As the inaugural entry of this blog, I’d like to share something I wrote in 2002, based upon a very enlightening book I had the privilege of reading. The title of this piece is “Growing Together, Rowing Together,” and is about the role of teamwork in ministry.

In his book, Doing Church as a Team (Regal Books, 2001) Wayne Cordeiro, pastor of the 8,000-member New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii, likens ministry to the sport of team canoe paddling, one of Hawaii’s most popular sports. We pick up the story as Wayne and a group of friends report for canoe lessons and receive their initial instructions:

‘We’re going to paddle our first stretch of water. It will be an eighth-of-a-mile sprint. When I begin the stopwatch and say ‘Go,’ just paddle as fast and hard as you can. When we cross the finish line, I’ll notify you. That’s when you can stop paddling. Got it?” How hard can this be? I thought. Even women paddle canoes. This ought to be a breeze! Just then, my self-confident thoughts were shattered by the sharp call of our coach. ”Ho ‘omakaukau? I mua!”  In English it means, “Ready? Go Forward!” Read more…