By Pastor Priscilla Lim
I’ll be honest. I fear team building activities. I’ve got memories of lugging heavy tyres up a hill, building straw towers which cannot stand, and am often the one to let my team down as I struggle with lousy hand-eye coordination and poor sense of balance. So I was quite pleased with the first part of the team building* – getting to know one another’s working styles and how to best relate to one another.
The second part, however, was called the Incredible Machine! I knew it involved some working with our hands, and it did seem like a big task. We were shown a video, one of those domino-effect ball run videos I had seen on the internet before, but had never been brave enough to try. It looked like a massive task, but it was made manageable with some goals and structure.
Here’s what helped us:
1. Paint the end goal clearly
The video gave us an idea of what was to be achieved. While we knew we couldn’t come close to the complexity of what we had seen, we at least had something to inspire us. We all knew that we would be making small contributions to a big outcome.
2. Work in teams with clear bite-sized goals and perimeters
We worked in 4 teams, each taking one segment of the ball run. We were each given 2 props and clear mini goals (e.g. move the truck, ring the bell, burst the balloon, raise the flag). While we were given lots of creativity to design the track, we knew clearly what we had to achieve.
3. Have a flat ground for bouncing ideas
The person who would have been the MVP (Most Valuable Player) in this task would undoubtedly be Leon, our resident craftsman and handyman. He, however, was sadly excluded from this retreat after being visited by Miss Corona just 2 days before. Although we missed him and his expertise, the blessing in disguise was that we relied not on our default go-to person, but tried to build on one another’s ideas and figure things out.
In my team, I had a vague idea of what I wanted to see, but couldn’t figure out the physics in my head. Samuyal listened to what I was trying to get at, and experimented to make it work. There were a lot of “what about”, “do you think”, “I wonder if” being thrown around the room, which I think really helped in the brainstorming process.
May we continue to be curious and experimental in the things that we do, and always be open to ideas and suggestions from everyone, equally!
4. Go the extra mile
While we were working in teams, there were some of us who strayed from our “job scopes” to look out for others who may need some help. Ps Melissa was a roaming one, trying to help out different teams when they needed more help. In many ways, it is reflective of how she works in the office, taking on a “your problem is also my problem” approach.
5. Celebrate successes
When the big goal is achieved, scream and rejoice! Pat each other’s backs, give high fives, and eat donuts. As we “suffer” together, we should also rejoice together!
Thankfully, this team building activity was nothing like the ones I dreaded before. Rather, in reflection, it was a beautiful picture of how the body of Christ works together. I might have been a tiny pinky finger in this big task of creating the incredible machine, but I still played a part, and could rejoice together in the final outcome.
* The team building was part of the church staff retreat on 22-24 May 2023.
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Unity and Diversity in the Body
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?
But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Get Involved
🤔 What is your role in the church? If you don’t have a role and would like to play a part, speak to a pastor or your Cell Group Leader.
🤔 Think of someone who plays a role that you cannot play – appreciate them!
🤔 Is there anyone you need to suffer or rejoice with?