Jesus Had A Team

In life, everything works as a team.  Be it a family, business, church, sports, social cause, or mission. A family typically consists of at least two people. Even individual sports require more than one person, such as the athlete, coach, helper, physical therapist, and so on. Even Jesus worked as a team. He is God, and He could have done it all by Himself, but He did not. He built a team and had an interdependent relationship. He showed us its importance and impact.

Interdependent Relationship

Our life began cradled in dependence, nourished by our mothers from conception, received, held, and loved into being. It is the sacred beginning of a human being. As we grow, we become independent. We learn to walk, talk, behave, decide, and eventually provide for ourselves. Independence is a triumph, but it is not the destination. As we mature, we grow beyond self-sufficiency into the ultimate sacred realm of interdependence. All creations, including relationships, are nurtured in interdependence. The higher reaches of human potential, character, happiness, and achievements are closely tied to our interdependence. This is where connection, acceptance, reciprocity, adjustment, and trust prevail, and common purposes emerge. 

Jesus and interdependence

When Jesus was on earth, people from all walks of life came to Him: the rich and the poor, Jews and Gentiles, and the educated and the uneducated, as well as businessmen and officers. He was compassionate, healed, fed, comforted, and taught everyone alike. But He went after a few and developed interdependent relationships; they became very close, and Jesus called them His friends. In the garden of Gethsemane, when His soul was in anguish, He asked three of them to be with Him and pray for Him. When He was on the cross, He entrusted His mother to the care of one of the disciples. These show us the interdependent relationships Jesus had with His team. 

Look beyond the weaknesses

Jesus was perfect, but the disciples were not. The disciples, like us, had all the human weaknesses. They argued about who would be the greatest. Peter was often impulsive, Thomas was doubtful, and Judas had a different motive. At times, His disciples deserted Him. They fell asleep during a crucial moment of Jesus’s life. When Jesus needed them the most, they all ran away. Peter was so afraid that he denied Jesus even after being warned. The team even had people like Judas.

Jesus did not give up on them because He had a far greater purpose and saw the disciples beyond their weaknesses; He knew that the process He set out for them to grow as a team would prepare them.  When they stumbled, He turned those moments into learning opportunities. Eventually, they began to grasp the broader perspective, and they set aside their differences and individual preferences to work together as a team.

You have each other

When a missionary goes to a far-off land, there is a mission agency, churches, supporters, and people standing behind him. Similarly, each member of the witnessing team is a missionary to their own family members, friends, neighbors, or coworkers who are not able to believe. The team has your back, and they have yours. It keeps you stay on the course. You learn from one another, you encourage each other, and if one member does not show up, you reach out to them. But the enemy will convince you to be a witness on your own, alone, and without a team, because he knows if you do it alone, you won't last.

Dynamics of the witnessing team

The team holds each other accountable and takes responsibility for one another's witnessing lifestyle. The team meets twice a month, or as frequently as the team chooses.  Meetings may last no more than 30 minutes. The leader sets the team meeting schedule, which is updated on the team meeting page. There are questions to guide the team interactions.  After you share your response to the fourth question, go to Team Chat and enter the ‘next one thing’ you want to do before the next meeting. This is for you to remember, for the team to pray for, and to hold each other accountable. The Team leader may suggest that team members go through certain Concepts again and may encourage a discussion from time to time. Team meetings are among the most critical aspects of the Witnessing Team, with a far-reaching impact.

Far-reaching Impact 

After Jesus's ascension, people thought the movement Jesus started would die off. But it became unstoppable.  The disciples had each other, the Holy Spirit, and a mission they believed in. This interdependent relationship enabled them to look beyond their own limitations, as well as the weaknesses of their companions. Nothing stopped them, not even death. They saw themselves in the grand scheme of eternity and their crucial role in God's great plan of redemption. It changed everything in their lives. Jesus’s team transformed fishermen into fishers of men. It even transformed doubting Thomas into a traveler who would travel as far as India to preach the gospel and establish churches that still stand today. You being part of the team is going to have a far-reaching impact on you, your team, and, very importantly, those whom you have listed and are developing influential relationships with.