Sue’s, allowing her to work at her pace without feeling pressured by Cindy The tension in their relationship diminished, and Phil’s role as mediator eventually shrank.
—Richard Doebler

Discuss

Can teams function with two leaders in charge?
What’s the best way to reconfigure job assignments to reflect personality needs without demoralizing the staff?

Working in Team Ministry/Case Study

From Character of a Leader

/ The Awkward Nominee
When should leaders speak up?
Acts 15:36–40

The Case

/ A godly man with a totally different philosophy of leadership than the board’s had been put forward by numerous members of the congregation. When our nominating committee came to his name, there was an uncomfortable silence. He had served the church faithfully in the past, yet everyone knew he wouldn’t fit the leadership team. The problems would be philosophical, not spiritual, but problems nonetheless. I wondered, Should I speak up?

What WouldYou Do?

/ Would you have the courage to speak up in this situation?
If the man with the different philosophy of leadership was a friend of yours, would you defend him? Why or why not?
What prevents us from being honest in such situations?

What Happened

/ After what seemed like an eternity, I swallowed hard and spoke up: “I don’t think we should have him run; we’ll end up spending all our meetings going around in circles.”
Once that was on the table, a couple of others were quick to agree. After a brief discussion, we came to a unanimous consensus to nominate someone else. It was obvious that others felt as strongly as I did, but no one had said a word until I broke the ice. Our consensus, a wise one, would have remained unspoken and unacted upon.
—Larry Osborne

Discuss

What do you think the phrase “the problems would be philosophical” means?
What kinds of “philosophical differences” would be worth asking about?
Are philosophical differences important enough not to nominate someone for a leadership position in the church?
Are there other, perhaps unspoken qualifications for leadership in our church other than just biblical character? What are they?

Working in Team Ministry/Case Study

From Leadership Foundations

/ The Slump of Second-Guessing
Making a decision doesn’t always rest the case.
Proverbs 6:1–5; Luke 11:29–32; Philippians 3:12–16

The Case

/ I believed our church should focus on building more leaders. So I met with members of the church board and said, “I need 10 men who’ll meet with me for a year to study and pray. Those men will in turn disciple other men in the church. Our goal will be to disciple 50 men over the next five years.”
The board approved the plan for Project Mustard Seed. But some board members began having second thoughts. “I think Project Mustard Seed is a great idea,” one said. “But maybe we should have waited. Right now, we should really be spending more time visiting all the groups in the church and make them feel supported before starting something new.”
Other members of the board began to agonize about whether they had made the right choice: Was it too late to back out? What would people who had been asked to participate in Mustard Seed think if the board pulled the program? Would the idea ever get off the ground?

What WouldYou Do?

/ What can a board do when various people, including members of the board, begin to second-guess a decision it has made?
When should we hold firm to what’s been decided, despite criticism, and when should we change our decision?
What are some things we can do to assure that once a decision has been made, there isn’t a great deal of second-guessing?

What Happened

/ We all want to be like Jonah and have God audibly tell us, “Go to Nineveh.” No mistake there! Though clear signs don’t come as often as we want, we must not despair. Once in awhile, however, especially when we’re attentive, God clarifies our uncertainty.
I was still stewing over the dilemma when I was vacationing in England. While touring the annual flower festival in a small Welsh village, I saw a display of the book I had just written titled Waiting. Alongside the stack of books was a flower pot with mustard seeds sprinkled over the top. The object lesson was a powerful confirmation of what God wanted done with Project Mustard Seed.
The board readily agreed to put the program on hold till a later time.
Leadership doesn’t always equal certainty. We are quite willing and able to press ahead when we have no doubts. But we live as imperfect people in an imperfect world. True leadership sees the inevitable ambiguities of ministry yet has the spiritual sensitivity and resolve to advance through them.
— Ben Patterson. Adapted from Who’s in Charge? (Multnomah Books, 1993). Used with permission.

Discuss

According to Proverbs 6:1–5, what should we do with an unwise decision?
When is it better to wait for consensus on a decision rather than a simple majority before proceeding?
Suggest some ways we can deal with people’s doubts or criticism of a board decision.