Cooperation Is More Than Talk!
I spent the whole weekend writing the language of "cooperation".
I am a lot like Col. John "Hannibal" Smith of the hit TV series, the A-Team. There was always a part in the show when Col. Smith would utter this phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together!"
This simple phrase best describes my philosophy of work. "Plan your work and work your plan" is one of my mottos. Some people might find this quite boring, but I don’t. Actually I get great pleasure in it.
Now I have had to learn many lessons about my plans as opposed to God’s plans. This is something that needs more time to address. For the sake of this post, I want to simply take a moment and address a major part of planning - cooperation.
Most everywhere you turn, you will hear Christian leaders herald "unity in the Body of Christ." So why do we hear more than we see? Now don’t get me wrong, there are many tangible expressions of unity happening right now.
My hopes are that more of us will get beyond the "lip service" and move forward with action.
Fortunately, I have had the pleasure of working with Christian leaders who really wanted to "make a difference" in their communities. They realized that the best place to start was by nurturing their "willingness" to cooperate. This is where good communication and meaningful relationships come into play.
Cooperation simply begins with our "willingness to cooperate." This can ignite change, progress, and growth; as long as we move to the next stage – “cooperative skills and resources.” When people are truly ready to invest in cooperative endeavors, relational synergism can happen; people working together for greater purposes realized only through concerted efforts.
This crosses the threshold into “new paradigm” and explosive biblical dynamics. As people begin to work, unity makes perfect sense; many…moving as one!
Jesus understood this best when He said, "The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind— Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, So they might be one heart and mind with us. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me (John 17:21, MSG)."
Cooperation can be a powerful instrument in Christians’ hands. Perhaps more of us should make more conscious effort to pick up this "tool" more often.
