November 19, 202

Have you ever watched a hockey team with many talented players struggle to win games? This is especially typical of younger very talented players who have noticed that they are better than many of their peers. They have no doubt been coached to know that they need to play as a team and are likely working hard at doing it. They may even be doing well at it until they face a difficult opponent. That’s when the problem comes. They start to think they are the only one who can deliver the win, who can score the go-ahead goal, who can lead the team back from a sure loss. They forget that even the best players can’t win alone. They start playing as an individual instead of as a team.

If you are in the stands, you can see the open players being ignored, the great plays being missed. It’s when things get hard that we need to work together the most but often it’s at those times when we allow old habits to come back. When we allow our ego’s or our frustration with others to push our focus inwards. 

The Church like other teams is made up of many talented people, People who know they should work together, encourage and support each other. However when we face problems as individuals or as congregations, it’s easy to forget what we know and focus inward. We start to want to go it alone, we doubt our fellow church members, we start to think to much of ourselves. 

When churches can’t co-operate, things only get worse not better. 

A preacher named Lance Cordle recently made a list of the good things that happen when churches work together I have shared his list in effort to encourage all of us to consider the value of building one another up.

When the church works together…

– There will be less bickering and more forgiveness (Philippians 4:2).

– There will be less criticism and more encouragement (Hebrews 10:24).

– There will be less excuses and more evangelism (Acts 2:46, 47).

– There will be less selfishness and more selflessness (Philippians 2:3,4).

– There will be less discussion of personal preferences and more Bible study and seeking to know the will of God (Ephesians 5:17).

– There will be less worrying about the future and more prayer for the strength and courage to face the future (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

– There will be less dissatisfaction with worship and more concentration on God himself within our worship (John 4:24).

– There will be less individual glory and more glory to God (Matthew 5:16).

With the great need that exists all around us for God’s love and grace lets make sure it’s found in abundance among his people.

~ Kevin Cleary