What's In Your Playbook?

Image by Keith Johnston from Pixabay

We’re still riding out the first wave of coronavirus and many experts tell us to expect a second one. On top of that, our political system and civil society (at least here in the U.S.) seem to be in upheaval.

If you feel stressed by this, you’re not the only one.

Our mental challenge in all this? As pastors or leaders, we must cope with these changes personally and help our staff and team prepare for the challenges that certainly lie ahead.

I recently read an interview with Dave Ferguson, founder and lead pastor of Chicago's Community Christian Church, a multi-site missional community considered one of the most influential churches in America. 

Dave spoke of “replacing the blueprint with the playbook.”[i]

If you follow football – maybe even if you don’t – you’ve heard of a playbook: a notebook containing descriptions of all the plays and strategies used by a team, often accompanied by diagrams, issued to players for them to study and memorize before the season begins.

When Al Saunders served as Offensive Coordinator for the Washington Redskins, he famously brought a 700-page playbook to the job. Some complained that no player could remember it all.[ii]

Here’s the thing. They didn’t need to remember all of it. That wasn’t the point. It simply cataloged for Al (and ultimately for his players) the strategies and tactics available to them as they progressed through the season and faced various opponents.

A winning coach employs a strategy for the season, sure. However, a playbook like Saunders’ provides tactics for every possible situation.

Getting back to Dave Ferguson, he went on to suggest, “Speaking for Community, we saw a need for four plays in our pandemic playbook: a play we can call if we have to meet in groups of fewer than 10, a play we can call if we can meet in groups of 50 or fewer, another one if there are groups of 250 or fewer, and one if it opens it up completely.”[iii] (You can read more about his playbook here if you like.)

As you can see, Dave’s church playbook isn’t as massive as Al’s NFL playbook. And that’s not the point.

The point is surviving and thriving in periods of rapid change requires agility and resilience. A blueprint mentality where you’re following an inflexible, predetermined plan makes you rigid, and in this environment, that’s not good. A playbook mentality can help you achieve agility and resilience.

If you have not already, perhaps it is time for you and your team to build your pandemic playbook. Perhaps you could adopt Dave’s Ferguson’s approach.

I would also suggest this rapidly changing environment provides an opportunity to foster greater teamwork among leaders. Involving the team in developing the playbook and being ready to implement changes in ready fashion may foster greater involvement with some members.

If you have additional thoughts, please leave them in the comments below!

—-

If you enjoyed this article, please “like” or share on your favorite social media using the icons below.

___

[i] Retrieved on 7/4/20 from  https://outreachmagazine.com/interviews/57047-dave-ferguson-the-reproducible-life-part-2.html 

[ii] Retrieved on 7/4/20 from https://www.espn.com/nfl/preview07/news/story?id=2973338 

[iii] Retrieved on 7/4/20 from  https://outreachmagazine.com/interviews/57047-dave-ferguson-the-reproducible-life-part-2.html

Get your copy today!