Jeremy Haroldson opens week four of his organizational roles series with a diagnostic about pendulum swings: "When we see a deficiency in something, we swing so hard the other direction that we lose it." The result? Organizations that once over-emphasized three roles now obsess over two different ones, simply because "those are cool, and the others are kind of lame."
But sustainable impact requires all five functions working in harmony. This teaching reclaims the Connector's role [the Evangelist]—not as celebrity speakers who leave organizational chaos in their wake, but as the gatherers who bring transformative demonstration into everyday spaces. From ancient Samaria to modern grocery stores, Jeremy reveals why training programs will never create growth the way authentic experiences will.
Jeremy provides the foundational organizational roles:
"Shepherds protect; Connectors gather; Educators ground truth; Visionaries guide direction; and Architects structure systems." [Pastors guard; Evangelists gather; Teachers ground; Prophets guide; Apostles govern]
This isn't hierarchy—it's functional clarity. Each role serves a distinct purpose. The Connector's job? Gather. They carry a burden for people "not yet" part of the transformative community. Their obsession is numeric growth through authentic demonstration, not administrative efficiency or theoretical precision.
Jeremy's most memorable analogy cuts through corporate training jargon. Picture this: you're learning about a 2021 Shelby GT500 with a 5.2-liter supercharged motor. Someone recites specs—horsepower, torque, zero-to-sixty times. You nod politely, unmoved.
Then they hand you the keys: "Let's go for a drive. Who's down?"
Jeremy's diagnosis is blunt: "Engagement without transformative experience is me sitting there telling you all the stats. Engagement with transformative experience is me taking you for a drive." [Evangelism without signs and wonders / with signs and wonders]
The car salesman understood this secret: "I never needed that sports car until I drove it." One test drive demolished every logical objection. Why? Because direct experience trumps theoretical explanation every time.
Jeremy applies this ruthlessly to organizational growth: "In that moment, we don't have to try to sell the vision. The vision sells itself." [God sells Himself] When people witness undeniable results—real transformation, measurable change, authentic breakthroughs—you're not debating methodology anymore. You're witnessing reality.
Jeremy unpacks a historical case study from Acts 8, focusing on Philip's outreach campaign in Samaria. The setup is significant: "Why in the world was a Jewish leader in Samaria?" Crisis pushed Philip out of his comfort zone into "the very last place the established leaders would go."
What happened there? "When the crowds heard Philip's message and saw the transformative results he demonstrated, they all paid close attention to what he said." [miraculous signs] Notice the order: they saw results, then they paid attention to the theory. The demonstration preceded the explanation.
Jeremy emphasizes the nature of these breakthroughs: "People experiencing oppressive psychological bondage found freedom, and those with physical limitations were restored." [evil spirits, paralytics, cripples healed] His commentary is direct: "These are not superficial changes. I want to see real restoration—eyes opened, mobility returned, people walking who never walked before." [fat-free miracles]
The result? "So there was profound satisfaction in that community." [great joy in that city] Why? Jeremy's phrase captures it: "Because the extraordinary became ordinary." [the supernatural became natural] The impossible became reproducible. What once seemed unattainable became the new baseline.
Then comes the counterintuitive twist: Philip is told to leave during peak momentum. "Hold on! What's happening in Samaria? It's like a mixture of breakthrough and systemic transformation." [revival and reformation] But Philip obeys without hesitation—no second-guessing, no delay. He goes. Why? Because "The system doesn't need you past the moment you've equipped someone else to fulfill the function you were serving." [God doesn't need you past the moment...]
Jeremy's conclusion is humbling: "None of us are truly that terribly important. We're just the channel through which the next person receives what we have."
This distinction is critical for role clarity. Jeremy states it twice for emphasis: "Connectors create initial engagement, while Architects create long-term commitment." [Evangelists create converts, Apostles create disciples]
The Connector's "foremost desire is to see people experience initial breakthrough and join the community. Then they hand off the deepening process to others. And that's okay." This isn't irresponsibility—it's functional specialization.
Jeremy uses construction as metaphor: "A good framing crew usually doesn't make a good finishing crew. Why? Because they have different skills." A Connector isn't called to walk people through the entire maturation journey. They love to teach others how to create initial breakthroughs. They're crucial for numeric growth. But forcing them into long-term development roles burns them out and neglects their actual gifting.
Here's the ecosystem: "Connectors keep Shepherds from overwhelming new participants with too much too soon. And Connectors ensure Shepherds have people to care for." [Evangelists keep Pastors from killing young converts / make sure Pastors have a job] Without gatherers bringing people in, caregivers have no one to nurture. Without caregivers supporting new members, initial breakthroughs get damaged by insensitive leadership.
Jeremy's frustration with the broken model is palpable. He describes it vividly: "Connectors were not meant to operate as touring celebrities who create emotional frenzy, disrupt established communities, and leave chaos behind." [huge tent, drive around country pissing off congregations and leaving]
The itinerant celebrity model—roll into organizations, generate temporary excitement, extract resources, disappear—isn't sustainable. It's extractive. Jeremy's alternative vision is integrated:
"The organization should have Connectors woven into its fabric who say, 'What are you doing Saturday? I'm going to facilitate some transformative breakthroughs in everyday spaces. But be ready Sunday, because they're coming!'"
