"Bear
with each other
and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive
as the Lord forgave you.
And
over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let
the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, since as members of one body
you were called to peace.
And be thankful." Colossians 2:13-15
One of the reasons sports
have always been so meaningful to me is the “we” nature of being part of a
team.
The first day of tryouts is
very tense and pressure-packed because several dozen “me’s” show up hoping to
make the team. As I looked around at all the other “me’s” I wondered how good
they were. Were they as good as me? How many were trying to beat me out for my
position? Would I be good enough to beat them out? Would the coach like me?
As the tryouts progress it
begins to sort things out I you get the chance to show how I can hit and throw
and catch the ball. By the end of the day you have a better idea how many of
the “me’s” will be part of the “we”.
On the fateful day when the
“list” is posted, all the “me’s” anxiously gather around to search for their
names on the “list” that defines which “me’s” will constitute the “we”.
What a relief to see my name
on the “list”! But the list isn’t where the “me’s” become the “we”. It is only
through those grueling days of conditioning and training and drills and
scrimmages that the “me’s” begin to trust one another and respect one another
and rely on one another that the “we” emerges from the group of “me’s”. Now it
is about the TEAM! There is no “I” in TEAM!
It feels great to be part of
the TEAM! Few things in life are better than when the “me’s” are molded into
the “we”! The group of individuals has chosen to submit to the same coach and
have committed to the same goals and sacrifice for the same purpose so OUR TEAM
can win!
The key to shifting from “Me”
to “We” is submission to something bigger and better and more important than
just being me. “We” is always more effective than “Me”. In fact, each “Me”
becomes better as part of the “We”.
Steve Packer, Dick Wickstrom, Jay Winterholter and me are forever linked because of what "we" accomplished as teammates on the Indiana Wesleyan University baseball team. We were all part of the first collegiate baseball team to represent that great university and this was just the second college baseball game of what has become a highly respected athletic program. But Steve, Dick, Jay and I pulled of the first triple-play in the history of IWU baseball. Triple plays are very rare. Obviously, not one of us could have done it alone. It took all four of us!
This forever moment happened when Steve threw the pitch on a 3-2 with baes loaded and no one out. The batter ripped a sinking line toward left field where Dick made a diving shoestring catch. Because it looked like the ball would fall for a hit, all the runners were running. Dick jumped to his feet after making the catch for the first out and threw to Jay at second base to make the out on the runner there. While all this was going on the runner on third had gone back to the base, tagged up and was barrelling down the line toward home plate. When Jay fired the ball to me and I put the tag on the sliding runner, the triple play was completed!
What is true of great team is
also true of great churches.They accomplish great feats for God that no one Christian could do alone!
Will you help your pastor build a great church? Will you submit to that team?