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Sermon Illustrations: Teamwork
Anecdotes
At the Seattle Special Olympics, nine contestants lined up at the starting line for the 100-metre dash. All were mentally or physically challenged. When the starting gun sounded, all of them headed towards the finish line. Unfortunately, one of them tripped and started to cry. When the others heard the sound of his cries, they slowed down, looked back, and turned around. Every one of them went back. A girl with Down’s Syndrome bent over kissed him, saying, “This will make it better.” Then all of them linked arms and walked to the finish line, at which point everyone in the stadium stood and cheered for more than ten minutes.
When the Navy SEAL team that killed Osama bin Laden returned to the United States, President Barack Obama made a special point of going to meet them. When he asked which one of them fired the fatal shot, one of the team replied, "We all did, sir."
A famous organist was doing a recital with an organ that was supplied by air a hand pump. Because you obviously can’t play the organ and pump it at the same time, they hired a young boy to do the pumping. Everything was going fine, and the boy poked his head round the corner and whispered, “We’re doing pretty good, aren’t we?” “What do you mean ‘we’”, said the organist. A few minutes later, right in the middle of a really beautiful section, the organ suddenly died. The organist frantically tried everything, but to no avail. Suddenly, the little boy’s head popped round the corner, with a beautiful smile on his face. “Now do you know what I mean by ‘we’”?
What two people have in common may bring them together, but what makes them different tells their fortune. Time Magazine 30th December, 2002 - 6th January, 2003 p 71
By flying in a "V" formation, a flock of geese increases flight efficiency by 71% compared to a single bird flying alone. When a goose leaves the formation he feels the resistance of the air and the difficulty of flying alone. Then, he quickly returns to the formation to take advantage of the flock's power in front of him. When the leader gets tired, he goes to the end of the formation and another goose takes the lead. As the geese continue to fly in their "V" formation, those following quack to encourage those in the front. In that way they maintain their speed. When a goose gets sick, is injured, or can't keep up and must leave the formation, other geese leave too. They stay with him until he dies or is able to fly again, then rejoin the group or join another formation. Source unknown
Quotes
I need partners who aren't on the beach drinking lattes while I'm working my tail off trying to catch fish. Shaun Hansen
I'm just called to a few things. Everybody else is called to the other things. It's called team. Paul Ruzinsky (Cf. Esther 4:14)