I have often found that the employee break room at a place of business is one of the greatest equalizers on earth.  For a moment, whether you’re the CEO or the lowest on the totem pole, you both want the same thing:  a cup of coffee, a donut, and a chance not to think about your work.  You learn interesting things in the break room.  People seem to open up, take a load off, and tell you about their personal lives.  You know you’re in for a doozie when they decide to lie down.  I did more counseling as a sixteen year old grocery stock boy in the break room than I have since becoming a minister.  You learn other interesting things too.  The break room television is always tuned into some obscure channel where you can learn about everything from the weather patterns in the Arctic to the mating calls of the cockatoo.  While much seems a pointless exercise of passing time, those who are observant might learn something that changes life. 

 

Lounging on the couch in a London hospital break room following surgery, Dr. Marc Goldman and surgeon Martin Elliott had one of those life-changing moments.  It had been a particularly trying day in the operating room.  These men specialized in heart defects among infants and had an unfortunate string of unsuccessful surgeries, sometimes resulting in death.  Actually, the surgeries went well, as planned in fact, but something seemed to go wrong as they transferred the babies from the operating room to the intensive care unit.  It took a large team to care for these babies and the transfer was very important as tubes were disconnected and reconnected elsewhere…any small miscue could have devastating consequences.  It had been one of those days and these two physicians were “escaping work” for a while in the break room.  They switched on a Formula One auto race on the little television.  Both were fans of the sport and they swapped stories of awe about the precision of these machines and the efficiency of the technicians and pit crews that made it all fly; anything to get their minds off of surgery.  As they ate their donuts and drank their coffee they became fascinated with the twenty-man pit crew that could change four tires, fill the gas tank, adjust the air foils, and clean the filters in less than seven seconds.  The crew made their hospital staff seem like they were all working in slow motion.  The doctors were inspired.

 

They invited members of McClaren, the British racing team, to come and share with them some of their procedures for making the human factor of teamwork run more efficiently.  Excited by what they learned from them, they later flew to Italy to visit the headquarters of Ferrari racing in hopes of learning more of the techniques that made racing crews so effective.  They even brought film of their hospital team at work so that the Ferrari crew leaders could critique their team.  On a Ferrari pit crew, every person has a specific job, done in a particular order and done without saying a word.  Watching the hospital team on tape, it was clear that they did none of those things.  They were noisy, confused, and unfocused.  “On a pit crew, the ‘lollipop man’ holds the sign that ushers the car into the pit, then indicates when it’s safe for the car to go again. On the hospital crew, no one and everyone seemed to be in charge at once.”[1]

 

It was eye-opening for these physicians and they got to work preparing new procedures and processes for their hospital team.  They ensured that all carried their specific roles well, supported other team members, and that all looked to the lollipop man for direction.  As a result, technical errors fell forty-two percent and information errors fell forty-nine percent over a two-year period.  Whether you are in the last lap of a Grand Prix or in the final stages of surgery on a three-month-old heart, it pays to be precise.[2]  It’s all about the process, all about the team, all about following the lollipop man.

 

The Apostle Paul would have liked auto racing I imagine.  As much as he traveled by foot and as many times as he was shipwrecked at sea, he probably would have appreciated such fine machines that could go so fast and that didn’t involve traveling through water of any kind.  I think he would have liked the power of the lollipop man, too, and the amazing ways a pit crew works together.  Maybe he would have told the Galatian Christians about these crews as well for he was always putting the faith life into examples of everyday life so people could understand more fully what it meant to be a Christian.  We find Paul less congenial in this text as he offers team instructions for this church.  They were having a number of breakdowns as a community because too many were clamoring for power and trying to implement their own pet procedures.  People were gossiping, meddling where they shouldn’t, and were losing focus as to what they were to be about.  Paul responds to this mess of confusion by becoming the “lollipop man” – flagging them into the pit row and holding them there to do some “remedial training on teamwork”.

 

His first instruction is to respect one another and treat each other with a spirit of gentleness.  It seems that there were some issues of arrogance or pride that were causing them to judge one another harshly.  Paul encourages them who have the Spirit within to restore others even when they have failed them.  The idea of restoration is interesting here for in the Greek language, “restore” brings about images of a dislocation…like a broken bone that needs to be reset.  The pain is severe.  You may have seen the recent commercial of a puny, athletic wannabe sitting on a trainers table in the locker room waiting to be rubbed down or tended to.  A huge football player sits on the table next to him with a shoulder dislocation.  The physical trainer comes in and snaps the big man’s shoulder back into place with one violent, sudden pull.  Witnessing this, the little guy faints and falls off the table.

 

When others are struggling with sin or we find them “in a transgression” as Paul says, our tendency is to react violently in response emotionally, verbally, or even in action.  Instead, Paul says we need to be gentle with those among us who are injured in spirit.  We are all broken in some way and instead of jerking one another around trying to fix everyone’s dislocated lives, Paul says, love them to wholeness.  Be understanding of one who is struggling with life and be willing to bear their burdens with them.  Don’t bear burdens out of guilt…bear them in grace because you know that’s what being a good teammate is about. 

 

A friend of mine recently told me about something he gleaned from a couple’s Bible study he is currently a part of in our church.  They are studying the nature of relationships.  He said that the majority of people operate in “debt-relationships”.  A debt relationship is one that always functions in an “I owe you,” mentality.  I do something for you only because you have done something for me.  Instead, they were encouraged to operate in “love-relationships” for which you bear another’s burden without expecting anything in return.  It is understood that we often help those who help us but that is not the point of issue here.  It is a perspective issue.  Would you rather be in love or in debt?   Paul reminds us that we reap what we sow.  Sowing debt only brings about debt but sowing love in the Spirit of Christ will reap eternal life.

