We are a team!

This week I am at the Kansas City District’s Pastoral Team retreat. When I first started pastoring, this event was called “Pastors and Wives Retreat,” but someone wise and thoughtful recognized that in our tradition we believe that God calls both men and women. Hence, the notion of a Pastors and “wives” retreat would not be quite right. So the name was changed to “Pastors and Spouses Retreat,” but someone wise and thoughtful recognized that in our tradition we believe that God calls both single and married individuals. So to say that the retreat was for pastors and “spouses” wasn’t quite right either. So now we have “Pastoral Team Retreat”—and that’s where I and the rest of the pastoral staff are this week.

I like the notion that we are a “team.” Now, I don’t think that the powers that be on the district will be passing out uniforms and playbooks. I certainly hope that this week we won’t be playing any team games (the vision of a group of pastor types playing a giant game of kickball just isn’t a pretty sight, in my mind’s eye). Still, we are a team. The Nazarene pastors in the Kansas City area are in this Kingdom building business together.

And not just the preachers on the district—we believers are a team. A unified group is what we are called to be. In fact, one of the last things that Jesus did before his arrest and crucifixion was pray that we would be a team. Unfortunately, a case could be made that the only prayer that Jesus ever prayed that wasn’t answered (or at least, that hasn’t been answered yet) was that very prayer in John 17 that we believers would be one. Here’s the prayer that Jesus prayed: "I am praying not only for these disciples, (that is-- the original twelve disciples that were in the upper room with Jesus) but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. (John 17:20-21)

Jesus’ prayer is that we would be one. And the result of our oneness, the result of our being a team, is that the world would believe. Could it be that the world doesn’t believe in the degree that they could believe, because we modern day disciples haven’t been as united as we should be? Could it be that the world sees Christians bickering and complaining, churches splitting and arguing— and they conclude: Why be a part of that? If I want to watch people fight, I’ll tune into wrestling or go to my in-laws. (Attention Rob’s in-laws: the preceding statement was just an expression—I know that y’all don’t fight. I’m not divulging any family secrets. Whew, that was a close one… I almost wrote myself out of a Christmas present.). Excuse my tangent, the point is: Could it be that if we displayed more love, more care, more concern, we would make more and better disciples?

Listen, I know our church isn’t the perfect church. (I know it’s not perfect because I personally know the lead pastor, and I know for a fact that he isn’t perfect). In fact, there are no “perfect churches” out there. We all have our warts. But I also know this,--as we work together, warts and all, as a unified team God will work in great ways. The world will believe and more and better disciples will be the result!

So, if you ever see things that are less than perfect in our church or in the Kingdom of God at large, would you try this: determine to make them better. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Don’t be like my childhood friend, Timmy who whenever things didn’t go his way, would get mad, take his ball and go home. We are on a team. That means – we work together, we refuse to quit, we determine that God has great things in store if we just keep moving forward and trusting him.

We don’t have fancy uniforms… but we are a team! Let’s determine to win our world for Jesus!