EMQ » January–March 2023 » Volume 59 Issue 1

By Phill Butler

In the Christian community, individualism can be like a staph infection. Here’s what the Mayo Clinic says about staph infections, “… staph infections can turn deadly if the bacteria invade deeper into your body, entering your bloodstream, joints, bones, lungs or heart. A growing number of otherwise healthy people are developing life-threatening staph infections.”[i]

In other words, the infection can become systemic invading a range of vital bodily functions. While it may seem evident, the problem of a staph infection often develops when it is not expected. But certainly, to address the issue calls for highly intentional effort.

So it is in the body of Christ. Individualism seems to creep into our kingdom efforts almost without notice. As is the case of addressing an infection, my experience of over 50 years of working with colleagues globally on evangelism initiatives, a collaborative approach takes intense focus. The challenge is great but the return on investment is rewarding, personally, and in growth of the church.

Scriptural Imagery

Consider now the Apostle Paul’s use of the body as a metaphor to describe the healthy community of believers. In that well-known passage, Romans 12:4–13, Paul speaks specifically about the roles we have in making sure the body is healthy. Then, in Ephesian 4, Paul extends his metaphor as he outlines how we, as members of the body, can work to encourage each other – and the whole body of Christ to function in the healthiest way.

Paul’s plea certainly suggests how, going it alone, in the body of Christ can be a set up for a spiritual staph infection.

What About Your Experience?

Think about it. Are the churches or Christian organizations in your area of ministry praying, planning, encouraging each other, and working together? Or if you are working internationally, are the ministries in your sector intentionally collaborating? They may be working in the same or similar geographic area. Or it may be in the type of ministry. If they are not connecting, why not? Collaboration usually means coordination of resources – technical or cultural skills or possibly financial resources. If such collaboration is not going on, does it matter in the eyes of others?

What We Can Learn from The Early Church

Let’s look at two well-known writers who address the implications of our collaboration in the eyes of others. These writers reflect on the documented history of the early church and consider how the early church grew.

Both Michael Green’s classic, Evangelism and the Early Church,[ii]  and Rodney Stark’s books, Cities of God[iii], and The Rise of Christianity[iv] credit the community of believers as a stark contrast to the fragmented, polytheistic Roman world of their day. While the pagans were throwing the sick into the streets, the Christians demonstrated their love and community by bringing the plague-infected into their homes and nursing them back to health. 

Individualism is a disability in evangelism strategies similar to how a diseased or damaged organ is in the human body. Certainly, each believer has the opportunity and responsibility to witness to their relationship with Christ. Living our individual life of Christ is a journey full of wonder, beauty, and, yes, challenge – his love at all times and in all relationships. In Galatians 6:10, the apostle Paul is explicit in his reminder “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Intentional collaboration, possibly partnership or network-based evangelism strategies, reflect personal wholeness and restoration in our individual lives and the wider Body of Christ. Whether it’s a local community or large unreached people group, they call for initiatives like the human body where all the parts are healthy and working in harmony.

God Set the Precedent Early

According to Genesis 1:5, time is a created subset of eternity. God lives in community outside of time, in eternity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit along with a range of “principalities” (See Genesis, Job, Daniel, Ephesians, etc.). Whatever we make of the word us used in Genesis, from Adam and Eve through the entire Scripture, God’s design has been for us to live and work together. Psalm 133 provides the benchmark for Jesus’ followers.

Working together in sharing the good news is not just a technique – it’s fundamental. And, if we have any questions about the challenge we face, review the apostle Paul’s assessment of what we face in Ephesians 6:12!

Then, in writing to the young church at Corinth, Paul said that love triumphs over all and is critical for the on-going healthy life of the church and its witness (1 Corinthians 13). In short, it is a transformed relationship that marks the followers of Jesus.

Western Individualism Naturally Leads to Individualistic Strategies

For those involved in international ministry it is particularly important to keep in mind that the majority of the so-called unreached are in community-based, highly relational cultures. How those in our ministries relate to each other, and to those in the culture, spells the difference between credibility and irrelevance. An individual, competitive approach is at the heart of so many aspects of Western life. Without our awareness, the infection of competition instead of collaboration often characterizes our work.

Recently in a religiously closed country which had a deep tradition of community-based culture, eight believers were baptized in a single day. Several said, “All the Christians we met knew and loved each other. That was a great witness to us. It was such a change from the world in which we live every day!” The local community of believers had gone from fear to favor in the eyes of the community.

