Catalyst 08 w/ Dave Ramsey

Dave Ramsey

There are enemies to unity.
Unity is an unbelievable power – there is no synergy where there is no unity. Unity is a spiritual happening. You have to be very intentional and proactive to create it. It doesn’t just occur. Nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them.

The 5 enemies of unity:
1. Poor communication – can take many forms but when the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing, then strife sets in. Foster good communication. Create communication. It doesn’t just happen.

2. Gossip – is degrading and will destroy a church or organization. This is the Christian sin that we don’t talk about. Nasty organizational sin. Zero tolerance policy for gossip. We are trying to do work that matters. A successful leader develops and maintains a culture in which negatives are handed up and positives are handed down. We bail our hate mail. Don’t talk to ppl about a problem that can’t fix the problem – that is gossip. By definition, gossip is when a negative is discussed with anyone who can’t help solve the problem.

3. Unresolved disagreements – unresolved disagreements happen when a leader doesn’t know they exist or when that leader avoids confrontation. You have to deal with it. Leaders have to have a back bone. A little confrontation cleanses the wound and allows the parties to go forward in a spirit of unity. We need to know we got each others back even though we have different styles and approaches. The leadership leads! There is drama and you better deal with it. Act quickly and decisively. When you are aware there are hurt feelings and/or disagreements, act quickly and decisively. Don’t act with squirrel theology! Like a squirrel in the middle of the street not knowing which way to go with oncoming traffic. You never kill anything if you say: Ready...aim, aim, aim…. Leaders make a call. It might be the wrong one, then you get to make another call..

4. Lack of shared purpose – lack of shared purpose is caused when a leader doesn’t restate the goal, the vision and mission early and often. Know where the goal is. The team better knows where they are going. Drop and do push ups for others… shared purpose. Think big picture. It is not all about me.

5. Sanctioned Incompetence – it has been said that sanctioned incompetence demoralizes. We are all incompetent at something. Do not allow someone (or self) to goof off… when you sanction that in leadership, then you damage your witness. If we are gonna be Christians should have a level of excellence that is STUNNING! Don’t shoot the wounded… have grace and mercy when people are dealing with stuff. Team members will evetnualy become demotivated if incompetence of others is not dealt with appropriately. For the sake of unity in the entire group the leader must deal with it.

When unity is valued in the culture, the team will also act to keep these enemies from the gate.


Very few things are unified. Few churches or organizations experience real unity. Only when you are on the same page can you get things done. In unity, you can pull four times the weight and work harder and smarter.