[featured_image]Starting churches is more effective with a team of committed Christians who together experience community, embrace the cross and engage the culture with the gospel.
I watched Hoosiers (1986) the other night. I had never seen it. (If you haven’t seen it – it’s about “a coach with a checkered past and a local drunk who train a small town high school basketball team to become a top contender for the championship.”) I loved the way Coach Norman Dale was able to develop the basketball team. At the first practice he tells them, “The five players on the floor function as one single unit. Team. Team. Team.”
Unfortunately, as Christians in America we don’t often function with a high value on TEAM. Instead, we value individualism. And we approach our spiritual growth individually – even privately. We fail to function as “one single unit.”
I think church plants would be much more effective if Christians were practically and visibly committed to functioning as a TEAM. Then the world would see Jesus in us. That seems to be what Jesus was praying about in John 17 – “My prayer for all of them is that thye will be one, just as you and I are one, Father–that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.” (v. 21)
Recently I’ve started running. It’s been amazing how much better I am at it then when I first started. I wouldn’t call myself a “runner” yet – but I’m getting there. My longest run was last week – 9.3 miles. Woohoo!!!
I’m learning more about running from those who run. They are encouraging me, training me, coaching me, and motivating me to run. Recently my father-in-law (my biggest inspirations toward running) passed on a couple of Runner’s World magazines. As I started reading about running and runners and best practices, I came across an article on “Team in Training” (June 2008, p 39). The author, John Hanc, states: “Running with a club can improve your fitness–if you make the most of the group dynamic.”
I’ve approached running as an individual sport. Running with others is difficult. I’m a little embarrassed that my pace isn’t faster so I’d rather run alone. Yet this article inspired me to consider the benefits that you gain from running with others. One runner quoted in the article notes: “Running with a group makes workouts easier. You feed off each other.” Another runner adds: “I wouldn’t be running at the level I am without the team. It’s hard to train with intensity by yourself.” As I continued to read the article, I was convinced that I need to find others to join when I run.
Then — I began to consider the same principles emphasized in the article being applied to a church planting context. How will planting with a team maximize your effectiveness in church planting?
