Miracle-like Organization Design

Back in March, I was blogging about golf clubs and ministry resources. In the interim, God led me into a new ministry/career path of church consulting. That has been a great path. However, I will now return to an area that I am both passionate about and will specialize in as I consult in the future. Consider these thoughts about organization design and staffing.

The 2004 Disney movie Miracle about the USA hockey team victory in 1980 over the USSR was widely praised. It accurately told the story of the coaches and players on and off the ice. It was equally effective for another very important reason. Think about the casting job for a minute. If you want this movie to succeed, what is it that you are looking for? Matt Damon and Ben Affleck might work. They not only can act but they have the Boston accents to match the backgrounds of goalie Jim Craig and Mike Eruzione. Instead, the director went for hockey players who had an aptitude for acting. This was a movie about hockey and the players had to be able to play hockey.

Come now to the “casting” sessions in Church A and Church B. These churches each have a clear direction from God and a unified leadership team. With growth, they now realize that they need to add a pastor of small group ministry. Church A decides to hire a friend of the Sr. Pastor because they have a long history together and a strong friendship. A year later, small group ministry has gone backward and the Sr. Pastor is negotiating an agreement with his friend to “try harder”.

Church B takes the time to ask what types of skills will make a small group pastor successful. They are concerned about character and compatibility of this pastor with the church culture and staff. They are equally concerned that he or she has the required strengths to develop a lay leadership team that can multiply itself with growth. The first candidate interrupts the interview and says, “What do you mean, 'Can I play hockey?'.”

I recommend that you rent or download the movie Miracle and ponder your staffing practices. Better yet, watch it with your board and selected staff members, and then discuss this topic.