The Newness in the Lead Team
It's been said that there are two things in life that are certain: death and taxes. True, true. But there's another thing that's certain...change. This is especially true for a new church community. A change that we have been navigating lately has been the transition to a "developing church". With this change has come the formalization of our core leadership team.
Crosspoint Church had a Lead Team in place well before we launched. This team did a fabulous job of providing advisory leadership in our first year, in keeping with the needs of a new church launch. Now, as we mature as a church community, our Lead Team will inevitably have to grow with it.
So I'm keeping you informed of some of the changes that have taken place internally on the Lead Team. I've tried to predict some of the questions you might ask and to do my best in giving you good answers.
What does the Lead Team do?
The role of the Lead Team will continue to evolve as our church grows. Now that we are a developing church in the C&MA denomination, the Lead Team acts as the “Advisory Committee” for Crosspoint.
What do they do? First and foremost, they serve - they give their time and energy for the sake of God’s glory and his people. It takes a lot of work and commitment. They provide advisory spiritual leadership for the major decisions of Crosspoint, create our annual scorecard (how we measure effectiveness), assess our church’s spiritual health and progress, assist with conflict resolution, provide some managerial and ministry assistance, and give prayer support. They are advocates for our values and mission. From time to time they will help new faces get connected. They are also a learning team, committed to reading and studying together, so that they might lead better and that we might together become better as a church.
Who are the members of the Lead Team?
Currently, our Lead Team members include:
- Josh Baergen*
- Raina Capito*
- Rob Chartrand
- Nelson Kaisowatum
- Brad Leeman*
- Chris Moore*
- Keith Piquette
- Linda Poelzer
- Curtis Torhjelm
*Indicates the four newest members of the Lead Team for 2011-12.
How was the Lead Team selected?
Last year, the original members of the Lead Team were selected by me personally, in consultation with the leadership of both Beulah and the Western Canadian District of the C&MA. I prayerfully asked individuals who I felt exemplified our Crosspoint values, were trustworthy, and were committed to being with us for the long haul. The Lead Team consisted of both staff and volunteers.
As we transitioned to a developing church, our Lead Team understood that staff members could no longer serve on the team (with the exception of the Lead Pastor). So both Rebekah Sherman and Alison Wilson willingly stepped down from the team. We then decided to add four new members.
In keeping with C&MA governance, the Lead Team (Advisory Committee) is to be appointed by both the Lead Pastor and District. But because one of our core values at Crosspoint is reproduction, empowering leaders is very important for us. Therefore, I felt it important to empower our Lead Team to wrestle with the decision of who to ask. They prayerfully considered who they might approach to join the team.
This decision was made with careful scrutiny. We used clear criteria for guiding our selection:
- mature, fully-devoted followers of Christ (2 Timothy 2:2)
- committed to the mission and values of Crosspoint Church
- have leadership competencies and/or experiences that will enable them to contribute effectively.
- have loyalty to the Lead Pastor (within reason) and in doctrinal agreement with the Statement of Faith of the Christian and Missionary Alliance of Canada
- they should be FATeR people (faithful, available, teachable and responsible)
- their lives should demonstrate the qualities essential for biblical eldership (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
There were many great possibilities of those we could have asked. At the end of the day, we approached just four people to consider joining us. After a time of prayer and reflection, all four accepted. We are thrilled to have Josh Baergen, Raina Capito, Brad Leeman and Chris Moore join our team.
The names of our new Lead Team were then submitted to our District for approval.
What about Elders?
If you are new to Crosspoint, you might not be aware how governance functions for local churches in the C&MA. At its core, we believe in a presbyterian model of governance, which means that our churches are each led by a group of elected elders (the greek word for elder is presbuteros).
Functionally, the Lead Team gives spiritual oversight to Crosspoint. But officially, they are not an elder’s board. When we transition to the next phase of our governance (organized church), we will develop a formal membership who will then elect elders. As I stated in a previous blogpost, this is a process that will emerge naturally over time.
This Sunday is our one year Churchiversary. We will be laying hands on and praying for our Lead Team. Being on this team is a high calling with much responsibility and accountability. Our members have chosen to faithfully serve our church community, under the authority of the District, and ultimately, under the authority of Christ. Please join with us in praying for them this Sunday, but more importantly, please join us in praying for them regularly and consistently.
