And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. - Acts 2:44 (NLT)
All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. - Acts 4:32 (NLT)
In introducing the “Back to the Basics” series, John related the story of a leader who found an odd way to bring his people hope. The leader was Herb Brooks, coach of the US Hockey team for 1980 Winter Olympics. When he inherited the team, it was comprised of a rabble of unruly rivals, unsavory attitudes, back-biters, glory hounds, and uncooperative babies. (Sounds an awful lot like the modern-day church.) Coach tried all of the usual psychological coaching techniques to get them on the same page but each attempt was met with humiliating failure. Arguments and fights were the norm. After all the failures to bring them together, there was little hope they would even take the ice. Then, Coach Brooks tried something different. In order to help his team find at least one thing in common and as a last resort, he decided to make them hate him. Practices became a living hell for the players as they did drill after drill and sprint after sprint. Coach hollered constantly and always demanded more than was humanly possible. After games, the work was not finished, because they were back on the ice, sprinting and doing drills. The players began to bicker and complain. But their complaints were no longer aimed at other teammates, but at the coach. They began talking and sharing stories of their “abuse” by the coach. And slowly, they realized they had something in common and became a team. A team that would go on to shock the world by beating the top-ranked Russian and Swedish sides and winning the gold medal. All while praising the coach and others they had once despised.
When God reminded John of the film in his message, it was no mistake. It was an appropriate way to spark the series because it’s the entire process laid out before us. We are a group from many different walks of life, with issues and personalities as diverse as our looks. And like the “Miracle on Ice” team, we must find common ground. Not a hate of our coach (even if John pisses you off sometimes) but of the hope we have in Jesus. If you get down to the heart of the matter, that’s what this (Refuge) is all about.
Jesus. And our hope of a closer relationship with him and others.
