Where I am from, there is a lot of church teaming that goes on. If you are unfamiliar with the term that I coined, I will explain it for you. From how I read the Bible, all believers are to work together for the kingdom. We are supposed to financially support each other, we are supposed to help each other when in need and we are to bear each other’s burdens. Church teaming is the selfish mentality that everyone is on their own. Each church should fight for the most resources that they can get by pandering to the masses to win over as many pew warmers as possible. Church teaming is the act of an us vs them mentality where they can do their own thing, and we can do ours.
Sure, there might be a local get together for a cup of coffee once a month to rub shoulders and do the song and dance of group prayer, but how are these different church bodies actively working together for the same goal? When I served on a Christian school board, the school was made from a diverse group of people. People from many different churches sent their children to this school. Serving on the school board was something that I enjoyed because it gave me the chance to interact with other people to make the school a better place for our children.
One thing that was on full display in the board meetings was church teaming. There was another local Chirstian school that had the same exact mission as we did; to implement a Biblical worldview in the children while educating them. For some reason several of the board members salivated and drooled every time that they found out that enrollment at the other school dropped. Several inappropriate conversations were had about the school I was a board member on, absorbing the other school should they finally fail. The cheer leaders in the room were not cheering for the success of the other school, but instead cheering for their failure.
Church teaming is a waste of resources and is destructive.
Another example of church teaming can be found with churches that have multiple locations. Instead of coming alongside another church and helping them, the church instead decides to plant a new church. Millions of dollars in wasted resources go into building a facility, hiring a staff and keeping the lights on. When there are many centrally located churches already in the area, why is it necessary to church team and ignore the ministry that is already going on in those areas? I am not a fan of satellite churches. I do not think they serve an effective purpose in our ministry. With minimal resources and sleeves rolled up, existing churches can come along other churches and help them just like we are instructed to in the Bible.
If we are truly on the same team, then we better start acting like it. So much money and resources are wasted building new buildings, hiring more people and paying unnecessary bills. If we pooled our resources and energy and focused on kingdom work, we could accomplish so much more. It seems as though the modern church is more concerned about themselves, their finite beliefs and whether or not they get to control the situation. This is not the ministry that Jesus showed us while he was here on earth. This is not the best way to utilize the resources that God has blessed the church with. Time for churches to quit being selfish and quit church teaming.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 New American Standard Bible
9 Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor; 10 for if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up! 11 Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.