Does Your Team Need CPR?

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Let’s ask a simple question: “Does your team need CPR?”

There’s a simple model for diagnosing an organization’s missional health. I say missional, indicating a task that’s been discerned and understood, but will anything be accomplished? Will the task be finished?

In the church, great teams envision an assignment meted by God, and move to obey; but too often nothing happens. Perhaps there are too many meetings, a lack of faith, or discouraging obstacles, and these failed assignments accumulate, resulting in frustrated teammates too ready to cast their skepticism on the next mention of a new idea.

What’s the simple plan to keep a team from getting frustrated with failed tasks?

Let’s learn CPR (not the medical Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation) but organizational  Clarity, People, and Resources. When you begin a new task, ask, “Do we know or have the correct CPR?”

Clarity

Some God-given visions arrive clear, like “Moses, set my people free,” or “Paul, preach to the Gentiles,” but most must develop into action steps through prayer, processing, and patience.

Directional burdens begin with a statement like, “We should support foreign missions.” Then, after prayer and conversation, to, “I think we should support Kristie Ward at Naomi’s Heart Mission* in the Philippines.” Then, “Okay, let’s have her come to our church and talk about the ministry, so we will know what to do.”

Prayer — Processing — Patience!

People

A clear purpose without the correct people will fail. Those on the team should be compatible, confessing, and courageous.

Certain types of people react to one another; only in unity can vision be bound in heaven to be accomplished on earth. Unity is impossible without confession, all pulling together, admitting mistakes, giving and taking, and having a feeling that it’s okay to be honest. And last, courage, as every purposeful act requires faith.

Compatible — Confessing — Courage!

Resources

What’s needed to accomplish an assignment?

Money, buildings, cars, equipment, or other resources do not grow on trees, but all of them do hang as fruit of God’s provision. To have the appropriate resources, there must be sacrifice, steps, and stewardship.

Conviction to a task means selling all for the pearl of great price, a willingness to take that first step (stop talking and do something), and being a faithful steward of the resources and blessings God brings to our efforts. 

Sacrifice – Steps – Courage!

I’ve found the following verses helpful in learning the CPR organizational technique.

Clarity

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you (James 1:5, NIV).

People

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).

Resources

My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

With CPR, all three are necessary. What use is clarity without people and resources, or people without clarity or resources, or resources with no clarity or people? The next time you’re on a team, it’s important to perform CPR immediately!

*If you are interested in helping children in the Philippines, go to the Naomi’s Heart Mission website.