Lead Your Team through the Profile, Part 1: Group Devotional
God Made Us to Complete Each Other, Not Compete With Each Other
For You To Think About
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul uses a word picture to describe healthy relationships: the human body.
Image: Leaderchat
Like He does elsewhere in scripture, God provides us with this tangible image to help us understand an intangible concept. Each part of the human body is unique and fills a special role. Likewise, each member of a team is unique and fills a special role.
As you look at the human body’s different parts it is easy to see how they interconnect. Taken separately, a fingernail and a larynx and a kidney and a hair follicle are completely unique. Each is an independent unit but dependent on all the others to form the whole.
The same is true for the members of your team. Each is unique. God placed you together to complete each other, not compete with each other.
For You To Do
Use this exercise as an introductory group devotional with your team as you begin the process of leading them through their profile results together. The powerful image of the body (a team) offered in this scripture can help your members understand the importance of their individual strengths working together.
- Distribute copies of 1 Corinthians 12:12-18 to each member of your team. Read the passage together.
- Encourage members to share their insights as you lead the following discussion.
- 1 Corinthians 12:12 says, “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” God uses repetition in scripture to emphasize a point. Compare verse 12 with verse 14. What does God want us to understand about the body – a team – and its parts? Referring to the image of the body, explain how God intends for different members of a team to be “one.”
- Paul explains the human tendency to deny the truth about individuality: “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” (vs. 15-16).“Simply saying a person doesn’t belong doesn’t make it true.” Do you agree – or disagree? Describe the tension between individuality and belonging. What are some reasons people may deny others the opportunity to belong? How does the enemy use denial to create division on a team?
- Verse 17 says, “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?” Paul explains that each part’s function has value. Why do we tend to believe that one individual’s function has more value than another? Imagine that your part’s function is affirmed by others in the body. How does validation motivate you?
- Now that you have studied this passage, describe how you think God views a team and its members.
For You To Take Away
Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12, NIV)
More Exercises to Help You Use the Profiles
Lead Your Team Through the Profile, Part 2: Do Differences Divide or Unite Your Team?
Lead Your Team Through the Profile, Part 3: Understand Your Team Members’ Differences
Lead Your Team Through the Profile, Part 4: What Value Do You Bring to Your Team?
Lead Your Team Through the Profile, Part 5: Checklist for Communicating