It's Easier Together: Christian Teamwork through the Eyes of Ruling Elders in Mid-Sized Reformed Churches

Matt Giesman

Etd

It's Easier Together: Christian Teamwork through the Eyes of Ruling Elders in Mid-Sized Reformed Churches

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MLA citation style (9th ed.)

Matt Giesman. It's Easier Together: Christian Teamwork Through the Eyes of Ruling Elders In Mid-sized Reformed Churches. rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/93873b57-6004-424c-84c8-5f87d337580d.

APA citation style (7th ed.)

M. Giesman. It's Easier Together: Christian Teamwork through the Eyes of Ruling Elders in Mid-Sized Reformed Churches. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/93873b57-6004-424c-84c8-5f87d337580d

Chicago citation style (CMOS 17, author-date)

Matt Giesman. It's Easier Together: Christian Teamwork Through the Eyes of Ruling Elders In Mid-Sized Reformed Churches. https://rim.ir.atla.com/concern/etds/93873b57-6004-424c-84c8-5f87d337580d.

Note: These citations are programmatically generated and may be incomplete.

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Matt Giesman

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate how ruling elders from mid-sized Reformed churches describe their teamwork. The assumption of this study is that most pastors do not begin their ministry with a sufficient understanding of the need for teamwork amongst their lay leaders and that such teamwork is vital to their ministry success. This study utilized a qualitative design using semi-structured interviews with eight elders at mid-sized churches (approximately 150-450 in attendance) in the Presbyterian Church in America. The literature review and analysis of the eight interviews focused on three key areas to understand the nature of teamwork in mid-sized Reformed churches: trust in teams, power dynamics in teams, and the parity of elders. This study found that the following are the five most common descriptions of teamwork in mid-sized Reformed churches: fellowship beyond business hours builds trust and teamwork; healthy conflict and patient listening are hallmarks of healthy teamwork; power is used “judiciously” in healthy teams; consensus is sought and usually achieved in healthy teams; healthy teams are humble, with no MVP, with no head except Christ. Therefore, the study concluded that these strategies should be implemented and modeled in mid-sized Reformed churches by elders.

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