DAY TWO OF THE RETREAT

Topic:  TEAM SPIRIT/ EDIFYING ONE ANOTHER 

• Discuss – Team Spirit/Edifying one another. 
• Have participants define the terms, Team and edification.

Bible Verse – Bible Verse – Ecclesiastes 4:12 “Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

What is Teamwork according to the Bible?

In essence, this is the simplest and most straightforward statement about Teamwork in the Bible. The body of Christ, or the people that are the whole of humanity, are a team. One person does not support the body, but by all of us. … Teamwork is the key to living life in harmony so that we can do God’s will.

NOTE

Our family is also the body of Christ because it’s a community of God’s people.

QUESTIONS:

1.     How does Teamwork play out in our family?

2.     How much Teamwork has each member of the family done?

3.     How does Teamwork help the family grow to fulfil God’s divine purpose?

Teamwork! It’s not just for the soccer field. Most of us engage in Teamwork every day of the week. Teams are everywhere, from working as a team to cleaning your house to partnering with your spouse to get everyone out the door on time in the morning to participate in school or work projects!

Ask members about all the teams they are a part of, from family to friends to sports. Then use these Bible stories as a jumping-off point to teach them the importance of Teamwork!

3 Bible Stories That Teach Family Members Teamwork 

The 12 Disciples

Mark 6:7-13

Jesus had a team of disciples who went everywhere with him. In this passage from Mark, Jesus sends his disciples out to begin doing their ministry in teams of two. He gave them specific instructions to not pack anything but rather to rely on people who invited them into their homes.

We see several examples of Teamwork in this story! First, Jesus sends them out in teams of two. Ask your kids why they think the disciples worked and travelled in teams. Second, Jesus is telling them to rely on other people, who could be believers, to help them out along the way – Teamwork in the body of Christ!

Rebuilding the Wall in Jerusalem

Nehemiah 4:15-23

When Nehemiah was leading the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem, enemies of the Israelites kept trying to attack them while they worked! But this passage from Nehemiah shows how great Teamwork helped get the job done. Half of the Israelites worked on the wall while the other half stood guard, and everyone worked together to rebuild the wall. Ask family members what they observe about Teamwork in this passage. What kind of leader was Nehemiah?

The Body of Christ

Ephesians 4:15-16

This famous passage from Ephesians describes the Body of Christ or the Church. Paul reminds the believers that they are all a part of the same Team – and that each person has a role to play. This is an excellent lesson about Teamwork because you can use it to show kids that all the different parts of the body help the whole thing to grow. So, no matter their talents, they can all contribute to God’s Church!

This example works for other teams as well. Ask your kids to think about what it would be like to be on a team where everyone was incredible at scoring, but no one was good at defence. How would that work out? Teamwork is all about using our talents to serve the greater good and encouraging others to use theirs too.

HOW TO ESTABLISH TEAMWORK IN OUR FAMILY

Establish Norms

This is the first step in the formation of any team. Norms set the expectations for all members. In a family, we do this by articulating our family values and setting clear expectations for our children and other family members. For example, we can make this declaration:

“In our household, we are a family who helps each other”. We can always go back to this to solve problems by stating this expectation clearly. So, when siblings fight over toys or personal space, we can state that value. We are a family who helps each other. How can we help each other share this toy? How can we help each other find some space and time apart? When we work together in this way, we show our children the importance and consistency of our family’s values.

Build Trust

Any group working together needs to have trust. Therefore, family members need to trust the family headship – to be sure that parents are there for them. Parents need to create a peaceful atmosphere where children and the rest of the family members can express themselves.

Give Attention

Teams require attention, and not surprisingly, so do children. Even with families together more than ever, our children still want as much attention as we are able and willing to give them. Therefore, make time ready to care for one another.

Work Together

Teams that work together build something called group cohesion – this refers to the ties that bind the Team together and allow them to work collectively toward a shared goal. In a family, this can take many forms. Perhaps you are all working together on a project around the house, or you work together to make dinner. A great way to work together as a family is through household chores. Even very young children can help set the table, fold laundry, and clean up the toys in the house.

Teamwork is an essential part of building a Christ-focused family, but let’s face it, it isn’t always easy. The following strategies will help Teamwork in our families:

Prayerfully Making a Plan

Whenever we see an area in which we desire our family to become more cohesive, we begin to pray and create a vision for our family to follow. While we understand that God orders our steps, we also know that if we are not proactive in seeking His face and moving ahead in life, we fail to walk out of our faith. Prayerfully creating a plan for our family has become one of the pillars that bind the Teamwork we’ve managed to cultivate in our family unit.

