The Twin Marks of Joyful Plurality
Church planters have the opportunity to build and develop a plurality of elders through a slow and measured process. It’s not effortless, mind you, but these men have time on their side. And the eldership manuals by Strauch, Dever, or Bannerman are companions to guide them along the way.
Others, like me in my first pastorate, inherit a plurality almost overnight through a church crisis, or perhaps through being hired to lead an established church. Right away, one discovers that having a plurality of elders is not synonymous with enjoying a united leadership team. Surprisingly, shared values, mutual respect, relational history, denominational affiliation, and constitutional responsibility do not automatically conjure up the kind of culture where doing ministry together is joyful.
In fact, church cultures are sometimes marked by rivalry, self-protection, and competing agendas. The apostle Paul got this.
“In fact, church cultures are sometimes marked by rivalry, self-protection, and competing agendas.”
While the Philippian church and its leadership had many assets, wholehearted unity was not among them. Paul exhorts the church, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). Selfish ambition and conceit were undermining the unity and joy in the Philippian church. Later on, in chapter 4, Paul mentions two women, Euodia and Syntyche, with disagreement so pronounced that he must address it publicly—from prison!
This wasn’t just messy for Paul; it was joy-killing. For him, unity inspired delight. “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Phil. 2:2). When we dissect Paul’s vision of unity, we find gritty ingredients like humility (Phil. 2:3) and an earnest commitment to the interests of others (Phil. 2:4). When these key values are practiced, team cultures grow healthy, and ministry becomes sweet.
Paul’s vision reminds us of a principle that’s true of pluralities: The greater the unity among the workers, the deeper their joy in the work.
Allow me to unpack this a little more. What’s the connection between a healthy leadership community and delight in ministry? And what is it about the marks of humble surrender and commitment that deliver us joy?
The Joy in Surrendering
In his book Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek tells the story of a former undersecretary of defense who gave a speech at a large conference. The decorated official took his place on the stage and began his speech. Then he paused to take a sip of coffee from the Styrofoam cup that he’d brought with him on stage. Sinek describes the scene:
He took another sip, looked down at the cup and smiled. “You know,” he said, interrupting his own speech, “I spoke here last year. I presented at this same conference on this same stage. But last year, I was still an undersecretary,” he said. “I flew here in business class and when I landed, there was someone waiting for me at the airport to take me to my hotel. Upon arriving at my hotel,” he continued, “there was someone else waiting for me. They had already checked me into the hotel, so they handed me my key and escorted me up to my room. The next morning, when I came down, again there was someone waiting for me in the lobby to drive me to this same venue that we are in today. I was taken through a back entrance, shown to the green room and handed a cup of coffee in a beautiful ceramic cup.”
“But this year, as I stand here to speak to you, I am no longer the undersecretary,” he continued. “I flew here coach class and when I arrived at the airport yesterday there was no one there to meet me. I took a taxi to the hotel, and when I got there, I checked myself in and went by myself to my room. This morning, I came down to the lobby and caught another taxi to come here. I came in the front door and found my way backstage. Once there, I asked one of the techs if there was any coffee. He pointed to a coffee machine on a table against the wall. So I walked over and poured myself a cup of coffee into this here Styrofoam cup,” he said as he raised the cup to show the audience.
“It occurs to me,” he continued, “the ceramic cup they gave me last year . . . it was never meant for me at all. It was meant for the position I held. I deserve a Styrofoam cup.” (Simon Sinek, Leaders Eat Last, 84–85.)
The truth is that we all deserve the Styrofoam cup. There are undeniable perks and advantages that come with being a pastor or elder in a local church. But they aren’t meant for us as individuals. They’re meant for the role we fill. As roles change, privileges must be transferred. Guys who don’t get this often tank after transitions.
Only Jesus has an unalterable role. The rest of us are just keeping the seat warm for the next guy. The day will come when we will vacate our roles and surrender our privileges to the ones who come behind us. When that day comes for you, remember to give up the beautiful ceramic mug and embrace the Styrofoam cup.
In Philippians, Paul makes clear that the path to joyful partnership runs through surrender. He writes. “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3). Effective teams aren’t built when elders constantly assert their rights or indulge self-exalting dreams for glory. Rather, unity comes when we surrender our claims of significance and count one another better than ourselves. When humble character inspires an unselfish culture, healthy teams are formed and sustained. When describing Lincoln’s team of rivals, Doris Kearns Goodwin offered a very insightful one-liner: “In his paradigm of team leadership, greatness was grounded in goodness” (Team of Rivals, 226). One might wonder whether old Abe lifted that approach straight out of Philippians 2!
“Only Jesus has an unalterable role. The rest of us are just keeping the seat warm for the next guy.”
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant” (Phil. 2:5–7). Jesus could have kept the privileges of heaven, but he knew there was a greater joy in surrendering them. For the sake of that joy, Jesus endured the cross (Phil. 2:8–11; Heb. 12:1–2). What’s amazing is that Jesus is the only man in human history who truly deserved all of his privileges. And yet he found joy in renouncing certain prerogatives—in becoming like us to make us more like him. He was delighted to make us partakers of his glory. Jesus found joy in humbly spreading those privileges around.
Because he loved us in this way, we can follow his path. We too can surrender.
The Joy in Commitment
When Paul wrote the elders and deacons in Philippi, he didn’t just want them to be humble and unified for the value of their own joy. Nor did he address this group as a set of ministry professionals who would dutifully mobilize for mission. When Paul gave joyful thanks for their “partnership [koinōnia] in the gospel from the first day until now” (Phil. 1:5), he was writing to leaders whom he knew well and loved dearly, leaders to whom he felt devoted.
Paul’s idea of a koinōnia, a partnering fellowship, included an intentional commitment to the Philippians’ welfare. The apostle’s ongoing connection with the Philippian church was one of nourishment and strengthening. That’s why he deploys Timothy and Epaphroditus in Philippians 2:19–30. His goal for the Philippians wasn’t transactional—you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours. No, he was committed to them (v. 20). He wanted this church to be encouraged, to be joyfully cheered up by the ministry they’d receive from the visiting friends he was sending back to them (vv. 19, 28). He was seeking the fruit that increases to their credit (Phil 4:18).
You see, when love makes a promise, real commitments—the durable kind—are born. When those commitments are directed toward others, particularly within a team of leaders, it raises us above our own maladies and absurdities to opportunities provided by the mission and the needs of others. In short, our common commitments bring us joy. It was true in Philippi and has been proven true throughout history.
Content taken from The Plurality Principle by Dave Harvey, ©2021. Used by permission of Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, crossway.org.
Dave Harvey (DMin, Westminster Theological Seminary) is the president of Great Commission Collective, a church-planting ministry. Dave pastored for thirty-three years, founded AmICalled.com, and travels widely across networks and denominations as a popular conference speaker. He is the author of When Sinners Say “I Do”; I Still Do!; Am I Called?; and Rescuing Ambition; and coauthor of Letting Go. Dave and his wife, Kimm, live in southwest Florida. He also writes at RevDaveHarvey.com, and you can follow him on Twitter.