Collaboration, Church, and Lifechurch.tv

As we started off in church planting we and by we, I mostly mean me, I have longed to be able to work side by side with other churches. It's funny because we aren't competing with other churches we should be the biggest cheerleaders for them. When one church is succeeding, as pastors, we ought to be the first people on the phone telling the other pastors how happy we are for them. When they are struggling we ought to be the first ones on the phone offering to help in anyway we can.

Sadly enough it just doesn't seem to want to work that way. Over the last year I have personally called a half a dozen guys in the area and no one seems to want to put any energy into working together. Calls and emails go unanswered. Understand this, I am not griping about it. More than anything it just saddens me because the Bible tells us that "Two are better than one. When one falls the other is there to help them up." in another place the Bible tells us that "a three strand chord is not easily broken." In other words, there is something about being and working together that strengthens people and the same, I believe, is true about churches.

When churches link themselves together for prayer, worship, and teaching there are some great things that happen. That is one of the reasons I LOVE Lifechurch.tv. They're actively seeking people to partner with because they get it. There is strength in numbers. It's not about creating another denomination or sect of people that are isolated away from the rest of their community they're all about partnering together so that each church can more fully do what it was called to do in the community it was called to do it! We and they want to share resources, knowledge, and support so that all churches and ministries are as successful as the can be.

As we go through the next few months you'll be seeing more about Lifechurch.tv. Keep in mind the goal here is not to become them. The goal is to partner with them so that we are more fully equipped to do what we are called to do. That might take shape in any number of ways but one thing is for certain we are who we are, and we are going to stay who we are. The simple fact is I don't know how to be any else than who God created me to be.