Are you ambidextrous?

Good morning! I hope you had a great Mother’s Day yesterday. For me, Mother’s Day is always a time to reflect and to give thanks for my own mother. Her example to me of how to live by faith has been instrumental in seeing me through the joys and trials of life.

As a pastor I am daily faced with the choice of being a “Lone Ranger” in the ministry or utilizing a team approach to ministry. For me this is generally a very easy choice. I have had to fly solo on many occasions, but have learned that my single efforts pale in comparison to the synergy of a corporate effort. Too many of us fail to tap into the strength, talent, ability and accountability of being a part of a strong team.

Today I want to focus on this idea of team building with you. This weekend during my personal Bible study I was reading in the book of 1 Chronicles. The 12^th chapter of 1 Chronicles describes the fighting men who went into battle with King David:

1 Chronicles 12:1-2 (NLT)

The following men joined David at Ziklag while he was hiding from Saul son of Kish. They were among the warriors who fought beside David in battle. [2] All of them were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right. They were all relatives of Saul from the tribe of Benjamin.

The 2^nd verse of this passage caught my eye: “All of them were expert archers, and they could shoot arrows or sling stones with their left hand as well as their right.” Now this doesn’t seem like a very “spiritually deep” thought at first, but let’s think this through for a moment. When I was police officer one of the things that we often trained for was the scenario in which your dominant hand was injured. I am left handed and I can remember the first time I had to shoot my sidearm with my right hand. Talk about feeling akward…the feel of the gun in my hand was not natural. I had to constantly readjust my grip and my shooting stance never felt comfortable. As if the sidearm wasn’t bad enough, trying to use the shotgun off handed was even worse. Everything seemed clumsy and backwards.

In spite of the discomfort with offhanded shooting and off handed baton swinging, these were still critical skills to develop. Those who worked along side of me needed to know that I could continue in battle even if my dominant hand or arm were injured and I needed the same assurance about them.

So what does this have to do with you? Every day we have a choice to go it alone or to surround ourselves with others who can assist us in the journey. When David chose those who would surround him in battle, he chose those who were both skilled with their weaponry and those who were adaptable to the changing battlefield. In my ministry I am constantly on the lookout for those who can enhance our ministry team. I watch for those who are skilled with the gifts, talents and abilities that God has given them. In the end the ministry team is able to do much more for the Kingdom of God than I could ever do on my own.

Today I want to challenge you to look at who surround you. Have you chosen to surround yourself with quality people? Are you always on the lookout for those who have displayed great skill and passion, so that they can enhance your team?

Secondarily, consider yourself. Are you skillful with the tools, gifts, talents and abilities that God has given you? If not, I challenge you to hone your skills and become an ambidextrous warrior.

Until next Monday, may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl