Covenant Church

On the Navajo Nation in New Mexico, Laila and I found the men and ladies of the church heavily committed the week of a parade expecting 120,000 plus Indians. I insisted that I could occupy myself. They left me at the church.

Off to Wal-Mart Laila and I went and came back with buckets of paints and all the tools to get the job done. At about 6 AM I was painting. Some 12 hours later the men came through and indicated the urgency of erecting an 80' x 80' tent in two hours.

Ever one for adventure, and having never raised a tent, I decided to go observe. Paul the Apostle was a tent maker. While I am not the Apostle Paul, it seemed to me that tent making and raising has some spiritual relevance. I needed initiation and the right to add tent-raising to my resume.

Forget the observing. Every man was needed. The first task was to unload the tent, steel stakes, and rods. The second was to locate the various items in specific locations.

The ground rods were car and truck axles sharpened on one end to facilitate being driven into the ground. One sledge hammer weighed about 16 pounds. I lifted it and was satisfied that lifting it was enough. I happily joined the crew swinging a ten-pounder. The objective was to drive steel shafts about 30 inches into the ground.

With all hardware in place the two pieces of the top were laid out. The tent had gotten wet, thus requiring much struggle. Skilled hands then laced ropes knitting the two pieces of the top into one unit that could withstand wind and rain.

Lifting a corner of the tent several men went under with a heavy steel pole about 15 feet long. An end of the pole was inserted through a brass ring of the tent. Six men then braced themselves and raised the steel pole thus lifting the tent. The challenge was to jam the bottom of the pole into the ground with each few inches of height gained. When the pole was about 75 degrees, I was left to secure the bottom of the pole and keep it from sliding while the other men raised another pole -- thus the process.

Raising the center poles was even more challenging. Every man exerted every ounce of energy. Gradually, the tent rose into the air and began to look habitable. However, one part was sagging.

From my perspective, based on back and muscles, I was quiet satisfied to leave the sag. However, Pastor Tom had other thoughts. Oddly, he went to the opposite side of the tent and adjusted a pole, not where the sag was; he then moved to another place. Finally, the pole under the sag was adjusted. It was apparent that grunting was not enough to raise a tent. Knowledge and wisdom are also involved. We finished within two hours -- good feeling. We bragged on ourselves. Back at the church I got a pallet and slept on the floor -- no lights that night and no electricity. But it did not matter. The feeling of working together with my friends was gratifying beyond a tired body.

I laid in the darkness and thought about being 2,000 miles from home and Covenant Church. I thought about Pastor McCready, my right arm of leadership. I thought about the pastoral team and leadership of Covenant. It felt good to have confidence that at home the pastoral staff would be working together as a team to ensure the stability of ministry.

Of this I am sure, if the Lord tells me to help raise another tent, I will. If He does not I will probably stick to preaching and teaching, and maybe a paint brush. But I am even surer that the Lord made it clear to me in raising a tent that one man cannot do what a team can do. I am sure that on every team God gives certain ones wisdom to know what to do. I am sure that on every team there are some who fulfill their mission simply pounding stakes and holding poles.

I am sure that the work of the Lord goes much better when we diligently set ourselves to work as a team. When "I" becomes willing to join "us" the progress is much faster and more excellent. One can put a thousand to flight, but two can put 10,000 to flight (Deut. 32:30).

My hope is that you will consider this simple story and make sure that you are a team player, that you know the other team players on your assignment, and that you and your team work together diligently to fulfill a plan and accomplish the results that will be pleasing to Jesus.

Formerly a tent-raiser,
Pastor Bare

Acts 18:3