Unity

Lego bricks all look the same except for the different colors.  But, it’s what is not seen that makes the difference in how you can build with the bricks.  The tubes added under the brick enable the bricks to be put in different formations instead of just stacked on top of each other.  Same for football officials, we all look relatively the same.  But, our different talents, roles, and functions within the crew will determine the unity in the crew and our results on the field--more unity-better results; less unity-not as good of results.

Lego

--Most profitable income of any toy manufacture.

--600 billion pieces made.

–Started with wooden toys by Denmark carpenter.

o   Hollow brick had limitations of what you could build.

--Late 40s started making plastic bricks

--1949 – automatic binding bricks

o   Added tubes gave clutch power. The tubes were the most important thing that happened in this company’s history.

--Different Combinations were now possible:

o   2 bricks – 24 different ways

o   3 bricks – 1060 different ways

o   6 bricks – 915,103,765 different ways

Uniformity and Unity are not the same.  Uniformity means everyone/everything is the same.  Unity takes the differences and similarities and bonds them together.  In the church, God calls us to be one in the Body of Believers.  But, he gives different talents/gifts to the Church in order for the body of Believers to grow.

As a crew of football officials, we can correlate the Unity that God calls the church to be to apply to our crew.  We are one “body”.  We want to be on the same page—a crew.  In order for us to achieve unity, we bring our different talents and abilities to contribute to the crew.

Ephesians 4: 11-13:  (11) So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, (12) to equip His people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (13) until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Take the legos, the bricks look the same except for the colors.  However, you can build them thousands of different combinations (depending on the number of bricks you have).  Same is true in officiating—we work each play one by one until the end of the game.  We use the crew’s talents and abilities to work the best game possible.  At the end of the game, we have built something.  Each week it’s unique.  But, hopefully it’s something we can be proud of!  

“Unity is not uniformity.”