The ancient Spartans were the most advanced army in their time. No other army or nation in their day fought with the same ferocity and strength that the Spartans did.
In the movie 300, there is a scene where the king asked warriors from another nation their occupations. They answered with their individual roles in the nation: farmer, blacksmith, etc. When he asked the Spartans their occupation, their response was clear – they existed as one, powerful unit, rather than a collection of men.
In ministry, each church staff and team must see themselves as Spartans in battle formation. We may have different and distinct roles – lead pastor, youth pastor, children’s minister, worship leader, etc. – but we are one unit, the church. We must be who we are, and act in our respective roles, but we MUST act as a team.
The Spartans fought in the phalanx formation. (I can hear the JH student in you giggle. But I digress.) Each warrior held his shield to a point that it held the strength of the formation and defended the man on his left. We need to be aware that not only are we a team, we are responsible for each of our team-members’ health and well-being.
I was struggling through these thoughts (and they may seem clearer at the moment since I’m not on a church staff right now) the other day, and have just a couple of questions.
What’s your role on your church staff? Pastor? Youth Pastor? Etc.?
How are you benefiting your team outside of your specific area
