February 25, 2001
CYBERCOLUMN:
There is no "I" in "Team"
___By John Duncan
___I am sitting here under the old oak tree musing with madness over March.
___"March," the poet Emily Dickinson, once said, "is the month of Month of Expectation." The college basketball playoffs soon begin. "March madness," the hoop-it-up prognosticators call this college basketball hoopla. My expectations fade, as my favorite North Carolina Tar Heels do not look to make it into the playoffs.
___ My mind eases back into the days of my youth.1978 stands out as a quite a year. I was a junior in high school that year. Jimmy Carter served as president, bell-bottom pants and Afro hair styles were "in," "Inflation" became a household word. Mickey Mouse celebrated his 50th birthday at Disney. And NASA prepared for test flights for the first space shuttle. In sports, the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII in Miami, MVP Bucky Dent and the New York Yankees won the baseball World Series, while the Wes Unseld and the Washington Bullets won the NBA championship.
___ In Hurst, Texas, a championship basketball season unfolde
JOHN DUNCAN d for the 1978 L.D. Bell High School Raiders boys' team. Led by Coach Ray Debord, the talented team won 29 games with only four losses. The season produced Coach Debord's first championship season at Bell. The team meshed and molded through long, hard workouts, and the classic motivational speeches of Debord. He preached strong defense, finding the open man with a pass, fierce rebounding and balanced scoring. Debord's assistant, Mike Shabay, reinforced the defense with gruesome drills. A piece of paper on the locker room office window declared Debord's philosophy, "There is no 'I' in 'TEAM.'"
___ The team went undefeated in its district games, defeating opponents from Wichita Falls, Denton, Lewisville and arch-rival Trinity—twice. The team was ranked No. 10 in state before losing a bi-district game in Stephenville. The team possessed the passion and skill to complete a championship season.
___ The 1978 Raiders produced a unforgettable season with this unforgettable team, producing a team of winners not just on the court but off the court as well. That team made it to the Hall of Fame. The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Sports Hall of Fame recently inducted the 1978 L.D. Bell High School champion boys' basketball team.
___ My older brother George starred on that team. He served as the team's point guard, making passes to the likes of other high school stars with the names of Davis, Callaway, Alsup and Hammonds. The echo of "We are the Champions" reverberates in my ear as I recall those high school days. I still remember walking through the locker room and seeing that white piece of paper on the locker room wall: "There is no 'I' in 'TEAM.'"
___ Some 24 years later, I sit here under the old oak tree thinking about the church. There is no "I" in "CHURCH." Jesus said, "The greatest among you shall be your servant." The Apostle Paul addressed the church as a body, "The church is the body of Christ." Paul preached the value of every person of the body fulfilling a role and being important to the church. No church can do God's work without every member finding and fulfilling God's call. It takes people to build a church. It takes understanding Christ as the head of the church for a church to effectively minister.
___ It's a long story, and we do not have the time, but I guess I should tell you that I was a toenail on that 1978 team. I made the team, but never played one second that season. I spent the whole season on the junior varsity team and was moved back to varsity for the playoffs at the end of the season. My only contribution was that Coach Debord asked me to referee during practice. He had referees for practice long before Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, hired them for his team's practices. Coach Debord was always ahead of his time.
___ So here I am, pastoring a church and savoring the days of my youth here just before the month of expectation, knowing that whether you are a knee or a finger or a foot or even a toenail in the Lord's church, as long as Christ is the head of the church, every single member is important, even the tiniest parts.
___ Amid the memories and echoes, Oswald Chambers comes to mind, "There is no joy in the soul that has forgotten what God prizes."
___ Today I am full of joy, an under-the-oak-tree sitter looking at my toenails and full of joy that God prizes each person, each of us, even me, in the love and wonder of his grace. By the way, there is no "I" in Jesus either, but there is much joy when he's in you.
___ John Duncan is pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, Texas, and the writer of numerous articles in various journals and magazines.
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