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Earlier this week at our church staff meeting, we were asked about how we promote excellence while serving our teams, all to motivate team members to serve well and with joy.
Aside from modelling Jesus (or, asking, “Am I NOT showing Jesus well?”), a practical measure that a lot of leaders overlook, but something that whole team feels (and doesn’t always articulate) is this:
Friction.
This issue comes in various forms, so let’s define what friction is and then look at three areas where it pops up the most in ministry and how you can mitigate and manage it effectively.
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Defining Friction
First, we need to define friction. In ministry, it’s anything that brings uncertainty, confusion, and frustration, which then leads to burnout, dissatisfaction, resentment, and eventually, departure.
Friction creeps in when expectations are:
Not clearly defined.
Not consistently met.
And the blame for friction doesn’t solely rest on underperforming team members; rather, much of it comes to leadership that has overlooked friction points or has compromised standards for the sake of easing up another friction point.
Another reality is this: Friction cannot be wholly eliminated. And that’s actually a good thing.
Friction brings a level of challenge that your high performers appreciate, as long as the friction isn’t unnecessary or redundant within your system.
But it’s the friction that wastes time—that’s the kind that kills motivation, buy-in, and effective service from your team.
And in a ministry system, the three areas where it pops up are:
Processes
People
Perception
Here’s the breakdown.
Processes
When processes run smoothly, friction is reduced to points of necessity. These necessary points come down to the time and skills required to perform tasks.
The sticking points are what drive people crazy. It could be your:
communication chain
frequency of audits/check-ups
functionality of tools (tech, instruments, staging, etc.)
a consistently underperforming or difficult team member.
Eventually, you’ll have to decide to:
Make your communication clearer—or, keep people in the dark.
Diagnose hang-ups and fix them quickly—or, keep throwing resources at the wrong problem.
Make sure your tools are in proper order/upgraded—or suffer malfunctions that can throw off an entire service.
Have the necessary conversation with the team member—or, face a culture fracture within your team.
It’s this point about team members that bears a bit more fleshing out, which is our next friction area.
People
Of all the areas of friction, this is the one that’s the hardest to navigate because of the emotional attachment that comes with it.
Ministries aren’t like corporations where the mantra is often said: “Hire slow, fire fast.” After all, much of your internal and external communication relies on words like “family,” “community,” and “working together.” You build connection with people, learning what makes them “them” and shouldering burdens—physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually—that all compounds on relational equity for most everyone involved.
That’s what makes it so hard when you’re faced with friction from particular people, whether it’s down to personality, work style, communication preferences, and a whole lot of other quirks.
The two determining friction points with people come down to:
Skill: Are they capable of handling varying levels of responsibility?
Culture fit: Are they bought into the goals and responsibilities of the ministry, along with the challenges? Can they get along well with the team, besides showing spiritual fruit and maturity as a believer?
Within those areas, there’s a little wiggle room for varying levels. A helpful framework I’ve found is divided into four quadrants:
High skill, high culture: They’ll not only function well on your team—they’ll help move things forward. Pour into them, and then let them run the ball.
Low skill, high culture: They bring motivation and loyalty to your team dynamic, despite lack of skill. The cool thing is that if they’re teachable (which high culture tends to show), then they bring their skill level up through coaching.
High skill, low culture: You must be careful with this one. Many leaders will look at a high-value player and want to retain them for their abilities. But if their commitment and consistency is low, then they often receive “special treatment,” which undermines the overall confidence of your team. In the long run, you’ll probably need to move this type of team member down the road or into another area of ministry.
Low skill, low culture: This is the type of team member that won’t add much value to your team at all, and they might even detract from the overall effectiveness of your ministry. For this person, you can still direct them to resources and areas that help them explore their giftings and spark a motivation to serve if the fit is right.
Perception
This friction point comes from two directions:
The people within your church.
The people outside your church.
How are people perceiving the ministry, its effectiveness, and the makeup of the team? Are people seeing that your words are seasoned with the gospel, that you’re true to your word, that your team is active and supportive in all areas?
Within the church, fellow congregants are inspired by positive buy-in, measurable skill, and overall commitment to the mission of the church. If the opposite is taking place, where there’s inconsistency in service and skill, then it dampens their confidence in the church’s overall ministry as a whole. When that kind of friction enters the picture, then people start moving toward areas that bring more consistency, thus removing the friction they feel.
For people outside of your church, they’re looking for consistency in character and communication. Are you living out what your church says it stands for? Or, do you take on different angles of what you’d like people to perceive as you go about your day? When this detected, people outside your church see a friction point and decide to avoid it altogether.
Overall, friction is a reality that cannot be eliminated. However, it can be managed. It really comes down to this:
Taking courage to do what is necessary.
The courage to look at what is working and what isn’t.
The courage to reflect on your role within that dysfunction.
And the courage to take the steps to correct course—even when it’s initially difficult.
Be blessed 👊✌️
Derek is the founder and director of Worship Strategies and is also Creative Ministries Director Faith Family Church in Fayette, MO. Outside of ministry, he is active as a musician and entrepreneur. He is married to his wife Kaitlynn, and they have two beautiful daughters.
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