“Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”

Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote her book, “Team of Rivals” about the rivalry that took place across politics before and after President Lincoln was elected.  Her book chronicled the internal rivalry within the President’s own administration. This was the team who were rivals. Today, in politics, we don’t get teams that have rivals upon them.  All we get is the rival between the teams that we call parties.  This rivalry is what causes our partisan and opposing government to be more often than not these days, not productive. As ironic as it sounds, the team of rivals is what can get things done because the internal politics get worked out and aligned before they meet the real competition.  This leads us to understanding how to create cultures of inclusiveness and respect of each others’ point of view. There is no perfect balance but I am reminded that management legend Alfred Sloan never moved forward with any management or Board resolution that was unanimous because those proposals didn’t represent a balance or the best thinking.  But once, decided, the teams aligned and moved forward in formation. So, let’s consider how we bring together a team that can operate inclusively and with the best of thinking.

I have been thinking about the team that Jesus banded together. They followed Jesus coming from different walks of life. They were different and Jesus knew, even before He recruited them that they were both strong and weak, committed and also skeptical, dedicated but also able to betray.  Yet, He brought them together to change the course of the world, also knowing that He would shortly be leaving them on their own.  And like the rest of us, they were the full range of the human condition’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Yet, He still called them and He calls us. God knows that we are all different and He appreciates that, otherwise He wouldn’t accept as we are, but once on His team, we must align towards Him and allow our worldly differences to align with Him.

Reference: Luke 11:23 (New Living Translation)