Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing in Corinth

1 Corinthians 1:10-17 and 3:1-9

Church Conflict is a very common phenomenon and the Church at Corinth was a real mess. They had started off well with Paul setting up their community of faith. New converts were coming in all the time. After Paul had planted the fledgling church, his friend Apollos had helped them develop and grow. At that time everything was wonderful – hopeful and joyful; but now they were fighting and scrapping with one another. The community was divided into little cliques with each one vying for the top position. It had become so bad that Chloe’s people had felt it necessary to contact Paul, asking for help and he was not impressed.

Corinthian society was very different from us today – no mod cons.; different language; different culture. But human nature doesn’t seem to change much and this church fight has a familiar ring. Conflict in the church can get very nasty over some silly things and the Corinthians were no different.

Paul was upset with the church at Corinth because of their failure to get along together.  I can hear him talking to the group in exasperated tones, “You are spiritual babies to be carrying on like this. This is not mature spiritual behaviour. It is the behaviour of the flesh. It is the way of the world and you are supposed to be different.”

Why does Paul say that this is the behave our of the flesh or the way of the world?

Group Behaviour

To answer this question let’s look at the way people behave in groups?  It doesn’t matter whether the group is a bowls club, service club, work group, Parents and Friends of the local school, or any church group, and it doesn’t matter whether the group met in ancient times or just last week, social psychologists ¹ tell us that a certain pattern of behaviour can be detected. And it is this:

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing

Every group inevitably goes through these stages.

Stage One – FORMING

When a group begins, it is usually a good time. People are getting to know one another. The project, (whether it’s a new bowls club, planning a work project, running a school fete, or starting a church), is new and exciting. People are negotiating with one another as they decide how to carry out their work. During the Forming Stage people want to get to know one another and fit in together. Think about a group that you have been part of in the early stages and see if you agree with this assessment.

When Paul first helped the Corinthian church begin, they were in Stage One and they were excited and happy, even though the way ahead was difficult. They were the early converts. They were eager to learn from Paul and Apollos. At this time Christianity was new to them all, so they were spiritual babes and relied heavily on their spiritual leaders.  It was fairly easy to love one another.

Stage Two – STORMING

In this next stage different ideas compete for consideration. The group addresses important questions such as:

• What is the prime purpose of the group?
• What are the problems we are really supposed to solve?
• What methods will we use to solve these problems?
• What kind of leadership model do we want?

The group also has to address logistics issues both major and minor such as:

• When and where will we meet and how often?
• What will we eat and drink for afternoon tea?

It is at this stage that the behaviour of the group members can be “of the flesh” or it can be loving and kind.

Group members begin to open up to each other and confront each other’s ideas.  Differing perspectives become obvious and arguments ensue. These arguments may be minor or they can escalate into something more serious.  Sometimes storming can be resolved quickly; sometimes it takes much more effort and occasionally a group never moves beyond this stage.

The maturity of the group members usually determines whether the team will move on to norm and perform.

The storming stage is not of itself sinful or wrongheaded.  It is a necessary stage for the growth of any group. It can be contentious, unpleasant and even painful to members who are averse to conflict. Tolerance of each group member and acceptance of differences needs to occur.  Without tolerance, acceptance and patience the group will fail. This phase can become destructive to the group and will lower motivation if allowed to get out of control.  On the other hand, if this stage is truncated because of fear of conflict then differences can simmer and fester beneath the surface and the group’s functioning is impaired.

It’s important to storm – to consider many different points of view – to fight for what you believe is right with passion.  When a group of people care deeply about something, conflict is inevitable.  This need not be a bad thing.  Conflict can be creative and healthy in a group; however this is only so if the resolution of conflict happens in a mature way with people listening to one another and considering one another’s views. In this way the group can find its way forward.

The Church at Corinth was engaging vigorously in the Storming Stage but they didn’t seem able to move beyond it; hence the report to Paul from Chloe’s people.

Stage Three – NORMING

In this stage the group has worked out its purpose. Norming is what happens when the group knows what it is there for. It is now able to sort out ways and means of achieving its goals.  The group can then move on to Stage four – Performing.

Stage Four – PERFORMING

At this point the group functions effectively and well. People have learned to get along together.  They have methods for resolving their conflicts and know how to progress their goals. In this stage a church runs well.  The Presence of the Spirit can be perceived in the church’s life.  Worship, mission and outreach programs are happening as they should.

