The Importance of Teamwork

In December, my 4^th grade son kept asking me when basketball practice would start. I told him soon, but I hadn’t heard anything from his coach yet.

Then, the emails started to arrive. Not from his coach. Instead, three separate pleas came from the director of the Forest Lake rec league. Would you, a grandparent, a sibling, a neighbor, anyone with a pulse, be willing to coach a youth rec league team? The bar was set significantly low.

Our church hosted movie night to watch the Best Christmas Pageant Ever in December. My son insisted we show up early so he could shoot hoops in the gym.

Russ Johnson, one of the regulars at our Old Guys Bible Study, came to watch the movie. He asked, “is he playing basketball this year?”

I said, “if only they can find a coach.” I also knew that Russ has extensive experience. I planted a seed.

It only took a day for that seed to sprout. Russ agreed to coach and I would be the assistant.

At the first practice, the whiteboard was covered with plays and his clipboard had X’s and O’s showing kids where to make screens to move without the ball.

If reading that last sentence was confusing to you, imagine being a 4^th grader. Russ lamented after the second practice that he thought he would need to forego the triangle offense he planned to install. Even Michael Jordan started somewhere.

The kids would ask to scrimmage to play their way. This was a mess. They’d clump towards the ball and move as one big herd.

However, Russ stuck with it. They eventually started spacing and spreading out. They would get open shots and make easier passes without three defenders in the way. Things started to click.

The kids stopped trying to do it their way and finally embraced Russ’ way. The results were fun to watch. They still miss plenty of shots and frequently forget to go to the right place, but Russ wants the kids to have the concepts down as they get older.

Russ’ way of coaching is similar to what I witness watching people develop in their faith. If we never moved beyond a 4^th grade level of faith, we’d miss out on the nuances of God. We would not be equipped to face the challenges in life or understand the importance of teamwork.

Last week, columnist Joe Nathan wrote about the significant fear, frustration, and financial challenges that our school districts are facing due to ICE. He contacted 24 suburban and rural districts, including Forest Lake and LILA, to seek data on who is affected and how the schools have responded. Superintendent Steve Massey acknowledged that at least 25 students have had their attendance impacted.

I know that the discussion about ICE often devolves into a political litmus test. I’m not here to litigate that. Instead, I’m here to speak on behalf of our neighbors. The needs are real, significant and have not disappeared.

I’m seeing people putting their faith practice into action. Residents are feeding neighbors afraid to leave their homes. Volunteers watch over schools to keep kids safe. Around $10,000 and counting was raised and spent on rental assistance. Other churches in the metro have covered significantly more.  

I see people with empathy and compassion directly responding when needs arise. Just like the 4^th grade basketball players, not everything goes smoothly, but at a time when our community has been put to the test, we citizens are doing the best we can to demonstrate our trust for each other.

It’s some of the most important teamwork I’ve ever seen.   

Pastor John Klawiter is the senior pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, an ELCA congregation in Forest Lake. For more information, email him at