In almost any book you’ll find a page titled “Acknowledgements” where the author mentions people who helped make the book possible. Best-selling Christian author Max Lucado, for instance, began his latest book, Facing Your Giants, by writing, “The list of people who midwifed this book is long. Each deserves a standing ovation and early retirement.” (p.xi)

I write a weekly newspaper column, and I usually write it on a yellow legal pad over a cup of coffee in a local coffee shop. I then take it home and my wife Diann goes over it and makes some changes. Next I give it to Susan, our church’s secretary, and she makes some corrections and changes. Finally I appear brilliant! No writer can write well without one or more editors, no matter how talented he is.

Today we continue our series of messages about ten core values that we all need, and that our church needs, in order for God to do His best with us. One of those core values is having a network of people and realizing that life is a team effort. No matter what we do — and this doesn’t just apply to writers — we need others to reach our full potential, and they need us. We can’t do it all by our lonesome! Even Jesus didn’t do what He did for the Heavenly Father by Himself.

THE JESUS NETWORK
Ten years ago this coming October, Diann and I toured the Holy Land. After settling into our hotel room, I walked down to the Sea of Galilee. As I walked along, I imagined Jesus spending time along the lake and on it with His twelve disciples. I thought to myself, “This is where it all began, with 12 disciples.”

It amazes me that Jesus, the perfect Son of God, didn’t get very far into His three years of ministry on earth before He called twelve men to follow Him and help Him. The historical record states, “Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two . . . .” (Mark 6:6-7) Jesus didn’t do His ministry alone; He almost always had the Twelve with Him. Then He greatly multiplied His influence by sending out the Twelve. He could have sent them out on twelve different missions, but He only sent them on six missions, obviously seeing a greater value in having them go out in pairs instead of individually. He used the “buddy system.” Jesus believed in the team approach, and so should we.

FOUR REASONS FOR OTHERS
The book of Ecclesiastes is packed with nuggets of wisdom. Verses nine through 12 in chapter four of Ecclesiastes give us four good reasons why we need to stick together and work together.

First, Greater Accomplishment: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work.” (v.9) This is called synergy. If two men can each lift a maximum of 100 pounds, when they try to lift something together they’ll be able to lift something more than 200 pounds. Mathematically you can describe it by stating that 1+1+1=5.

Two people can both be too short to reach the fruit on a tree, but if one gets on the other’s shoulders the fruit can be had for both to enjoy. This is Pastor Rupert’s first Sunday as our associate pastor, and I look forward to the synergy of being a pastoral team. God often humbles us to the point where we realize that we need someone beside us to see something through.

Second, Mutual Help: “If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (v.10) This is the “buddy system” at work. Everyone has low moments when they need the help and encouragement of someone else who isn’t quite as low at that moment.

I’m in an accountability group with six other pastors; we meet every other week for an hour and a half. We all take turns giving what we call a “soul check,” and it’s amazing how often one man will be going through something extra tough — so he gets most of the attention as we listen, respond, and pray for him. I’ve been in that position in the group, and so has every other man.

Third, Emotional Support: “Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?” (v.11) The imagery here is of producing physical warmth by huddling together, but it certainly also applies to emotional warmth and caring.

It’s a cold, cruel world out there, and we need to be there for each other. It’s nice to know that we don’t have to face the cold realities of life alone. It has been said that when a sorrow is shared it’s cut in half, and when a joy is shared it’s doubled.

Fourth, Protection: “Though one can be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Our son Dan is in law enforcement and he’s supposed to always call for backup when he gets into a potentially dangerous situation. It’s great to know that other people are watching out for us and that they have our best interests at heart. We all need someone, or several people, to watch our backs.

I’m not sure that these four verses are distinctly different ways in which we’re supposed to help each other. I think there are some gray areas among them. In fact, I think that all four can be summarized by the last line: “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Have you ever noticed that a rope is almost always made up of three strands? We’re meant to be intertwined with other people to be and to do all that God wants.

God has His purposes for our lives, and those purposes always involve other people. There are no such things as Lone Ranger Christians. Come to think of it, even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!

God calls us to friendships, to extended families, to co-workers, to teams working on specific projects or goals, and some of us to marriage. We don’t do God’s work all by ourselves!

NETWORKS RIGHT HERE
A church, of all places, has all kinds of examples of people connected with other people to get things done. I want to encourage you to find a way to get connected to some of God’s other people.

You can connect with others by being in the choir, working at a fish fry, being on the Praise Team, making prayer shawls, teaching Sunday school, putting the newsletter together, working on funeral dinners, serving dinner at the Toledo Rescue Mission, or being in a Bible study or small group in the church, at a restaurant, or in someone’s home.

Let me be very honest with you: I firmly believe that we only experience significant spiritual growth when we involve ourselves in some way in the life of the church beyond Sunday morning worship. For instance, countless people have told me that a major part of their spiritual growth has happened in a small group Bible study or class. Somehow, some way, team up with one or more people to do something for God!

OVERCOMING THE PORCUPINE FACTOR
It’s not always easy or fun — and it’s sometimes downright difficult — to relate to other people or to work with them. In exasperation we want to say (or do say), “I’m not ever going back to that group again” or “I’m never going to help out with that again” — and then we proceed to give vent to our hurt feelings caused by a lack of appreciation being shown or by someone’s cutting comment.

I’ve been part of a church as a pastor for 31 years, so believe me, I know how it is! We’re supposed to come together, be there for each other, and work with each other — but it’s sort of like two porcupines trying to get cozy with each other. Can you imagine two porcupines hugging each other tightly with all those sharp quills? Why, they’d both end up with so many pokes that neither would be able to sleep unless they take a dose of NyQuill! (OK, it was a bad joke; I just couldn’t resist.) The only way two porcupines can hug is . . . very carefully!

There are two facts to remember. First, God calls us to work together to do His will. Second, He never said that it would be easy! The fact is that we all have to work with imperfect people — and that’s also true of the people who have to work with us!

We started out by being reminded that Jesus called the Twelve to be with Him and with each other. It wasn’t always easy! According to Scripture, “They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.” (Mark 9:33-34)

Another time the mother of James and John asked Jesus to make her sons His right-hand man and His left-hand man, undoubtedly with their approval. We read, “When the ten heard about this they were indignant with the two brothers.” (Matthew 20:24) Not only did the brothers try to negotiate the top two spots in Jesus’ kingdom, the other disciples were really upset about it. However, the others wouldn’t have been upset if position didn’t mean so much to them, too.

One other time, “Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be the greatest.” (Luke 22:24) The twelve disciples didn’t always get along very well, yet Jesus had them together.

It’s not always easy being in a marriage, being the friend of certain people, being part of a team, or being in a group with some people. They’ll exasperate us, hurt our feelings, overlook our needs, and maybe even say some things against us. God’s message to us is that we should get over it! Get beyond it! You’ll need the presence and help of Christ to do that, so it will be another opportunity to grow in your faith and relationship with Him.

In the western United States there are giant redwoods that pierce the sky with their towering heights, but their roots penetrate less than 15 feet deep. How can they stand against the strong winds? Two factors come into play: their roots spread out for 60 to 80 feet and they intertwine with the roots of other redwoods. A single redwood couldn’t survive the winds alone, but they survive when they grow in groves and forests because their intertwined roots provide the strength to stand. What’s good for redwoods is good for God’s people, too. God has designed us to be interdependent, like a grove of trees. When we regularly come beside others we can do amazing things for God — things we could never do on our own!