Week 1 July 2026 – REFLECTION ON “MANDATORY TEAM SPIRIT”

“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”  1 Corinthians 1:10

The motto in quotation marks in the title above popped up perfectly timed in a rerun of “Chicago Fire.”  While searching for the perfect Scripture, Paul’s “famous” appeal for unity stood out.  Yet much to my own surprise, I found myself scrutinizing the TV show to discover why it was relatable. Until the shrill alarm brings the firefighters instantly to their feet, they lounge in the large common room of  Fire Station 51 with many perks and comforts of a second home. They chat in groups or tend to personal business.  Some are great cooks, others tell great jokes, all value a sense of family.  The true “mandatory team spirit” kicks in when that ear-splitting sound has the crew in full uniform jumping into their fire engines to race off to where the emergency is. Each team member knows exactly what to do and how to seamlessly match his or her effort with that of the other experts in their field.  Thanks to Mouch and his fellow male officers under the command of Lieutenant Stella Kidd, no other “Great Chicago Fire” will ever happen again.  The one in October 1871 killed some 300 people, destroyed 17,000 structures, and left more than 100,000 residents homeless.  The myth of an unruly cow being milked by Mrs. O’Leary, was made up by unscrupulous reporters resolved to spice up their newspaper narratives, some even throwing in a straying comet.

Not surprisingly, the thought of setting the Church on Fire can no longer be suppressed, but some may want to douse me with buckets of water for consulting the funnies rather than scholars. Sure enough, fragile old me lines up with CURTIS and the dad who says, “I could dislocate a shoulder from just sneezing too hard.”  In PICKLES, Earl is the epitome of passivity and wonders with whom Opal will replace him after he is gone.  She seemed fine with Ken Jennings hosting Jeopardy! in place of Alex Trebek.  Cool as a cucumber she says, “Well, there’s a mannequin at the J.C. Penney’s store I have an eye on.”  In BABY BLUES, the dad driving his family to Yellowstone is struggling to keep his eyes on the road.  The ruckus made by the routinely combative siblings in the back seat is driving him crazy.  They only pause to ask a million times, “Are we there yet?”  Even crazier, my interest in this subject was sparked by an “Asking Eric” column in the L.A. Times, where an even more deranged person vehemently nixed the idea of any kind of team spirit, because introverts demand the right to be left alone by extroverts.  Feel free to look up the psycho-babble yourself.  I overdosed when I read, “Human passivity is a complex psychological and neurological phenomenon…or a behavioral response to cognitive fatigue.”   As for our church being on fire and if we are there yet, one burning question remains: Out of a membership of hundreds, a majority returns no pledge cards and budget short falls halt programs and hinder outreach.  Paul favors no shrill alarms, trusting we open our ears to the gentle whispers of the Holy Spirit.  Amen?