Surrounded by Friends

[Jesus prayed:] “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me." (John 17:20-21)

The word "culture" was not part of the leadership/management language when I took classes to earn a masters in the 1980s. Coaching in an organization was in its infancy as well, but both terms are very popular now.

In trying to look back at our formal studies at that time, terms like "excellence" and "learning organization" were heavily in use. We also studied "teamwork" and how to build a "team." You don't study concepts like that without it having an impact on your view of organizations. What makes a good team, or in today's terms, what is the culture of a great team?

Yesterday we heard of our youth's trip to a weekend retreat to Denton to attend a youth event, and the report that came back centered on a culture within a church. Pastor shared a great story about the idea that being part of a "church" is to have access to the body of Christ and to be part of that unique team. Citing John, he talked of being in unity as a church, which infers being part of a great team as we act in unison toward a common goal.

Pastor shared the story of a young man who along his way in life found himself lost. He looked for meaning and purpose in the wrong things, so he decided to get his act together and run a marathon. He'd clearly bitten off more than he could chew, but he invited friends from church to come watch him cross the finish line. At mile 17, he called his mom to say there would be no finish line, he was dropping out of the race.

His mother feared further humiliation for him in life, but she told his friends from church what he shared. Rather than shame, though, he soon was surrounded by his friends who saw to it he finished the race.

That, my friends, is a great story. Christ prayed for this in his "High Priestly Prayer" in John 17. The prayer is for the body of Christ to be in unity, as Christ and the Father are. It's a tall order, but to seek to imitate that unity, we have a goal as the body of Christ and a model to imitate. Submitting to the will of the Father in love, we submit to one another as Christ did. We do so in service to one another and to reach the lost who are in the middle of their own marathon, lost and indifferent to dropping out of the race.

Pray with me: Gracious Father, Help us to run the race set before us and to seek the upward call of Christ, to constantly seek that prize set before us, a heavenly prize, and to share that with others. Amen