GUEST POST: Beyond our Sandbox
This GUEST POST comes from Mark Seager. Mark is the Associate Pastor at Cedar Run Community Church in Herndon, VA. He is a very gifted communicator as his passion for the Lord and people to come to know him is evident in all he does. Secretly, I’ve been trying to get him to blog & write more often, but no such luck yet 🙂
When the Israelites assembled on the bank of the Jordan River posed to enter the Promised Land they were exhorted to Dwell on God’s Word, trust God recklessly and remember their fellow countrymen. Much ink and breath has been expended in expounding the first two points, but it was the third point that stood out to me in Joshua 1:12-15 (NLT):
12 Then Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He told them, 13 “Remember what Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you: ‘The Lord your God is giving you a place of rest. He has given you this land.’
14 Your wives, children, and livestock may remain here in the land Moses assigned to you on the east side of the Jordan River. But your strong warriors, fully armed, must lead the other tribes across the Jordan to help them conquer their territory. Stay with them 15until the Lord gives them rest, as he has given you rest, and until they, too, possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. Only then may you return and settle here on the east side of the Jordan River in the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, assigned to you.”
The three tribes allocated land east of the Jordan were told that even though they may have settled in their territories, the job was not finished until their compatriots wer in their lands. This is an important concept for any team to remember. Most organizations are staffed with people operating with different job descriptions. Each team member has (or should have!) their own set of duties, tasks, and responsibilities. (Good organizations place people where they’re competent.) Job descriptions define our role on the team and remind me of sandboxes. Have you ever seen 2-year olds play in sandboxes? They’re usually territorial and don’t want to give up any of “their” turf to another. Sadly in many teams don’t function as teams — everyone stays in their sandbox. Jealously guarding budget dollars and our sense of self worth. But the warriors of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh (the Eastern dudes) were told not to be content with staying in their sandboxes. Instead, they were to help the other players to get their territories. Real teamwork means thinking beyond our own sandboxes and looking to the overarching mission of the larger team. In this case it was not enough to conquer the territories east of the Jordan; the Eastern dudes had to help the rest of the team. The job is not done once our job is done.
In churchworld, we must remember that we are part of a bigger effort to advance the Kingdom that spills beyond our sandbox. Our “Promised Land”, our mission is develping mature Christians through evangelism and discipleship. This mandate is huge so we try the divide-and-conquer approach; separating ministry by affinity group (e.g. children, singles, boomers, etc.) and style of ministry (e.g. small group, music, etc.). While there’s some benefits to breaking our mission into bite size chunks, we lose out when we confine ourselves to our sandboxes. Its important to see ourselves as Joshua addressed the tribes — parts of a bigger picture.
Having said that, it is annoying when others who are not experts on the matters of our sandboxes jump in with their opinions and suggestions. So how do we play in eachother’s sandboxes without invading them? After discussing this at our staff meeting, some things popped to mind:
- Remember there’s more to our mission than just our sandbox
- Humility in giving and receiving advice
- Informed prayer: This only flows from trusting relationships on the team.
- Recognize that ministries ebb and flow — don’t develp a culture of comparison and competition within the team.
- Ask other teammates how things are goin in their sandbox. Anything you can do or pray for them?
Let’s learn from the example of Joshua 1 and think beyond our sandboxes. God’s work is far bigger than each of our job description. We must be willing and available to play in eachothers’ sandboxes (without being unwanted sandbox invaders) for the cause of our main mission; developing mature Christians for the glory of God!
