Spring Training is over and Opening Day for Major League baseball is past. The Tigers came out of spring training with great reason for optimism and unanswered questions.
I recently thought about the job of Jim Leyland.
During spring training he worked with the nucleus of an experienced successful team, several new exciting additions and the expected unknowns that always occur when people are not able to perform at a level that was expected of them.
The 2008 Tigers are not the same team he managed in 2007. Every year is a time of retooling, new focus and challenges for a manager and for a player.
The successful managers are adaptive and resourceful in bringing the consistency of their experience to the changing personnel and dynamics of a new team.
I reflect on this for two reasons.
The first is I love the Tigers since I have been a Tiger fan since 1960.
The second is it seems there are lessons to be learned from successful management of a team to that of a vital church. (My guess is the following applies for any organization but I will stick with what I know.)
Every season is a new one. Each year, spring allows fans and players to begin fresh. Every team can have optimism and the chance to start over. Some years it leads to world championships and other times to long summers. But new starts are something every team deserves. Churches often get caught or stereotyped from seasons past.
We can hold on to or get lost in the past and not be able to be relevant and optimistic about the future. Others may judge us based on past record and not even look at the team we are fielding today.
The team must have a consistent culture to have meaning. Winning teams win because there is a culture of winning that dominates all other concerns. Championship teams demand you learn the new expectations they have found that lead to winning. You change to match the attitude of a winner.
Churches that demand something of their members suggest there is something important about their mission. When we commit to something bigger than ourselves, we find new joy.
The team changes every time a new member joins. When a new teammate brings the skills of speed, winning teams do not suggest they slow down to match the pace of everyone else. They set speedy runners free to run.
Effective churches joyfully change to welcome and incorporate new people to lead and serve with the unique talents they bring.
The Easter just past is the announcement of a new season, a new start for all who come to experience its joy and truth.
Here is hoping your faith team is playing ball so others may willingly come and be part of the family of faith. If you have not been to worship in a church lately, come back.
You may be surprised at the possibilities of the season ahead.
The Rev. Richard L. Dake is pastor of Clarkston United Methodist Church.