While a team is made up of individuals, a good team is more than the sum of it's parts. I remember learning this the hard way in my early twenties.
I was part of a talented group of other young men who formed a basketball team. We joined a local B grade competition with every expectation we would win the championship. While we made it to the finals, we did not win. In fact, we lost our first three finals.As dissappointing as this was at the time, as I look back now I can see how character building it was for us all. We continued to improve as a team, eventually winning the B grade, then A grade championships. The following year we moved on to a better competion to win a couple of championships there too.
Understanding our role in a team is vital. While I don't play a lot of basketball anymore, I still appreciate the value of teamwork, and benefit from applying the principles I learned on that basketball team to other areas of my life.
Be it at work, sport, church or home, the team dynamics we find ourselves in create opportunities for ourselves and others to grow, succeed and belong.
I thank God for the privilege of being part of some great teams in my life.
