Tag Archive for: together

Collaboration

Working together, with a group of returned missionaries is such a joyful delight.
Last night, despite being geographically dispersed, literally thousands of miles apart, through the marvel of technology, we were focused, unified and purposeful in the pursuit of a new book project.
Our working title โ€“ โ€œ๐‘ซ๐’‚๐’Š๐’๐’š ๐‘บ๐’‚๐’๐’• โ€“ ๐‘ฌ๐’—๐’†๐’“๐’š๐’…๐’‚๐’š ๐‘ท๐’‚๐’“๐’‚๐’๐’๐’†๐’๐’” ๐’•๐’ ๐‘ฎ๐’๐’”๐’‘๐’†๐’ ๐‘ป๐’“๐’–๐’•๐’‰๐’”โ€
It is a collaborative effort.
Collaboration: โ€œis the act of working together to produce a piece of work, especially a book or some research.โ€
I certainly liked the feeling of being a team again.
Any successful collaboration requires our time as well as effort to communicate and gain understanding.
Whilst serving in Belgium and the Netherlands, each of them learned that to be successful in their work, they must be together, as one.
Creating a culture of collaboration was essential in the mission field, and now a new opportunity has arisen for them to co-create in a collaborative way.
Together they shared their views, we heard different perspectives, and received a broader understanding of the project at hand in a respectful and loving way.
It was captivating, engaging and quite frankly just so exciting to be working together again.
I was so grateful to sit in counsel once more with so many of my dear friends.
Individuals brought their own unique perspectives to our discussions, which is of course highly desirable in any great collaboration.
I count it a great blessing and privilege to work with each one of them.
It was as if weโ€™d switched on a powerful divine light as we collaborated and shared ideas.
We began to understand each of our roles and how the project work will move forward.
Through experience, we all know the best collaborators also need to be great communicators.
We learned that successful collaboration allows for lots of benefits to emerge that are essential to success, including delegation, innovation, planning, persuasion, agility, and speed.
And we got off to a marvellous start!
It feels that all of this experience didnโ€™t just happen by accident, or random chance, but rather by divine design.
I canโ€™t wait to meet again in two weeksโ€™ time.
How do you feel about working in a collaborative team?

Strength in unity

Why should less be more?

A few days ago, we received a letter indicating the Belgium Netherlands Mission had been chosen to pilot a programme to integrate service missionaries into the traditional mission structure.

It is an exciting opportunity to reduce duplication of effort, have more aligned reporting structures and to be more unified in our missionary labours โ€“ together, as one.

As we unite, we will create an even stronger missionary force to spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As we read in Ephesians 4:13; โ€œTill we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.โ€

The Forth Road Bridge

As I considered the transition over the last few days, my thoughts returned to Scotland and the Forth Road Bridge, which is only a short distance from our home.

It was opened in 1964 and at the time was the longest suspension bridge in Europe, spanning 1005 metres across the Firth of Forth.

Suspension bridges have to be strong and tough enough to overcome a number of extreme obstacles โ€“ long distances, high winds, and water.

A suspension bridge is held up by individual wires, which when spun together make strands.

 

Several strands are then combined into giant wire cables that can hold thousands of tonnes of weight.

In a like manner, speaking figuratively, this principle is evident in our new mission structure, allowing us an opportunity to discover new strength in unity.

Unity grows when we serve together, teach each other, and encourage one another. Our hearts can be โ€œknit together in unity and in love one towards anotherโ€ โ€“ Mosiah 18:21

When it comes to structure, less, frequently is much more.

There is beauty in simplicity.

What blessings have you seen by being unified?

#Unity