Resilience is a Team Sport
Below you will find an excerpt from my latest book, The Reslience Factor, written along with Warren Bird and Ryan Hartwig.
——————————————————————————————————————-
You probably saw the heart-wrenching photos in the news, and maybe even said a prayer. On November 8, 2018, a massive forest fire, whipped by 50 mile-an-hour winds, virtually razed the town of Paradise, California.
When the devastation ended, the town of 27,000 people was nearly erased. 13,000 homes and many businesses—some 85% of the town’s structures—had vanished in a few minutes. Abandoned cars melted down to their axles as people fled.
Worse, not only did this most destructive wildfire in California’s recent history destroy structures, but it also obliterated a once tight-knit community of families, friends, neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and churches. In the months that followed, people fought to put their lives—and community—back together. Many had to find new homes, new jobs, new schools, and new relationships. Ultimately, a new normal.
You might think that in the wake of such devastation, the survivors would have simply waved the white flag and given up completely on the place they once called home.
Many did, but not Paradise Alliance Church. They did just the opposite. The church chose to strategically partner in rebuilding a new community. Their teams rose to the challenge of the hour. They rose to a level of resilience that enabled them to significantly serve their community, while also transforming each team member.
Take the pastoral staff at the church. "Some people within our staff and leadership teams wanted us to focus primarily on the people in our congregation,” reported Josh Gallagher, the lead pastor. “Instead, we decided that this was God’s moment for us to demonstrate to the community that ‘you are loved’—the catchphrase we use for our church.”
This was not an easy shift, as each staff member had been personally impacted by trauma and loss. Nor was it a comfortable shift. “Every single team member who chose to stay had to adapt a new paradigm for what it means to be on ‘their’ team,” Josh said. “In the end, the people that thrived—the ones who were the most resilient—were those who realized that they had to transition both in how we think about our roles and our ministry, and also in being willing to be okay with so much unknown ahead.”
But not everyone thrived in this new normal. Some team members could not or chose not to embrace the changes. “I took it personally when one of my team members walked away from what God was doing,” Josh said, “but I eventually realized that the group could still become healthier and better without certain people on the team. Ultimately, I decided that when God removes a team member, it is to raise up new members.”
Everyone who remained was willing to say, “I’ll do whatever needs to be done for the sake of the church and our community.” That meant adjusting people’s roles, the church budget, and how they executed team meetings—as well as how they served the community.
For example, many relief centers popped up in the aftermath of the fire, but no place existed for the community itself to gather. So the church started a Thursday-night dinner, feeding people a high-quality meal, and providing a chance for the community to come together. “At its height we were serving 1,000 meals a week,” Josh said.
As the first anniversary of the fire approached, anticipating that people would want to reflect, the church put on an event that drew 5,000 people—a sizable percentage of those who had remained or were beginning to return. “We wanted to be the center of hope for the community. We wanted to convey: There’s still hope here. God has a plan for you,” Josh explained. Each year since then, the church has done something on that fateful anniversary.
“We arrived at this point only because God allowed us to re-imagine ourselves as a team,” Josh summarized. “I had no idea that such resilience could come from so many people—but God did. Today we are a team that through Him can face anything. Plus, our reputation in the community has changed for the better. We are known today as the ”You-Are-Loved Church’.”
Despite the circumstances before them, and despite the hardships they faced, the teams at Paradise Alliance Church chose to allow the experience to strengthen their resolve, learn from the chaos, define and accomplish new goals, and experience the deep satisfaction that only endurance can produce. These were resilient people who formed resilient teams that faced—with excellence—even the most oppressive set of challenges. They possessed the resilience factor!
Does Resilient Describe You or Your Team?
If your church, ministry, or organization is like most others, you’ve taken some form of significant hit pretty much every year, with or without a pandemic. But unfortunately, your team probably isn’t ready today for what's coming tomorrow. Every team is one "hit" away from chaos, crashing your momentum, or even collapse. But God has called your team to a good work by His enabling, and you have worked too hard for too long for a wipeout to be the case for your team. You need an advantage. Your team needs the secret weapon many in leadership never saw coming, but wise Christians, psychologists, and sociologists have known about for years. You need resilience!
Resilient:
able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens;
able to return to an original shape after being pulled, stretched, pressed, bent, etc.
If there’s anything your church, your ministry, or your organization needs to walk successfully and confidently into an unknown future, it’s the resilience factor. If a team embodies the kind of resilience we describe in this book, it will grow unbreakable, able to face anything while flourishing in the process.
Today’s the day to begin the journey of building an unbreakable team for your future. Whether or not you are the designated leader of your team, you can play a vital role to spur your team to grow more effective, more healthy, and more resilient. In the following pages, we’ll show you how.
———————————————————————————————————————————-
If you want to know more, check out the recent publishers weekly write up! Also, pre-order today!