When I think of teamwork, I think of grace. To me, grace is the fuel that gets the job done. If we lack grace in our hearts, we fail as a team. Why is that? Well, for starters to be grace-oriented, one must possess Christ-like eyes and ears, always looking out for, and intent on, serving others.

The greatest among you shall be your servant.
-Matthew 23:11

In order for a team to function, it must meet two basic criteria. First, it cannot exist in the absence of grace (the expression of love). Second, it cannot exist unless two or more people are grace-oriented towards each other. If either of these are missing, the so-called “team” is nothing but an empty construct, a façade.

Maybe you’ve experienced this “empty team” phenomenon with a group project in school. I hated group projects because someone was always lazy and if I wanted (or needed) a good grade I’d end up having to do all the work. That’s not really teamwork, is it? As a result, I would have no desire to ever work with that person again. You may have also experienced this if you ever played on a bad sports team.

Wearing a uniform doesn’t make you part of a team, not in the truest sense, anyways.

Christian ministry puts a premium on teamwork. Do we have uniforms? Sort of, but they seem to vary. For example, we don one the moment we proclaim we are Christians. The rest of the world henceforth categorizes us, for better or worse, on the same “spiritual team”. The big question is, do we all act like team members? Sometimes, but not always. (To be fair, the only flawless team member in human history was Jesus. Nonetheless, I hope you get the point I’m making here.)

The proof is in the pudding, as they say. Grace is the evidence. As I’ve taught over the years, true love cannot help but express itself (grace is love’s expression). It’s easy to spot true teammates because they are invested, personally, in each other’s lives - their hearts are knit together.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.
-Romans 12:15-16

The Bible describes many scenarios where teamwork was imperative to a mission’s success. Although we read about it, it’s difficult to imagine the mountain of work those in the early church faced, simply in getting the good news about Jesus Christ out to the rest of the world.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
-Matthew 28:18-20

We see many instances in Holy Scripture where disciples of Jesus were engaged in ministry as a team. Jesus sent them out with austere instructions.

And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.

He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
-Mark 6:7-13

The Book of Acts is filled with similar stories, for example:

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
-Acts 13:1-3

There’s an overarching theme of teamwork in the ministry. We are encouraged to join forces in the name of Christ. In fact, we are better as individuals when we’re active members of a team. That’s the beauty of two or more grace-oriented people coming together for a common cause. Everyone benefits.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
-Proverbs 27:17

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!
-Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

One of the evil strategies the world uses to undermine Christian teamwork is to tempt individual team members to focus more on self than others. As soon as this happens, the team begins to erode. I’ve seen this many times in my tenure as a pastor. The music ministry comes to mind. Thank God my current music ministry leader is a humble guy, but I’ve had others who have left essentially because I squashed even the slightest notion of there being something special about them just because they were up on stage singing. The kingdom of darkness is always looking for ways to exploit individual weaknesses in the church. Another great example is those aspiring to be pastors. Paul warned:

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.
-1 Timothy 3:6

We see this very temptation being played out with those who were building up individual pastors, like Apollos, in the Church. This is terrible, evil business. We have the same problem today with celebrity pastors and megachurches. I’m ashamed to even be associated with such leaders and their so-called “Christian ministries”. Paul wrote to the Corinthians (who in many ways resembled contemporary Americans) to set the record straight regarding this tendency to elevate individual spiritual gifts above others. In essence, he espoused the virtues of teamwork and the simple fact that there’s only one team Captain, and that’s Jesus.

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
-1 Corinthians 3:6-11

To the same church, Paul wrote:

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.
-1 Corinthians 12:12-27

I honestly thought this was going to be a relatively short blog post.  Apparently, God the Holy Spirit had a lot to say on this topic. In retrospect, it makes perfect sense, given the command that we spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We aren’t called to do this alone. Whether it’s a church ministry, an evangelical mission locally or abroad, or even your own personal ministry to family and friends, we perform our duties as unto the Lord better as a team.

I think people are confused about what effective ministry looks like. It makes sense when we live in a culture which promotes the ultimate achievement of being on a team as standing out as an individual. I’ll leave you with this. I know what true teamwork isn’t. It isn’t a bunch of self-absorbed rock stars siphoning glory from the only One deserving of it (hint: His initials are J.C.). Ministries survive because they are comprised of team members who are grace-oriented, intent on serving the Lord and one another as they go about their business of spreading the Gospel.

Grace-orientation is what ultimately keeps ministries (and teams) together. Love fuels grace. If we’re going to wear a uniform, let it be love.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
-Colossians 3:14

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins