We Are…Team Oriented 1 Cor 1:10-17, 26-31; 1 Cor 12:14-26; 1 Cor 3:5-9

Good morning FE, it is joy to gather as a church to worship the Lord together by singing, giving and growing in the Lord by listening to his Word. My name is Josue Aguilar, I am one of the Elders here at Espanol.

Last week we started a series called Us, in this series, we are looking at values that make us…US. As we go through this series, it will feel a little different than our normal expository preaching approach, which Alfredo talked about in his message Biblically Centered, in which we look at a passage with a microscope. In this series we look at the Bible, more like survey, pulling from the Scriptures reoccuring themes we see throughout the Bible. While last week we talked about a theme we believe every church should be, Biblically Centered. Today we are going to talk about something which makes us very distinct and unique from other churches, but we do not necessarily believe every church across the world, should do ministry the way we do it here at Fellowship Bible Church. One of the values we hold that make us…US, is we are team oriented. From the outset of the founding of this church in 1977, the founders began with this idea of team ministry, and the idea of team has flourished throughout the years, to what it is today at Fellowship Bible Church.

When we Survey the landscape of the Bible, throughout the Bible, God often works through a teams of people to accomplish His purposes — for His glory and our good.

In the New Testament we can look at Jesus, when Jesus started his ministry, he selected 12 men and with these 12 men Jesus changed the world. But we also read Jesus sent out 70 disciples to do ministry, and he sent them out in teams of 2. But Jesus also had an inner circle, Peter, James and John a team of 3. When we look through the book of Acts, you rarely see the Apostles do ministry alone. They are usually 2 or more working together for the spread of the Gospel. Even the apostle Paul, Paul could not accomplished what he accomplished if it were not for God sovereignly surrounding him with a team of people who could accomplish the great commission. When they instituted deacons, it was a team of 7, when Paul wrote his pastoral letters, he wanted the church to select Elders, which will be next weeks topic, he uses the Elders in the plural meaning more than one.

When we look at the Old Testament, we discover the Lord setting up the nation of Israel, and although we see the Lord work through a leader like Moses, Joseph, David, to lead the people of Israel, Israel was governed by priests who were designed to lead the people in worship, by prophets who were to preach the word of the Lord to the people and a King, and God’s design was that he wanted to be the King over Israel, God was going to rule, what happened?

In I Samuel 8, we discover that the people cried out to the Lord for a king to rule Israel, the Lord tells them if you institute a king like the other nations, it will not go well for you. An earthly king will take advantage of the people, treat them badly, if you set up an earthly king to take the place of God, the earthly king will expect you to treat him like God. What happened? The people cried out for a king and the Lord said give the people what they want… and the people suffered. The Lord’s intention was to always make a way HE could have a direct relationship with the people, whether it was on the Mt Sinai when the Lord said bring the people so I can speak to them and the people were afraid, or through the tabernacle where the presence of the Lord is in a tent among the people, or in the temple, to the ultimate expression of Jesus himself coming to dwell with humanity in the flesh, and now because of the life, death and resurrection, we have the Spirit who indwells us. God desire is to be in direct relationship with his people. But we as people tend to make it messy, we want something else. We see this happen in Corinth, just like the people of Israel in the Old Testament, who were looking for a human leader to lead, the church in Corinth began to create divisions around who was their favorite leader.

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 ESV

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. (I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

1 Corinthians 1:10–17 ESV

10 Os ruego, hermanos, por el nombre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo, que todos os pongáis de acuerdo[e], y que no haya divisiones[f] entre vosotros, sino que estéis enteramente unidos en un mismo sentir[g] y en un mismo parecer. 11 Porque he sido informado acerca de vosotros, hermanos míos, por los de Cloé, que hay contiendas entre vosotros. 12 Me refiero a que cada uno de vosotros dice: Yo soy de Pablo, yo de Apolos, yo de Cefas, yo de Cristo. 13 ¿Está dividido Cristo?[h] ¿Acaso fue Pablo crucificado por vosotros? ¿O fuisteis bautizados en el nombre de Pablo? 14 Doy gracias a Dios[i] que no bauticé a ninguno de vosotros, excepto a Crispo y a Gayo,15 para que nadie diga que fuisteis bautizados en mi nombre. 16 También bauticé a los de la casa de Estéfanas; por lo demás, no sé si bauticé a algún otro. 17 Pues Cristo no me envió a bautizar, sino a predicar[j] el evangelio, no con palabras elocuentes[k], para que no se haga vana la cruz de Cristo.

The church in Corinth began to develop groups of people, there were those who were in the group of Paul, others Apollos and yet others Cephas, who is Peter. Paul writes them and says which one of us died for you? It is not about us it is about the message of the Gospel, its all about Jesus! We are all on the same team! He continues in verse 26

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 ESV

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 1:26–31 ESV

Pues considerad[q], hermanos, vuestro llamamiento; no hubo muchos sabios conforme a la carne[r], ni muchos poderosos, ni muchos nobles;27 sino que Dios ha escogido lo necio del mundo, para avergonzar a los sabios; y Dios ha escogido lo débil del mundo, para avergonzar a lo que es fuerte; 28 y lo vil y despreciado del mundo ha escogido Dios; lo que no es, para anular lo que es; 29 para que nadie[s] se jacte delante de Dios. 30 Mas por obra suya[t] estáis vosotros en Cristo Jesús, el cual se hizo para nosotros sabiduría de Dios, y justificación, y santificación, y redención,31 para que, tal como está escrito: El que se gloría, que se gloríe en el Señor.

God choose what is foolish to shame the wise, God chose what is weak to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised… why? so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. In other words Paul is telling the church don’t think to highly of yourself, or your leaders, or anyone the Lord uses, because we were all once foolish, we were all weak, we were all low and despised but because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus which is the wisdom of God, we receive rightousness, we are sanctified and we are redeemed. IF we are going to boast, lets boast in the Lord, who deserves all glory. Lets not look to a man lets look to the Lord who forms the man through his Spirit to accomplish Gospel ministry for his glory.

God has always worked from keeping us from elevating a man to to the level of God and he has always worked at keeping the leader from thinking he is God and taking the glory for himself.

Which is one of the things I love about Fellowship Bible Church. God has directed this church early on to value team. To limit the exaltation of any one leader and focus on how we are better together for his glory. There are various ways that team plays a part in our church;

Elder team - next week

CLT - Central Leadership Team, which leaders from the different ministries in the church that guide and make decisions for the church

Campus Pastor Team - Who lead there own campuses, but come together to discuss the word and other issues that arise.

The Teaching Pastor Team -

The Teaching Pastor team is one of the most unique ways team ministry is applied at Fellowship Bible Church, because if someone has asked you like they have asked me, who is the Senior Pastor at Fellowship Bible Church? I always say we have 4, which always causes people to scratch their heads. Mark, Brandon Justin and Ben all use their gifts and talents the Lord has given them to lead our church. In a very real way, here in Espanol and the other FBC campuses, we have the voices of 5 different pastors in every Campus, the teaching Pastors and campus pastor. I have been here since 2018, and I love this model of team ministry, it has been a blessing to see and be part of. Here are some of the

Reasons why we love team at Fellowship

A reflection of the Triune Nature of God - When we look through the revelation of Scripture, we see how God is triune in nature, he is one God who revels himself in three person. We see God speak of himself in the singualr and the plural. Genesis 1:26–27 “Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness….So God created man in his own image,” We see God say Let us (plural) then the very next verse God created man in his own image (singular). In this Tri-unity nature of God we see them working out the purposes of God for the glory of God, even to accomplish our redemption. In 1 Peter 1:2 Peter is talking to the those chosen by God who have been dispersed across Asia Minor, and he says they are elect exiles “according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood: May grace and peace be multiplied to you.” Chosen by the Father, Sanctified by the Spirit, for obedience to Christ… we see all three members working together to accomplish redemption. When we work as a team we reflect God.

I also love team ministry because it is a reflection of the Church and Kingdom Values - Listen to what Paul tells the church in Corinth

1 Corinthians 12:14–26 ESV

For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

1 Corinthians 12:14–26 ESV

14 Porque el cuerpo no es un solo miembro, sino muchos. 15 Si el pie dijera: Porque no soy mano, no soy parte del cuerpo, no por eso deja de ser parte del cuerpo. 16 Y si el oído dijera: Porque no soy ojo, no soy parte del cuerpo, no por eso deja de ser parte del cuerpo. 17 Si todo el cuerpo fuera ojo, ¿qué sería del[l] oído? Si todo fuera oído, ¿qué sería del[m] olfato? 18 Ahora bien, Dios ha colocado a cada uno de los miembros[n] en el cuerpo según le agradó. 19 Y si todos fueran un solo miembro, ¿qué sería del[o] cuerpo? 20 Sin embargo, hay muchos miembros, pero un solo cuerpo. 21 Y el ojo no puede decir a la mano: No te necesito; ni tampoco la cabeza a los pies: No os necesito. 22 Por el contrario, la verdad es que los miembros[p] del cuerpo que parecen ser los más débiles, son los más necesarios; 23 y las partes del cuerpo que estimamos[q]menos honrosas, a estas las vestimos con[r] más honra; de manera que las partes que consideramos más íntimas[s], reciben un trato más honroso, 24 ya que nuestras partes presentables no lo necesitan. Mas así formó[t] Dios el cuerpo, dando mayor honra a la parte que carecía de ella, 25 a fin de que en el cuerpo no haya división[u], sino que los miembros tengan el mismo cuidado unos por otros. 26 Y si un miembro sufre, todos los miembros sufren con él; y si un miembro es honrado[v], todos los miembros se regocijan con él. 

Through team we recognize the need for each other, In the movie Thunderbolts or the New Avengers, an organization performed tests on Bob, they desire to create the best Super Soldier known as Sentry. He has all the amazing abilities of the Avengers in one person. It seems like this is what we want in the church at times… Here is the truth, none of us can be Sentry for the church, no fallen human person can be all things to all people in the church. We need each other, Mark needs Brandon and Brandon needs Ben and Ben needs Justin and Justin needs Alfredo and Alfredo needs Dave and we could go on and on. But we all need Christ to work through us to bring the unity of the church. Team ministry reveals the need for each other and to work together for the glory of God.

3. I love team ministry for the wisdom in the plurality of leaders. There is wisdom in the plurality of leaders, where we can come together and ask each others thoughts on various topics. Where we can talk through difficult situations and get each others wisdom because Alfredo will see something different than Dave, and Dave will see something different than Mark and Alfredo and yet Ben will see something else and together we can make a better decision than apart. There is wisdom in a plurality of leaders

4. Which leads me to another reason I love team ministry it is For the good of the leaders and the church. Can you imagine one person being in charge of one church in 6 soon to be 7 campuses? Can you imagine the burden of leadership this would have on one person? It would not be healthy. Team ministry lightens the burden of leadership to where we help each other carry the load. But it also helps the church, if one of the teaching pastors, were to leave or retire, the others can fill in until a replacement was found. Or if God called Alfredo to Africa, we would have a team who could continue the work of Fellowship Espanol. Team ministry is healthy for the Church as well as the leader.

While we love team ministry, we recognize there are some

Healthy Challenges to Team Ministry

One of the challenges to team ministry is Efficiency - Coming to a decision as an Elder team, TP Team, CLT team or CP team takes time and discussion. While we recognize it would be more efficient for one person to make the decision. we recognize the wisdom and benefits of team ministry, it is something we value. But even in it’s inefficiency, it could be efficient because what if the one person makes the wrong decision, then we would have to back track and fix. Making the quicker decision isn’t always the best decision and even though we may take longer, we come to a consensus of what is the best decision to make and then we tackle and support is as a team.

Another healthy struggle is Clarity, i mean who is in charge? Who makes the decisions? Or people compare and say man, Mark teaches better than Ben, but Brandon teaches better than Mark, or Alfredo teaches better than Josh, But John is better than both of them… The truth is, Fellowship is led by a team of elders, which is next weeks topic, the elder team empowers and entrusts the Teaching Pastors and Campus Pastors along with the staff to lead the day to day ministry of Fellowship Bible Church. On top of that, I rejoice over the ministries and how God works through Mark, Brandon, Ben, Justin, Alfredo, TIm, Cody, Matt, Jason and Jay. It is beautiful to see how God uses his servants to accomplish his purposes in this world. If i can’t rejoice in how God uses them, then I am making myself too important. On top of that, if the church needs someone to look to, someone to follow, someone to provide clarity, someone to lead decisively, let us look to Christ who is the head of the church, the Shepherd or shepherds, who is the author and finisher of our faith. Our identity is not in the person who leads the church, our Identity should be formed around Christ. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 ESV

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.

1 Corinthians 3:5–9 ESV

5 ¿Qué es, pues, Apolos? Y ¿qué es Pablo? Servidores mediante los cuales vosotros habéis creído, según el Señor dio oportunidad a cada uno. 6 Yo planté, Apolos regó, pero Dios ha dado el crecimiento. 7 Así que ni el que planta ni el que riega es algo, sino Dios, que da el crecimiento. 8 Ahora bien, el que planta y el que riega son una misma cosa, pero cada uno recibirá su propia recompensa[b] conforme a su propia labor. 9 Porque nosotros somos colaboradores de Dios, y vosotros sois labranza de Dios, edificio de Dios.

Ben, Brandon, Mark Justin, Jay, Cody, Jason, Tim, Matt, Alfredo, John myself we are just farmers, we are planting and watering. Planting seeds and watering the seeds, that is all we do. God provides the growth. God takes the seed and the water and grows people to become D-Group leaders, pastors, elders, teachers, missionaries. That is not the work of Alfredo, John or the teaching Pastors, or me, it is the work of God, we are God’s fellow workers, you are God’s field, and God is the one building. Which leads me to my final point.

Team Ministry Creates a Joy in the partnership in the Gospel as we together make disciples who live by God’s Grace and for His Glory.

As we work together, making disciples who live by God’s grace and for his glory, there is a joy it provides to serve alongside each other. It also creates a bond, if one of us hurts we all hurt, when one of us celebrates a victory we all celebrate because we are partners together for the sake of the Gospel. We just ended our series in Romans, and in Romans 16 we see this joy that is created in team ministry as Paul is listing off a list of names, thanking them for their partnership in the Gospel. Team ministry is good, it really is one of the values that define us here at Fellowship, one of the values that make us different. It makes us… US. Lets pray.