Back to Stage two – STORMING

The church at Corinth had not progressed to norming and performing.  They were stuck in the storming stage and it was impairing their vision and their mission.  They had formed cliques that were not getting along.  Some said they were in Paul’s camp and they were going to follow everything that they imagined he would want. Some said they were Apollos’ people; Others declared that they belonged Cephas.  Another group trumped them all with claims that they were with Christ.

Each group was fighting for supremacy; each wanting to be top dog. Do you recognise this behaviour in any of the groups that you belong to?  Pecking order fights are very common amongst human beings of all ages and cultures.

If this behaviour becomes entrenched in a church it absorbs the whole of the church’s energies and the true goal of the church is impeded. What happens then to the church’s witness of Christ’s love and grace?

Paul needed the Corinthians to resolve the storming phase and move on to the norming phase, where they could sort out ways of being together and their proper goal of proclaiming and living the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Then they would be ready to enter the performing phase where they could live the Christian life and bring others to know Christ. So Paul wrote a letter to the storming congregation at Corinth. He names their behaviour as unspiritual and fleshly. It was of the world. The way they were behaving was no different from anyone else. They were not loving or forgiving one another. They were not listening to one another. They were behaving just like the rest of the world.

WHERE WAS GOD IN ALL THIS STRIFE?

Paul gets right to the heart of the problem. He asks the Corinthians to think about whose community this really is. Who is the boss, the head, the leader of the young church? He writes:

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted. Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.  So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.  The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labour of each. For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.            1 Corinthians 3:5-9 ²

Paul invites the Corinthians to allow God to be their leader and their owner. When this happens then God can get into the picture and the storming problems can be resolved.

What does this say to us today?

We need to constantly remind ourselves that our church is the Body of Christ.  It is not the possession of the church members.  It is not ours to own.  We are entitled to nothing. Our church belongs only to God.  When we keep this constantly in mind our attitudes are reoriented towards God and we are able to perform.

Forming, storming, norming and performing is not a one off process for a church. It is an endless cycle. This is because it begins again every time someone new comes into the church. Each new member creates a new group because they alter the dynamics of the group. They bring in new ideas and new ways of being. And each time the minister changes or the office bearers change, a new group is created because there is a new leader or group member who does things differently.  Sometimes groups try to exclude newcomers because of this upheaval but as Christians we know that Christ wants new followers so exclusion is not for us – just this endless cycle of forming, storming, norming and performing.

This all seems so difficult. How do we manage it?

First – James Killen writes ³ that we need to remember that we are Christians under construction. We may not be there yet, but we keep on keeping on. In “Uniting in Worship” ⁴ process of spiritual formation as our church becomes more Christlike.

Second – Love is the glue that holds us together and keeps our community Christlike. It is love that helps us remember that we are God’s church, God’s field, God’s building. 1 Corinthians 13 is all about love between Christians. Loving others is really hard to do. In fact, sometimes it is impossible except through the power of the Holy Spirit who makes everything possible.

Third – We are God’s church because of the power of the Holy Spirit which if we allow it, will infuse every part of our life together. So often I meet lovely Christian people who love God and want to follow God’s ways, but when they get into a group all that goes out of the window. The Christian group looks and behaves like any other secular group and is sometimes not as humane and kindly. Let us prayerfully invite the Holy Spirit to be with us in all our interactions and in all our meetings as we progress along the Christian way together.

Surrendering ownership of our church to God is fundamental to this process. We are just channels for God’s love, mercy, justice and truth to reach the world. We are not part of a church just for ourselves but for others whose lives will be enriched by knowing God.

My invitation to you and to me is to invite the Holy Spirit into all the groups we belong to, but especially our church, so that through the processes of forming and storming, we come to the norm of Jesus Christ who makes it possible for us to perform, that is to live our lives together in a Christlike way for the glory of God. AMEN

References

1. Bruce  W Tuckman, “Developmental Sequences in Small Groups” in Psychological Bulletin Vol 63(6) June 1965 384-399

2. All bible quotations from New Revised Standard Version.

3. James L. Killen, Jr,  Sermons on the Second Reading, Series 1, Cycle A. SermonSuite / CSS Publishing Company, Ohio.

4.  “We are a Pilgrim People”, in Uniting in Worship: People’s Book, Uniting Church Press, Melbourne, 1988, p131.