Synergy
A Leadership Guide for Church Staff and Volunteers.
Ann A Michel
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/synergy-ann-michel/1125327182
I only decided to read the book because I needed to tick the box for a book in the “Leadership Development” category. To be honest, the very topic sounded dull. It surprised me to be both drawn in and inspired by this book.
Possibly because of the very word Synergy itself, I have been passing over this specific book for a while now – it joined our reading list in 2018. It is not a word I use, and I am a person that really likes ten-dollar words. I had the opportunity to correctly use the term malfeasance earlier today, and I have been snickering quietly ever since. Fun words make me happy. But Synergy? What is that supposed to mean?
Upon looking it up, I discovered that synergy is not a new word. I generally look stuff up in my ratty-tatty paperback Webster’s dictionary, but it is currently hiding from me, so I turned to Volume Two of my Funk and Wagnalls New Practical Standard Dictionary to look up the word. My copy of this dictionary is marked Copyright 1954, so it does not contain any new words. It very clearly tells me all about the word synergy.
The Dictionary Says:
Syn*er*gy (-ji) noun 1 Combined and correlated force;
united action
Syn*er*gism (-jizm) noun 1 The doctrine that human
effort cooperates with divine grace in the salvation of
the soul. 2 The mutually cooperating action of separate
substances which together produce an effect greater
than of any component taken alone, as certain drug
mixtures.
With this definition in hand, it clearly makes sense for this book about the call to lay ministry to be titled Synergy. Personally, I never really thought that getting the nudge from God to do things at the church to be an actual call to ministry. Over the years, He has told me to do a few things. While I tend to argue with Him first, I do eventually do my very best to do what He tells me to do. As I am not perfect, it does not always work out they way we planned, but I will give it my best shot. Even so, “ministry” is a term reserved in my brain for the fully ordained clergy.
This book stands that notion on its head. It not only encourages us to get up and actively join in the church’s ministry, it leaves the reader with a feeling of excitement and urgency about the very idea of getting involved. God is calling all of us to use our gifts in His service – what does He have planned for you today?