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Recently, there was a picture in the newspaper of a three-wheeled tractor, with the following editorial comment, “The old farmer in his 50s or 60s sits on a tractor, driving it down a street, perhaps on his way to get it repaired. There is a major problem: he is missing the front left wheel. Not a flat…

In How Will You Measure Your Life?, by Clayton M. Christensen, and James Allworth write, “It is hard to overestimate the power of these motivators—the feelings of accomplishment and learning, of being a key player on a team that is achieving something meaningful.” -- How Will You Measure Your Life, p.…

Mechanical engineers at the Georgia Institute of Technology published a report detailing the remarkable behavior of a group of ants in water. When dropped on to the surface of the water, a temporary cushion of air sounds the single ant, helping it float for a small period. When scientists drop a group…

Our taste buds and noses work in unison to produce the myriad of flavors we experience when we eat. Even within our mouths, there are a number of flavor receptors spread on the surface of the tongue that are designed to detect bitter, sweet, and salty. All these components work in concert to alert us…

It took online gamers to achieve a breakthrough that had eluded scientists for a decade. In a recently published article, gamers and researchers announced they have deciphered a key structure of an AIDS-like virus. They claim understanding the structure of an enzyme will help scientists understand the…

TEAMWORK In The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George Hunter writes, “A zoologist once informed me that a tiger will defeat a lion in battle; but five lions will defeat five tigers because the lions fight together and the tigers do not, so the five lions take on one tiger at a time.” – Kindle Book, Highlight…

TEAMWORK In his book, What the Dog Saw: And Other Adventures, Malcolm Gladwell writes, “But the link between, say, IQ and job performance is distinctly underwhelming. On a scale where 0.1 or below means virtually no correlation and 0.7 or above implies a strong correlation (your height, for example,…

"Teamwork always beats individual greatness." Bob Zuppke "It’s easy to find great players. What’s hard is getting people to play as a team. That’s the selling job." Chuck Daly "Success is based on what the team does, not how you look." Knute Rockne "The team itself must be the leader of the team." Phil…

FRIENDS In his book, The Shape of Faith to Come, Brad Waggoner writes, “Church practices vary. No congregation is exactly like another. Facilitating fellowship, however, does not have to be hard. We must get past the idea of a ‘friendly church’ to the concept of a ‘church of friends.’” --Shape of Faith…

When you help support your pastor, you are helping support the Lord’s work. To highlight its annual picnic one year, a company rented two racing shells and challenged a rival company to a boat race. The rival company accepted. On the day of the picnic, everyone entered into the spirit of the event. Women…

In his book, Church is a Team Sport: A Championship Strategy for Doing Ministry Together, Jim Putman writes, “the church is supposed to be a collection of transformed individuals molded by God into a team.” --Church is a Team Sport, 66. Illustration by Jim L. Wilson and Wilson Tsoi The biblical imagery…

COMMUNITY In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell writes, “Successful people don't do it alone. Where they come from matters. They're products of particular places and environments.” -- Outliers: The Story of Success, 119 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson For more information on Outliers go to:…

TEAMWORK On Thursday, July 23, 2009, Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle threw a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. It was the first time a White Sox pitcher had accomplished such a feat in 87 years. A perfect game means that Buehrle didn’t allow a hit, and that no one got on base in the…

TEAMWORK In Outliers: The Story of Success, Malcolm Gladwell writes, “The kinds of errors that cause plane crashes are invariably errors of teamwork and communication.” --Outliers: The Story of Success, 184 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson Proverbs 27:9 (NIV) “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart,…

I have been, throughout my life, a Dallas Cowboys fan. But, I have to tell you, being a Cowboys fan is getting harder and harder. For those of you who follow professional football, two letters will tell you why, “T, O.” T. O. stands for Terrell Owens, the loud-mouthed, but talented wide receiver who…

Partnership We were quite a pair. At my last church, there were five of us on staff, two full-time people, me and the secretary and three part-time ministers. One of the part-time pastors was Dr. McGuffin, a semi-retired pastor who'd spent the bulk of his ministry pastoring in New Mexico and California.…

COOPERATION David Letterman recently quipped, “People say New Yorkers can’t get along. Not true. I saw two New Yorkers, complete strangers, sharing a cab. One guy took the tires and the radio; the other guy took the engine. —Reader’s Digest, Sept 2003, p. 61 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson People who normally…

Survivor As we are finalizing our plans to vacation in the mountains of Colorado, I only have one concern, can I survive without Survivor? Yes, I'm addicted. Right now I'm developing some strategies to make it without my weekly Wednesday night fix. For instance, instead of going shopping at the Safeway…

Pentecost “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.” Acts 2:1 (KJV) The independent commission investigating the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack reported that the rescue efforts were hampered by a "Rivalry between New York's police and fire departments."…

The Egyptian plover bird has what scientists refer to as a symbiotic relationship with native crocodiles. The plover bird naturally preys on parasites that are harmful to the crocodile. For that reason, the crocodile allows the bird complete access to its body, even opening its jaws to allow its avian…

Teamwork The final seconds on the clock were ticking down. It was fourth and goal to goal and we were behind by just a few points against a rival school. A touchdown would mean victory. Our quarterback called time out and went to the sidelines to get a play from the coach. The manager brought water for…

A Three-starnd Cord Matthew 18:15-20 A cord of three strands is not quickly broken (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). That makes sense, doesn’t it? We have probably all at one time braided three strands of something together and then been amazed at the strength that it took to separate them. It is the principle…

110% My teammates cheered. Coach didn't say a word and neither did I. I usually enjoyed "Film Day," every Monday afternoon. Long before Camcorders and VHS tapes, our coach would have every game filmed on 16 mm, have it developed overnight and ready for Monday's practice. Dressed only in football pants…

Teamwork "Many times a day I realize how much my own outer and inner life is built upon the labors of my fellow men, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have recieved." Source: The 17 Irrefutable Laws of Teamwork p. 465

What makes a good leader? That question was asked by the Army War College in a study of highly regarded major generals in Iraq. Subordinates rated the officers anonymously. The responses, in order of importance: Keeps cool under pressure. Clearly explains missions, standards, and priorities. Sees the…