Creating Time for Conflict Management

One of the biggest lies the enemy tries to sow within a family are typically found through conflict without resolution. Unforgiveness is a major enemy of God’s plan for our lives, and we refuse to allow the enemy to come in and sow seeds of division. Even when division tries to rear its ugly head, we must create margin in our daily lives to make sure we bring any unresolved conflict to the surface. Talking with our children about things that we may have done throughout the day or week to hurt them and talking amongst themselves has created a healing balm. We have found that without taking the time to manage conflicts, the Team doesn’t work so well. We’re committed to seeing God’s plan for our family come to pass, and He’s made it clear that this is part of it.

Note: For teams to work together, they need to solve problems as a group. This is true of family teams as well. When issues arise, ask everyone for the input, including the children.

Does the family have a problem with anyone? How can this be solved? Ask them what they think should happen. Then come out with a plan to help solve the situation.

The most important aspect of a team is that everyone relies on one another to succeed. Does your family believe in that? Discuss any pending issues to be sure of how to resolve lingering issues.

Celebrating One Another

If we are honest, it feels good to be celebrated now and then. We have taught our children the importance of honouring one another and recognizing the great things that God has placed inside each one of them. We’ve also taught them that even when we don’t “feel” like celebrating others, it is still essential to do so. We have used this verse to help them understand the importance of this truth in Romans 12:10:

Be devoted to one another in love—honour one another above yourselves.

• EDIFICATION.

The Last Aspect of Teamwork Is. How do we edify one another in the family?

Offer a discussion on this in your Retreat.

What does spiritual edification mean?

Edification is defined as spiritual, moral or intellectual improvement. The act of edifying, or the state of being enlightened; a building up, especially in a moral, emotional, or spiritual sense; moral, intellectual, or spiritual improvement; through encouragement and instruction.

• Here are ten simple ways to build each other up:

1.    Esteem others higher. Leaders esteem others higher than themselves. Have high regards, great respect, and good thoughts of the people in your circle of trust and influence.

2.    Be wise in your speech. Communicate more effectively by thinking before you speak. If there’s a word that’s more appropriate in a conversation, use it. Start with praise. Never confront others. Instead, point out how both of you can make things better. Speak at the same level as your audience, giving them due respect. There’s no need to come in with an authoritative voice to get your message heard.

3.    Be encouraging. Encouragement is an expression and assurance of one’s hope and future in words, presence, and sincerity.

4.    Be quick to forgive. When others make a mistake, be quick to forgive and forget, releasing them from guilt and shame that may take root in one’s heart when not dealt with over time.

5.    Be understanding. Wisdom and understanding go hand in hand. Understanding starts by being an active listener (not planning a reply as one is speaking), asking intelligent questions to gain further insights, and accepting what the speaker is sharing. Then, answer without condemning. Or don’t answer and decide to be a listening ear.

6.    Zero gossips. Keep others’ secrets. Never speak stuff that causes unnecessary hurt by saying unclaimed rumours behind their back.

7.    Share knowledge. Found an article or book that’s useful? Share it with your friends. Sharing has been made easier thanks to the accessibility of sharing tools on the web and help from social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Sharing knowledge helps us learn, discover, and understand interesting things. They have immediate application for better results in our work and life, edify our soul, and improve our daily conversations.

8.    Stay humble. Humility and maturity are synonymous. A dignified person accomplishes much but brags little. They are secure in their standing without making noise, often treating everyone with tremendous respect, regardless of position.

9.    Be positive! Positive thinking goes beyond having the drive and motivation for personal success. Positive thinking is explicit, definite, and outspoken, and contagious. Build up your loved ones with your positiveness, allowing them to be open for better things to come.

10. Love. “Love is patient; love is kind. It does not envy; it does not boast; it is not proud. It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hope, always perseveres. Love never fails … And now these three remain faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13, NIV). Building up a person with the nine ways mentioned is only effective when done together with love. Care for your loved ones how you would want to be cared for. Build up one another how you would like to be inspired. As a result, you will move up to a whole new level of breakthroughs in life.

Going one step further, visualize how and to whom you can build up and inspire changes for the better. Then work towards making that a reality.

Continue encouraging and building one another up. And start seeing growth and advancements in your relationship with people and to the ones who truly matter to you today.

 PRAYER TIME

Scriptures to Pray Over Your Family

1.     Psalm 133:1 (NKJV) A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

2.     Numbers 6:24-26 – “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.

3.     Lord, bless my family and children. Give them hearts that follow after you.

4.      Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

5.      Give my family the strength to not be afraid. Please give them the courage to stand up for what is right.

6.      Psalm 51:10 – “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

7.      Produce within them an attitude of integrity, giving their lives to providing you glory.

8.      Luke 10:19 – “Jesus said: ‘Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Let my family walk in your authority. May they understand and live each day, asserting the authority you have given them as your children.

9.      Philippians 4:6 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and

END OF DAY TWO