Romans 16:21-24
"Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives. I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings."
After years of serving in the church, I increasingly recognize the importance of the coworker team. Ministry cannot be a solo act; not matter how great you perform, once you are gone the act is finished. Throughout church history, there have been many revivals at various times; some revivals last a long time while others fade away quickly. If we examine the history closely, we would see that the coworker team plays an important role in prolonging the revivals. In some cases, coworker teams were not established, and the revivals ended shortly after the leader left or passed away. On the contrary, the revivals that had solid coworker teams were able to experience continuous waves of God's revival. Therefore, no matter in what capacity we are serving, we must proactively look for coworkers and establish coworker teams.
What should be our criteria for finding coworkers? There are some clues from the names that Paul brought up in this passage. First, Paul looked for those who are faithful. Timothy was not exactly gifted and courageous, but according to the Bible he was faithful in offering himself. Faithful doesn't just mean doing what we are supposed to just in order to get things over with; we must also have the attitude of doing our best by making the most effort. Second, we need to look for learners. Timothy was a disciple, which means a student. In other word, he was willing to learn and practice. Many people like to serve and they are good at what they do, but they lack a teachable heart. They have their own ways and it's hard for them to team up with others in ministry, God doesn't necessarily lead us the same way every time, and God may not lead others the way He leads us. If we want to establish a solid coworker team, everyone in the team must have a humble and teachable heart so that we will seek God's will together. Third, Paul sought those who had good testimonies. Timothy had testimonies - not just spiritual ones, but also testimonies in life. One who serves God may not be a spiritual superman, but he must desire to pursue spiritual matters and others should see such determination in him. On the other, the person doesn't need to be perfect, but must be careful in life and willing to be disciplined.
Faithful, teachable and have good testimonies are the three principles that Paul looked for in coworkers. Do you have such a coworker team in your life and ministry? May the Lord give us a humble and soft heart so that we will learn to be good coworkers and also proactively seek to partner with others.
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