He was in every one of my high school gym classes. He was on every
athletic team I ever played on. Whether basketball, soccer, football, or
baseball, he was there. Most of the time, he possessed exceptional
athletic abilities. But once in a while his greatness was only in his
mind. Regardless, one trait remained—he was a glory hog. Our physical
education teacher often loudly called him a “hot dog” because he always
hogged the ball and stole the show. His idea of a team was a group of
people whose sole purpose of existence was to make him look good. The
concept of each team member working together toward a common goal was
foreign to him. Unfortunately, this hot dog mentality also creeps into
churches and our own ministries. The Apostle Paul called it “selfish
ambition” (Phil 1:17). It is the fruit of pride and the enemy of team ministry.
Team ministry is not something new. It originates in the Scriptures.
First, let us briefly look at the New Testament basis for team ministry
and then we will examine its benefits.
Basis 1: Jesus started the concept of team ministry. When Jesus first sent His disciples out to preach and heal, He sent them out in pairs (Mark 6:7).
Basis 2: The apostles developed team ministry. This
is seen most keenly in the practice of the church at Antioch. Having
delivered funds for famine relief to the Jerusalem church, the ministry
team of Barnabas and Saul returned along with John Mark (Acts 12:25). Then the Holy Spirit called the same ministry team to go on the first missionary journey (Acts 13:1-3).
New Testament examples of team ministry reveal four benefits: Continue at Paul Tautges
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