Teamwork

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

Philippians 2:3-4 (ESV)

Being a team player requires us to commit to a better purpose outside of our own gain. It requires a deep change inside that compels us to act differently. Teamwork is created over time and is the product of practice, trust, and vision. Can you think of the best team you were ever apart of? Maybe that team won every game, or maybe they didn’t win a game all. Great teams don’t solely boil down to statistics and records. The best teams boil down to the players that bought into the system and strived towards the common goal.

Great teammates realize that they are only as strong as their weakest link. When I was an underclassman in high school, our best distance runner, a three time All-American, had a season ending injury. The 4x800 team had high hopes to qualify for states that year and throughout the season the coaches searched for someone to fill the All-American’s spot. After getting a chance to run the 800 for the first time that season, I began to train with the rest of the relay team. I never felt compared to or judged by the position that I filled. My teammates had a greater purpose than winning and they didn’t just look out for their own interest. Instead, the team supported me and trained me to be the best I could be.

In whatever we do this week, I hope that as a group we can start to put the interests of others ahead of our own. It can be really hard to search our own hearts and realize what our true motives are. How much different would our world look if we became great team players at work, home, and in our communities?

- Matt Simmonds

TEAMWORK

“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (ESV)

Friendship is an intriguing connection. Relationships in general begin simple and basic, but grow to be complicated and even overwhelming. Friendships are ever changing and challenging. Every year it becomes easier to not make that weekly, monthly, or yearly call in order to catch up and stay in touch. It also seems to get harder and harder to meet new people and actually invest time to get to know each other.

However, the Bible encourages us to not live a lonely, secluded life. In the verse above we are simply told one of the benefits of having good friends. When the going gets tough it is always helpful to have a good friend to support you. Ecclesiastes says that we are stronger when we work together rather than alone. My first reaction is to write this verse off as common sense. The principle behind the passage is simple, right?

The more I think about this principle, the more I realize how many excuses I use to contradict this message weekly. The main reason that keeps me from experiencing the strength of working together is the overwhelming desire to do it myself. Today I drove back from a trip to Indiana. Before leaving I got verbal directions on a quicker route home from a friend. After driving 40 minutes, I had absolutely no idea if I was still going the right direction. It took me another hour until I called to find out if I was still on the right track. Luckily I somehow stayed on the right path home, but I could have easily driven over an hour in the complete wrong direction.

Keeping good friends close can prevent costly decisions. Being a good friend certainly is not an effortless task, but having friends that will step though life with us is more beneficial than we will ever be able to calculate.

This week is such a great time to thank people in our lives that have helped us when we needed it. It is also a great time to be there for someone that could use an extra hand.

Have a great Thanksgiving Chalk Talkers and enjoy your time off this week with friends and family.

-Matt Simmonds

Teamwork

In Romans Chapter 12, the Apostle Paul calls those who are believers in Christ to a great responsibility, to apply the righteousness of God in our own lives which in turn can affect many others. Paul states in Romans 12:4 “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have all the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others.” In this verse Paul is relating Christians to members of a human body; all parts have different functions but are critical to a healthy body.

NASCAR racing has grown tremendously as sport in the last decade. These racing teams have to be synchronized all the way from the owner to the driver to the pit crew. If you have ever seen a NASCAR race the teamwork that takes place during a pit stop is impressive. The car rolls in and in less than 15 seconds each member of the team performs one task to turn the car over to continue racing. It could be putting gas in, carrying tires, running the impact wrench or encouraging and teaching the driver. How well they perform it and if they are doing the job best suited to them depends on if that car will continue working at top form or if it will falter. As believers in Christ we need to find our job, our task that we will do in the pit. Gods has gifted us in specific areas whether it is teaching, hospitality, compassion, missions, finance and there are many other areas. No job or service is more important than the other; each must happen for the church to be healthy and grow.

What is your job in the pit? If you know, I encourage you to continue your service and pray that you are doing it to the best of your ability and not just at 50%. Can you imagine if the pit crew worker tightened the lug nuts on the tires just half way? If you are unsure of your role and where you can contribute, then I would pray and ask God to show you and make connections in the church (talk to those in children’s education, missions, local out reach) to see where you could use your skills to make a difference in your church or community.

Paul stated that “each member belongs to all the other,” so as your gifts will benefit others, there will be a time in your life, a trial, “a storm” and you may greatly need to draw on the gifts or service of others. And at that time you will truly appreciate the “body of Christ” and what it means to give and receive joyfully!

- Trish

Teamwork

"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)

One of my favorite movie quotes comes from "As Good As It Gets" when Jack Nicholson tells Helen Hunt, "You make me want to be a better man." Every time I think of that line it inspires me to be the type of person that compels others to want to be better. I am not an encourager by nature, I have to work at it and even then it often feels awkward, or poorly worded. All too often I find myself thinking something complimentary towards someone but I don't say it for fear of sounding silly or insincere. In other words, rather than taking a risk and possibly brightening someone else's day I often choose to be self-protective hoping that maybe through some weird mental telepathy that person will know what I was thinking. One of my best friends is not like that - she is one of the most encouraging people I know, I love being around her (so do others). She always seems to have encouraging words for others and I really admire that about her.

It would be easy for me to sit back and say, "I'm just not good at that, others will have to do it," but the Bible tells me otherwise. Hebrews 10:24 tells us to "...consider how to stir up one another to love and good works..." The word consider means "to actively think about, to contemplate"; it is full of intentionality. The word stir means "to move to action". This verse tells me that I am supposed to think about how I can encourage others and then act on it. I believe that encouragement is contagious, when I am around encouraging people it lifts me up and I am much more likely to pass it on.

On any athletic team the goal of winning can only be reached if each teammate fills their role. The game is always more fun when everyone does their part. The body of Christ is much like a team: we have the common goal to bring glory and honor to God and yet we each have different roles to fill to accomplish that purpose. This week I encourage you to spend some time thinking about how you can be an "encouraging teammate" to those around you. Let's all aim to be the type of people that compel those in our sphere of influence to be better as well.

- Pam

Grace

“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Colossians 3:13 (ESV)

There are some days when I feel like I have just been ran over by a bus and someone I knew was driving it! As I pull myself off the ground and stare at the tire marks in the mirror; my humanness rises up. I want revenge, I want justice, and I want others to know how I have been victimized! However, if I stop and take a moment to talk to God, He gently reminds me how revenge or justice is not what Grace is all about. He fills my mind with realizations that I am no better than anyone else around me. I am full of sin. Even the angry vengeful heart in my reaction to being hurt was sinful. Who am I? I am a sinner, just like them, and God loves me so much that He sacrificed Himself so that I could be offered grace.

All God wants from us is to whole heartily love Him and in addition completely love one another as we would love ourselves (Matthew 22:38-39). Doing that means we must remember there was a moment in our lives when we were the bus driver and God forgave us. He is simply asking us do the same, it's that's simple. Stepping above our pride and offering forgiveness when others haven't earned it. It's a simple concept; it is just so hard to remember when you are damaged, when you are hurt, when you have been mistreated.

When I think of how I should react to situations like these, I am reminded of John 8:3-9. In this passage, the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery to Jesus and wanted her to be stoned as the Law commanded. Jesus response is exactly what grace is about. He said to the crowd of people holding the stones for the torturous execution, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus knew no one was better than the other. The women needed grace, not condemnation.

After reading what God tells threw His word I realize how he wants us to react when we are struggling, battered and bruised with tire marks all over our bodies. He wants us to love the bus driver. He wants me to offer grace, just as He has offered it to me.

- Heather