Chosen for Chemistry, Not Just Talent

Herb Brooks made a decision that baffled hockey experts. When selecting the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, he passed over several more skilled players in favor of young men who could play together. "I'm not looking for the best players," Brooks told skeptics. "I'm looking for the right ones." The average age of his roster was just twenty-one. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union's squad had dominated international hockey for nearly two decades, winning four consecutive Olympic golds. On February 22, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, those twenty young Americans faced the most fearsome team on earth. No individual American could match the Soviet players in skill or experience. But Brooks had built something more powerful than a collection of stars — he had forged a unit. When Mike Eruzione buried the go-ahead goal midway through the third period, it was the product of selfless passing and relentless teamwork. The final score read 4-3, and Al Michaels asked a stunned nation, "Do you believe in miracles?"

Paul wrote to the Philippians, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Notice the context — Paul was speaking of learning contentment in every circumstance, not solo heroics. The strength Christ supplies flows through community, through the Body working as one. No single believer is meant to skate alone. When we submit our individual gifts to God's purposes and lock arms with one another, the Almighty accomplishes through us what none of us could achieve on our own. The miracle is never just one player. It is always the team.