Every great story involves a small team of people devoted to one cause or purpose. The San Francisco Giants are no different. Having survived six do-or-die elimination games in the National League Division and Championship Series, the Giants closed out the season in ruthless fashion, reeling off seven consecutive wins to secure their seventh world championship.
“What made them so special was they were such an unselfish group, they just loved each other and played for each other and the fans and had a never say die attitude,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said at the trophy presentation.“It’s amazing what a group of guys who play like a team can accomplish. I’m numb that we have won two World Series in the last three years.”
3 Giant Ideas
I want to take a moment and look at the three ideas in Bochy’s quote about what made the SF Giants a winning team. They had a pure motivation or as Bochy put it they where an “unselfish group… that loved each other”. They also had a clear mission which was that they “played for each other and the fans and had a never say die attitude”. Plus they had some serious team momentum with 7 straight wins in the post season and now two World Series wins in 3 years. I want to take a moment to look at how these three ideas can help us build better teams inside and outside the church.
1. Pure Motivation-
People are drawn to people and causes with a selfless motivation. Motivated by something greater than money, and personal gain. The scriptures talk about this idea at the end of 1 Cor 12 after Paul gives the most detailed description about spiritual gifts he talks about what he describes at the “most excellent way”, this is the phrase that bridges 1Cor 12 & 1 Cor 13 (also known as the love chapter). Here is what Paul says:
1Cor 13:1-3, “If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
This is to be our motivation, “love” it is the essential ingredient in everything God is a part of. Anything built for God without this ingredient is counted as nothing in His kingdom. What is your team motivation? Has it become self-centered or cluttered with mixed motives? Take a moment and re-define or clarify your teams pure motivation.
QUESTION: What is the pure motivation for your team?
2. Clear Mission-
There are so many things that we can spend our life doing, Jesus was clear about what he wanted his followers to be about, his last statement to his followers, the final thing he wanted to stick in their mind and hearts, the final word he wanted them to remember even if they forgot everything else, his CLEAR MISSION was this-
Matthew 28:18-20, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Jesus CLEAR Mission-
The mission of the church has never changed but how we choose to communicate that vision to the world does, constantly. The two essential components of the church are to-
GO DEEP- “to go and make disciples”
GO WIDE- “of all nations”
Jesus was clear about his mission and Society Church wants to be clear about ours. We want to be about taking people deep into the adventure of following Jesus, and we want to be wide in how we reach people who are far from God. We want to see a church where people from different sectors of Society come to faith in Jesus and experience for themselves what it looks like to follow Jesus with their life. Simply stated we want to be a church where Society, Faith & Life meet. We want to be a church where people can COME as they are, CONNECT through authentic relationships and GROW in our passion for God.
QUESTION: What is your mission? Is it clear? If not take some time, simplify and work on communicating clearly.
3. Team Momentum-
Momentum is forward motion fueled by a series of wins. The Giants had a great winning momentum going into the World Series. Every team has a mix of gifts, talents, abilities, personalities and life experiences. I believe that to experience a series of wins involves helping people find there place on the team. The famous Jim Collins saying illustrates this idea, he says, “you have to get the right people on the bus and then get them into the right seats.” The scriptures are also full of this idea, back when the scriptures where wrtitten there where no buses so the apotle Paul explained this concept to the church this way in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 12, 18-20:
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good….Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ…… God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.”
Paul recognized, through Gods inspiration, that God has gifted each of us differently and we must discover those gifts, develop them and use them to serve others. This is the church, the Body of Christ.
QUESTION: How can this lesson in how God has formed his Church benefit any team working towards a common goal?
Leave some thoughts below about the questions at the end of each GIANT IDEA, lets talk about it.
