Remember The A-Team? If not, you missed out on one of the best television programs of the 80’s, maybe of all time! These four guys, Face, Murdoch, B.A. Baracus, and Hannibal were former members of a commando unit that reunited as mercenaries of sorts. They roamed about doling out their own brand of justice. Half the time, they were running from the police while chasing the bad guys.

While reading in Ecclesiastes 4 this morning, I was struck with the thought: “What made the A-Team work, was their strong sense of community and joint ownership of not only the mission,but each other.” Check this out:

¹⁰ If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man [fool] who falls and has no one to help him up!

¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone?

¹² Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

One of my favorite dimensions of the A-Team’s deep storyline has to do with the obvious rivalry between B.A. (Bad Attitude) Baracus, (Mr. T) and Faceman. These two were always at each others throats. Face was a lover, BA was a fighter. Face was smooth, quick, and intelligent. BA was slow, rough, and dense. Oil and water. But that’s not the part I liked. What I liked was how, when push came to shove, they would help each other out - no matter what. There were times when Face would save BA, and many times when Baracus would punch the bad guys out to save Face. He always said something like: “You need a be mo careful, I’m getting tired of saving you, sucka.”

I guess the moral of this testosterone-laced story, is that while our shared mission is important in the church, what matters most is our relationship to one another. They are mutually enabling one another in that the mission brings us together and our relationship holds us together. In the end, however, the mission will be completed and over, but our relationships will endure.

Let’s value people over plans, others over ourselves, unity over preference, and community over comfort.

Jon Hamp is the lead planter of Discovery Church, a Matching Fund Church, in Parker, Colorado.