 

Secondly, Paul suggests that a teammate understands that their role is important to making the team work.  “Carry your own load…test your own work”.  He says that we are to bear the loads of one another but also to remember to be responsible for your part…testing your work, your motives, and the fruit that you produce.  Think about your life; the relationships that are important to you, your business, your involvement at the church…how are you testing yourself to see if you are being a faithful team player?  It is certainly a stewardship issue in many ways.  How much time and energy do you spend at work, at home, volunteering at the church and other charitable organizations?  But it goes beyond that. How would your kids describe you?  What would a coworker say about your attitude?  What would God say about your spirit?  Who holds you accountable to each of those things?  Give a list of three things to someone you trust, preferably not a significant other, of things you feel you need to work on to be a better team player to humanity and have that person check in with you at least once a week to see how you are doing in those areas.  Our faith team can only get better when we are accountable to one another.

 

One professor offered this test to his students to help keep them accountable to the team.  He suggests that every person needs at least three people in their accountability circle:  a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy (all biblical heavy weights). “A Paul is an older person who is willing to mentor you, to build into your life. Not someone who's necessarily smarter or more gifted than you, but somebody who's been down the road. Somebody willing to share strengths and weaknesses--everything they’ve learned in the laboratory of life. Somebody whose faith you'll want to imitate. A Barnabas is a soul brother or sister, somebody who loves you but is not impressed by you. Somebody to whom you can be accountable. Somebody who's willing to keep you honest, who's willing to say, "Hey, man, you're neglecting your spouse, and don't give me any guff!" A Timothy is a younger person into whose life you are building. For a model, read first and second Timothy. Here was Paul, the quintessential mentor, building into the life of his protégé; affirming, encouraging, teaching, correcting, directing, praying. Do you have these three people in your life?”[3]

Finally, while Paul has the Galatians getting their tires rotated, he says that a good teammate always looks for opportunities to do something for the overall betterment of the team.  “So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith (v.10).”  I love watching some of the great point guards in the NBA pass the ball.  Steve Nash from the Phoenix Suns is arguably the best.  Mike Conley, Jr from the Oden-Conley duo of Lawrence North High School fame will soon be dishing it out on the big stage as well.  They are always looking for opportunities to share the ball and lift up the team before their own personal glory.  Their strength is their vision of the court.  They seldom miss seeing opportunities to help the team.  How are you looking for these opportunities?  What kind of teammate are you?  It is about a shared energy…knowing when to carry the load and knowing when to allow others to carry you. 

 

Bob Butler is a Vietnam veteran.  He lost his legs in 1965 as a victim of a land mine explosion.  He came home as a war hero but struggled in the years to come adjusting to his new way of life.  Twenty years later, another opportunity presented itself to show that heroism comes from the soul.  Working in his garage in a small Arizona town, Butler heard a woman screaming from a nearby home.  He began rolling his wheelchair toward the house but the bushes and shrubs surrounding the yard were so dense he couldn’t find access to the gate.  So he got out of his chair and started to crawl through the dirt and bushes. “I had to get there,” he said. It didn’t matter how much it hurt.

 

When he finally made his way through, Butler saw a pool with a little girl lying at the bottom.  Her name was Stephanie Hanes and she was just three years old.  Stephanie had been born without arms and had fallen into the water, unable to swim.  Her mother stood over her baby screaming frantically.  Butler immediately dove to the bottom of the pool and brought little Stephanie up to the deck. Her face was blue, she had no pulse and was not breathing. He began performing CPR to revive her while Stephanie’s mother called the paramedics. She felt helpless and just sobbed and held onto Butler’s shoulder. As Butler continued with CPR, he calmly reassured her. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I was her arms to get out of the pool. It’ll be okay. I am now her lungs. Together we can make it.”

 

Moments later the little girl coughed, regained consciousness and began to cry.  Her mother was elated and as they celebrated she asked Butler how he knew it would all be okay.  “The truth is, I didn’t know,” he told her. “But when my legs were blown off in the war, I was all alone in a field. No one was there to help except a little Vietnamese girl. As she struggled to drag me into her village, she whispered in broken English, ‘It okay. You can live. I will be your legs. Together we make it.’ Her kind words brought hope to my soul and I wanted to do the same for Stephanie. There are simply those times when we cannot stand alone. There are those times when we need someone to be our legs, our arms, our friend!”[4]

These opportunities are more present than you might first expect.  They are not always as dramatic as this story.  It may be a phone call to someone you know is hurting.  It may be volunteering for something that you’ve been thinking about doing for sometime but just never pulled the trigger to say yes.  It may be a conscious effort to listen for needs of others instead of tuning them out.  There is a lollipop man out there that is trying to flag you down, trying to slow you down, waiting to change your oil and waiting to turn you lose on something that will impact team humanity in an amazing way. 

 

Some of you are thinking, I’ve never seen this lollipop man…or that’s cute…lollipop man, eh?…or I think I can speed on through this pit stop…I’m doing fine on my own.  Ah, but he’s out there…the Lollipop man…and you do need him.  He’s in your child when she asks you to sit and color for a while.  He’s in your friend who asks how you are and really wants to know.  He’s in the eye of the homeless you pass on your way to work reminding you that your needs are not the only ones needing attention.  He’s in your conscience when you realize you are not being a team player.  And he’s in the break room showing up when you least expect it.  Are you watching for him?  He’ll give you direction.  He’ll tell you when to go.  He’s the Lollipop man…He is Jesus.

 

---