I have played on some bad teams.  I’ve also played on some great teams.  The bad teams usually, actually always were losing teams.  The great teams, were teams that won.  Winning is fun, losing isn’t.  In looking back the teams that won had one thing in common, unity.  The teams that were bad and lost had one thing in common too, division.  On those bad teams it wasn’t that they didn’t have the potential to do great things because they did.  What they usually had included individuals that didn’t care a bit about team, had very little vision, and were in it for themselves.  Had a personal agenda.  The winning teams sometimes had less potential, but had individuals who were willing to put personal agendas and goals aside for the greater good of the team.  Unity was important, critical from my perspective to victory.  And it was fun.

Saul lost his kingdom in part because he was divided from David, he got on God’s bad side on top of it.  Jesus in his last conversation with his disciples encouraged them to stay together and then prayed that they would be one.  As you know that is not easy, there was division early in the life of the church and then throughout history.  But no organization has so changed the face of our planet like the church.  The church in my community is doing great things in part because it is unified.  The decision was made by pastor/leaders to work together, never talk negatively of another church, and see if we couldn’t move our community towards transformation.  The thought was that if the water rises all ships would rise.  Many churches are healthy in the community because of that decision.  It is fun.

I believe that unity is hardwired into the universe.  Where you see it you see organizations and communities thriving.  Where it is absent you see struggle.  In Proverbs, a book of wisdom that is part of our bibles, it says that “where there is division there is strife and all forms of evil”.  I believe we have probably all lived on both sides of unity.

My first hit in the big leagues came in my eighth at bat in Fenway Park in Boston.  I was getting desperate because I’d hit the ball hard several times but had nothing to show for it.  In this particular at bat I hit the ball hard again but it was going right at left fielder Jim Rice.  My heart sank as I thought I’d just made another out.  But then all of the sudden I realized the ball had carried over his head and had bounded off the Green Monster.  As I was praying this morning I realized that all these years I have thought that Jim Rice had misplayed the ball but could have actually played it wonderfully to hold me to a long single.  Our persceptions are not always reality.  The manager had the next hitter sacrifice bunt me to second in order for the following hitters to have opportunity to get a hit and drive me in.  At second I made the decision that I’d better get a big lead so that I could score on a base hit.  The shortstop who was a veteran put on a pick off play and picked me off.  Dave Neihaus the radio man called it a rookie mistake.

In our Life Journal reading this morning from 1 Samuel, Samuel as a young man is hearing the voice of God but has no idea it is indeed God speaking to him.  It is Eli who helps him understand that it was God.  As a pastor one of the things that I believe God has called me to do is to help people “hear” the voice of God.  The problem is that I too am trying to figure out how he speaks to me on a personal level.  As I try to spend time daily reading my bible and praying I find that God really does through these two disciplines, speak to those who are seeking him.

As I begin the journey of blogging you need to know, I will make some rookie mistakes and my persceptions will not always be accurate.  Just know, I’m ok with that and look forward to using this medium to further influence people to the things of God.