Life Lessons Learned from a National Championship-Lesson 4

Teams win more games when they play together than individuals who try to just do their own thing.  The number one comment by the National Champion Indiana football players was the fact that they loved playing as a team.  They spoke of how they loved each other.  Several of them said that they were willing to die on the field for a teammate.

They didn’t worry about who got the credit.  In every interview I heard, the players gave first the credit to God and then to their families and fellow teammates.  They were reluctant to take responsibility for being the hero.  They saw themselves as playing a role so that the whole team could win.

There is no “I” in TEAM.  Businesses, churches, and athletic teams who have people who want to take the credit and attention are usually those that will fail. The Bible is clear that those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those that humble themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:12) That’s the kind of person that every organization needs. TEAM really means “together everybody accomplishes more.”

Now we preachers really have to learn this. We are quick to take credit for things that other people have done.  Organizations that have people who check their egos at the door are the organizations that ultimately will be very successful.  Big egos seldom lead to real heroes.  Big egos usually lead to zeros.

Teamwork will make the dream work.  People working together can accomplish so much more.  Read Ecclesiastes 3.  If one man falls and has no one else around, he has nobody to help him get up.  I’ve learned to identify with that as I’ve crossed the 87-year mark.  Now two people can help each other and three are even better. When you get a whole team together, you will see good things happen.

I’m not good at science but let me give you my understanding of the difference between a spotlight and a laser beam. I know the lesson is correct.  Even a medium-powered laser beam can cut through steel in a matter of seconds.  The most powerful spotlight cannot cut through it but can only make it warm.  Both have the same electrical power requirements.  The difference is the unity of teamwork.  

A laser is simply a medium of excited molecules with mirrors at each end.  Some of the excited molecules naturally decay into a less exciting state.  In that process of decay, they release a photon, a particle of light.  Here is where the uniqueness of the laser begins.

The photon moves along and ‘tickles’ another molecule, inviting another photon to join in on the journey.  These two photons tickle two more molecules and invite them to join the parade.  Soon you have a big army of photons marching in step with each other.  It is this unity that gives the laser its power.

Now a spotlight will have just as many photons, but each is going in its own independent way, even sometimes interfering with other photons.  As a result, much of this power is wasted and cannot be focused on doing anything useful. It can only warm a piece of steel.  However, the laser, because of its unity, is like an army marching in tight formation and can focus all its power on its objective.

Many teams, organizations, and churches are like spotlights when they could be laser beams.  Unity requires focus, commitment, coordination and a willingness to work together–energy generated by that unity can cut through anything!

Is your organization a TEAM?