There is no "I" in Team

Baseball is a team sport, sporting nine players a team. Each player has a certain skill, and on a good team, the skills of all the players complement each other.

 

Some players can catch ground balls while others are good at catching them in the air. Some can throw the ball 95 miles per hour, and one, possible crazy, player catches those 95 mph fast balls with a piece of lumber whizzing by his head.

 

A team does well when each player is focused on the team goal, knows his role, trusts his mates and properly executes his role. It takes all nine to perform. No one person can do it all.

 

There is no “I” in team.

 

Today’s reading is 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. Paul is telling us that Christians have the Holy Spirit, and that the Spirit gifts us with certain abilities. We all have spiritual gifts, some of us have the same gift but none of us has all the gifts. Further, our spiritual gifts are not for our benefit, but the for the common good of the church.

 

The third petition of the Apostles Creed starts,” I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy catholic church, the communion of saints, … “

 

The Church is holy, that is set apart. It is set apart to carry out Christ’s mission. The Holy Spirit dwells in each of us, we have been gifted and we have a mission, but we are not in this alone.

 

We have teammates.

 

Like a baseball team, each of us needs to play our role and trust our teammates. We need to stay focused on the mission and to do that we need to properly utilize the gifts that we were given.

 

To know your role in the Church you must know what your gifts are.

 

There is no “I” in team, but there is an “I” in gift.

 

Do you know what your gifts are?

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Sometimes we forget how special we are; how vital our lives are to those around us. Before I became a follower of Jesus I would often question why I was born. I did not feel useful or needed in this world. Until God gets hold of us, until our relationship with Jesus begins to strengthen and the Holy Spirit fills us, it is natural to have these feelings. The Spiritual Gifts we are blessed with change our lives forever. They change the lives of those around us as well.

Every Christian is given special gifts by the Holy Spirit to use for the good of the Community of Believers. There are no exceptions; some of us have more than one gift. Do you know what your Spiritual Gift is/are? Do you enjoy teaching? Perhaps you are one of those special people who send notes to people thanking them for things they do. This is the sign of an encourager. Do you enjoy serving, especially in the background, working diligently on a project or ministry? This is the gift of helps.

Maybe your forte is planning events and leading people, you may have been gifted with administration or leadership. Perhaps you haven't figured out what your gift is and you are waiting for it to be revealed. No need, jump right in and begin serving - you will know soon enough. I have found that my gifts are also my passion. I would not feel complete if I were not able to serve within the area of my passion.

"God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful" (1 Corinthians 12:4-11 MSG)

Read the 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 text here.  Listen to an audio reading of 1 Corinthians 12:1-11 here.