The Fourth Dimension of Teamwork

Last week the cast was announced for our Seagull Christmas production of Annie. It will take a team to put the show together – the children on stage… producer, choreographer, musical director… those responsible for scenery, costumes, make-up, lighting, publicity…

Saturday saw the start of ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. There were the ‘teams of two’ – the celebrities and their professional dance partners; there was also the bigger team of presenters, judges, dancers, musicians, technical experts…

The teamwork in both Annie and Strictly is clear – people come together with a common purpose. Teamwork was clear in last week’s sport… football, cricket, rugby, motor racing, athletics… individuals coming together with a common winning purpose…

On Saturday we went to a presentation about daughter-Jo’s Uganda trip. There was a lot about teamwork: teams of dedicated folks that run the schools and churches that they visited, the UK team – including Jo – that went to help, support and encourage…

Twenty years ago, Jo’s friend Rachel was part of a similar team that went to Uganda. Whilst there Rachel had planted a mango tree. Jo saw that tree, grown, providing shade for schoolchildren. Teamwork needs people, a common purpose and a third dimension – time for that purpose to be worked out.

Yesterday in church we heard… Simon has been fishing all night and caught nothing… Jesus teaches the people from Simon’s boat… Jesus tells Simon to go fishing again… they catch a huge quantity of fish… partners in another boat have to help – there are so many fish. Teamwork!

People with a common purpose… the time-dimension: experienced fishermen, skills learnt over many years… join with a very random group of men, that, over time, become a team of disciples…  

…because of a fourth, spiritual, dimension. Jesus motivated and enabled this unlikely team to work together. Jo would say that fourth spiritual/God dimension was present in their Uganda team. And perhaps somewhere in performances and sport, churches and schools, there is this fourth dimension of teamwork for those who choose to find it.