The A-Team

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.

– Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

What do The Dirty Dozen, The Bad News Bears, and The A-Team have in common?

These old school entertainment classics share the same general plot about a group of unlikely misfits who — one way or another — work together to overcome significant obstacles and achieve victory. The characters argue among themselves and face numerous setbacks along the way. But they eventually rally behind their leader, beat long odds, and accomplish the improbable.

It’s a feel-good storyline that never grows old. And it really IS an old storyline — at least 2,000 years-old — to be specific.

The “script” is the second half of the Bible, which is better known as the New Testament. Much of its real-life plot revolves around a group of unlikely characters, who learn from their all-knowing leader (Jesus) to change the course of history. We read that these mundane individuals were Christ’s hand-picked followers. Some were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and another (Simon the Zealot) might be considered a terrorist by today’s standards. Think of them as the original Dirty Dozen.

Known as apostles, they were a dubious group for such an important assignment: Changing the world for Christ’s kingdom one person at a time. But since it’s a mission that continues to this day, maybe it’s no surprise that God still chooses society’s outsiders, outcasts, and the otherwise unremarkable to do his will.

Some modern-day Christ-followers work for insurance companies, supermarkets, retail stores, and banks. Others are homemakers, sales representatives, police officers, and marketing executives. And many are between jobs, retired, or work part-time. But for all their differences, they share a critical unifier: A fervent belief in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And it’s this same common faith that helps them share the joys and overcome the struggles, disappointments, and even tragedies encountered during their faith-journeys. Along the way, these seekers have also learned another vital lesson: Their own strength and wisdom is worth little toward surmounting the world’s obstacles. But this is to their advantage:

“That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties,” the Apostle Paul proclaims. “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

And indeed, God does much through the weaknesses of these so-called Everyday Joes. Families are fed, clothed, and housed through their contributions and work in local food pantries, the Salvation Army, and similar organizations. The sick are cured through the efforts of health care professionals who also happen to trust Jesus. And still other Christ-followers teach the illiterate to read and the undereducated to gain critical life and job skills.

That’s a very brief list of the ways Jesus changes the world when his diverse followers act as his eyes, hands, and feet in the world. As the A-Team’s leader — Colonel Hannibal Smith — so aptly puts it in every episode:

“I love it when a plan comes together!”

And no doubt so does God.