Too Painful

Ministry leaders, mid-level executives and denominational heads were gathered to discuss the status of Kingdom presence among a specific people group in a rather large geographical region. And these were not just Westerners. Although the Church of the South was only sparsely represented, their voice was present. For days they had heard the statistics, and their excitement about working together to achieve breakthroughs was palpable. It could almost be felt in the room. Now was the time for action – to turn talk into practical plans.

The large group prayed for mission breakthroughs. Then they broke into smaller groups with more regional focuses. As the leaders sat around the large circular tables, pop-corn comments began to fill the air. Again, the electricity, the excitement was palpable as each was ready to see what might come of this round-table discussion. It soon became apparent, however, that the large group’s facilitator had not given very good instructions on what the groups might discuss.  The groups did not know what outcomes to work toward. As a result, the groups were not ready for what happened next.

A leader threw out a comment about purported numbers of new church plants. Another responded with obvious distrust – then another popped up with a defensive statement. Soon the most vociferous of the group were taking sides.

The allotted time was running out. The schedule included only a short period to help these leaders make connections which might lead to a fruitful partnership. The intention was admirable. The objective was praiseworthy. The result, however, was a disaster.

People who thought they were sitting down to learn about each other and perhaps form a partnership among ministries to reach a specific people group were reduced to arguing with each other. No trust, no integrity, no partnership – It was just another “partnership attempt” gone bad. Sadly, these leaders walked away disappointed and now carried even more wariness about working with other ministry leaders.

The lesson is that partnerships are not constructed by good intentions – no matter how admirable. Working together is complex. Methods are important. Process is critical.

Partnerships are not born by throwing people together and saying, “Talk with each other and see if you can form a partnership.” If it was that simple, Satan would not be able to divide Christians as easily as he does. Look at the landscape: It is easy to see how divided Christians are.

If you truly are interested in working together to form collaborative efforts, take time, use partnership skills, and add lots of prayer to bring diverse elements of the body together. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, with knowledgeable skills, methods and processes, and the confidence of learned abilities, the great news is that partnerships do work, to the glory of God.

If you choose to not follow the process, most likely your partnership will fail or implode. For more information about these necessary skills that have been developed over the last several decades in the world of Christian ministry and business, please visit the Power of Connecting web site.

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For more information on effective partnership skills, visit the mission networking and partnership resource site, www.powerofconnecting.net.