What does it really mean to be part of a team?

T.E.A.M.

by David Crowe

What exactly does it mean to be a member of a team? Webster defines a team as: 1) a group of people constituting one side in a contest or competition; 2) a group of people working together in a coordinated effort; 3) to harness or yoke together in a team.

Throughout my life I have been asked to be a member of many different teams. Whether a sports or academic team in school or a Bible or musical team at church, I have participated on many teams. As a pastor, I was asked to join different denominational and departmental teams.

As a staff member of the Home Missions Department for 14 years, I have participated on teams with varied purposes and goals. I have even been asked to be on teams that were neither denominational nor departmental. So, what does it mean to be a member of a team and what is the purpose of a team?

Allow me to use two common acronyms: 1) Together Everyone Accomplishes More and 2) Together Everyone Achieves More. It seems that the purpose of a team is to accomplish a common goal for the good of the entire team. The problem is that many of the teams of which I have been a member have not sought the good or the benefit of the entire team. They want you to be on their team. You have to understand that it is their team and that they are the owner, the manager, the captain, the quarterback, the play caller, the decision maker, and the referee. Other acronyms come to my mind, Together Everyone Assists Me, and Together Everyone Advances Me. It seems that I have been on many of these teams over the years.

I have spent a good deal of my life playing and working on other people’s teams. I no longer have the time, the energy, or the desire to be on everyone’s team. What life and ministry I have left, I truly want to count for the Kingdom of God. My goal is not to score points for the David Crowe Team or the Home Missions Team or even for the National Association of Free Will Baptists Team! Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the one and only “Captain of our salvation.” He is the one who knows and keeps the real score in this life.

In Ephesians 4:3-6, the Apostle Paul seemed to want us to understand that there is one body, one spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of all. I want to be a member of this one team. As a member of God’s team, other Free Will Baptists are not the opposition. As a member of His team, other Christians are not the enemy. Even the unsaved of this world are not the enemy team. We are not supposed to “whip them.” We are supposed to “win them!”

May we as Free Will Baptists learn to be yoked together as a team and become a TEAM of people working together in a coordinated effort only for the good of the one team.

About the Writer: David Crowe is director of development for the Home Missions Department. Learn more about the ministry of Home Missions at www.homemissions.net.