Picture this ecosystem: Saturday, a Connector encounters someone at the grocery store. "Right there next to the avocado display, someone experiences breakthrough." [someone's getting saved] The transformative experience changes their perspective entirely: "This approach creates real results! It delivers genuine transformation!" [My God heals! And he's able to deliver!]
Sunday, they show up—no theoretical background, just a powerful experience. The Educators [Teachers] say, "Let me explain the framework behind what you experienced." Life hits a crisis? The Shepherd [Pastor] says, "Let me provide support and care during this difficult time."
Jeremy's thesis: "Connector functions need to move from celebrity tours back into integrated community structures. Because when that happens, organizations won't fit in their current spaces, and they might just need those big venues again." [Evangelism has to go from tents back into churches... churches won't fit in buildings, might need tents]
Jeremy poses a confrontational question: "If this organization were a business, and the currency were transformed lives, would we be creating enough value to justify keeping the doors open?" [church as business, currency as souls]
This isn't crass pragmatism—it's honest assessment. If your organizational purpose is reaching people and catalyzing transformation, and you're not doing either, you're failing at your core function. Training programs, facilities, budgets—none of it matters if the gathering function has stalled.
His solution isn't cold outreach campaigns: "I don't really think it's organized door-to-door efforts." Instead: "I think it's more about saying, 'Intuition, guide me.'" [Holy Spirit, talk]
The model? You're at the gas station. Your inner sense says, "That person desperately needs this breakthrough." You respond. Why? "Because you're being responsive to internal prompts." [obedient]
Jeremy's closing vision is intuition-led networking: "How powerful is it when we have a natural sensing system—intuition, instinct, awareness—that knows exactly where people are and what they need in that moment? And we respond, 'I'm ready. I'm responsive.'" [networking system called Holy Spirit... I'm down, I'm obedient]
Jeremy clarifies the distinction: "I believe everyone has the capacity to facilitate breakthrough moments when prompted, but not everyone is wired primarily as a Connector." [everyone has call to be Evangelist by nature, but not everyone's called to role of Evangelist]
Translation: If you're at the grocery store and your intuition says, "That person needs this breakthrough"—you're called to respond. That's connecting. But not everyone carries the burden for reaching new people as their primary drive. Not everyone's foremost obsession is numeric growth through demonstration.
You can develop multiple skill sets. You can be effective across various functions. But your primary role—the thing you're designed to focus on—might be education, care, systems, or insight instead of gathering. And that's intentional design. The organization needs all five functions working in coordinated harmony.
Jeremy's central thesis is unmistakable: "Well-designed training programs will not create sustainable growth. Transformative experiential demonstrations will." [Good programs will not fill churches. Supernatural wonders will.] Not because programs are worthless, but because direct experience trumps theoretical explanation. You can recite performance specs all day. Or you can hand someone the keys.
The Connector's role isn't to manufacture artificial emotional experiences or pressure people into premature decisions. It's to gather through authentic demonstration—showing people what's possible through results, not just what sounds good in theory. When extraordinary outcomes become ordinary, satisfaction floods the community. When new participants arrive, Shepherds care for them and Educators ground them in understanding.
The broken model—celebrity connectors with big events, leaving organizational wreckage—needs replacement. The sustainable model? Connectors woven into the fabric of everyday community life, responsive to intuitive prompts at gas stations and grocery stores, bringing people into an ecosystem where all five roles function together.
The metric is simple: Are transformed lives being created? If not, no amount of programming will compensate. But when Connectors do what they're wired to do—gather through transformative demonstration—organizations might just need bigger spaces. Or events.
Perfect for:
It means letting people directly witness results versus explaining concepts. Like comparing a sports car's specifications versus handing someone the keys for a test drive. When people experience undeniable transformation—real breakthroughs, measurable change—they don't need persuasion. Results demonstrate themselves through direct experience.
Functional specialization. Connectors bring people to initial breakthrough (numeric growth), then transition them to others. Architects develop those new participants into deeply committed members. Like construction: framing specialists aren't finish carpenters. Different functions require different skills. Forcing Connectors to handle long-term development burns them out.
Because impossible outcomes became reproducible. People experiencing bondage found freedom. Physical limitations were overcome. The exceptional wasn't rare—it became the new baseline. That's why there was "profound satisfaction in that community." When breakthrough experiences happen consistently, they transform entire cultures, not just individuals.
Instead of organized campaigns or cold outreach, you're responsive to internal prompts. You're at the gas station, and your inner sense says "that person needs this breakthrough." You respond. You're at the grocery store—someone experiences transformation by the avocado display. It's responsiveness-based, not strategy-based. Your intuition knows exactly where people are and what they need.
Key Historical Reference: Acts 8:5-8 (Ancient text describing Philip's work in Samaria)
"Philip went to a city in Samaria and shared transformative principles there. When the crowds heard his message and witnessed the demonstrable results he facilitated, they all paid close attention to what he said. People experiencing oppressive conditions found freedom, and those with physical limitations were restored. So there was profound satisfaction in that community."