Jesus Reminds His Disciples About Different Roles

My own professional background has been instructive: first in journalism, and then later in management and training. I was always concerned about what my part could be in seeing individuals come to Christ. So, it was a great revelation and assurance for me when I listened to Jesus in John 4:33–38 in which he said that some sow, some water, and some reap and that all have part in the harvest. This was the model of kingdom collaboration: infection free, mutual respect, and Spirit-directed outcomes.^[v]

In the NIV translation, the word love appears over 260 times in the New Testament alone. This reflects the relational nature of the gospel. In the account of Jesus’ final hours, the apostle John uses the word over 20 times describing both Jesus’ actions and, of course, his new commandment for the disciples, “… Love one another.” And, in John 13:35 he writes that love among believers is what distinguishes them as Jesus’ disciples. Think of it. Jesus’ credibility depends on our demonstrated love for each other!

In the account of the days following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, Acts vividly describes the sense of community that gripped the believers (Acts 2:42–47). And the writer chronicles how the relationship among the believers impacted the wider community.

Ego, fear of loss of income, selfishness, organizational pride, theological exclusivity, and nationalistic qualities (language, culture, politics, etc.) are familiar divisive elements. The distance these qualities produce between believers in day-to-day ministry is tragic. However, when individualism of this sort infects an evangelism strategy, it spiritually neutralizes the energy of the Holy Spirit and destroys the credibility of our message. We are simply no longer believable. 

So often, ego gets in the way – sometimes subtly, on other occasions flagrantly. Typically, it is because of stronger, more visible personalities. Sadly, at times, it takes the form of behind-the-scenes manipulation. It is good news, then, that the apostle Paul explicitly addresses this in the controversy around his role and that of Apollos (1 Corinthians 3:1–15).  He uses strong words when dealing with personalities – and the infectious consequences of looking at people rather than at the Lord.

Matthew 5:24–25 provides further instruction regarding the importance of our relationships.  How would it be possible to engage effectively in evangelism – pointing individuals to Jesus – when our relationships with each other are broken?

This issue of our highly individualistic behavior puts a serious dent in our internal, familial life as well as our relationships in the wider family of believers. The apostle Peter brings the matter directly home (1 Peter 3:7) indicating that a husband’s prayers will not be heard if he has a broken relationship with his wife! And, for the wider community of believers, again, the apostle Paul in Galatians 6:9–10 says, “Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.”

The Two-by-Two Paradigm

Jesus established a norm when he sent his disciples out two-by-two with specific instructions as recorded in Mark 6:7–13. And, of course, when they returned, they were filled with joy. So, what was it that prompted Jesus to send them out two by two? Why not alone? They could have reached more villages – larger audiences.

If we fast forward in the life of the early church, the experience of the church in Antioch is telling (Acts 13). It was as the believers were praying and fasting together, that the Holy Spirit told them to put two of their number on special assignment. It was not an individual, it was two of them.

And, when Paul and Barnabas parted ways over Mark, Paul still did not go it alone. Despite his intellect, authenticating Damascus Road experience, and the fact that he was headed back to territory he knew and had recently covered, he did not go alone. Silas became his companion in evangelism and church encouragement, 24/7! Can you imagine Paul in that Philippian jail singing hymns and praying alone? (Acts 16)? God created us to live and minister in relationship.

Ancient and Current Realities

The haunting exchange between Cain and God in Genesis 4 makes clear the implications of going it alone in the world. In light of God’s creative design, there can be no “private religion.”  And, ultimately, going it alone and its isolation places our journey in jeopardy – with others and with God.

The digital age has ushered in the Zoom generation. I was just in a face-to-face conversation with a colleague in Istanbul. Prior to my call, he had been in another face-to-face conversation. This time, via Zoom with a key church leader in Alexandria, Egypt. Both of them are deeply involved in evangelism – personally and strategically with others. Using the strength of technology they could map out a coordinated approach.

The Spanish sociologist, Manuel Castells authored the seminal work, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture[vi] Castells holds that information technology has transformed the world – particularly the way we relate to each other. And, consider that Castells did his primary research before the all-pervasive influence of the internet and certainly well before the daily realities associated with the Zoom generation.

It’s What We Don’t Know That Creates Problems

These Zoom connections often give us a sense of knowing more than we really know – well-intended ignorance. Part of the infection of individualism is assuming we know what others believe, what they are actually doing, or their purpose or longer-term objectives.

Have you noticed the precedent set in Genesis 3? After Adam and Eve make their fatal decision, God (walking and talking in the cool of the evening) makes no statements. Rather, he asks a series of questions and in their response, Adam and Eve discover their own dilemma. 

Of course, associated with this is often our perception that we only ask questions to be courteous or to give the impression that we have a genuine interest. In my twenty some years of journalism, it became clear that asking good questions and then actually listening carefully to the response made all the difference in the world. Summarizing responses, and then asking follow-on questions such as, “Did I understand what you’ve just said?” often showed a significant distance between sender and receiver. The question enabled clarification.

The Makings of Collaboration

An evangelism initiative in one major unreached people group in which my colleagues and I worked went like this. Going into the country we knew of three or four agencies that were working in his language group. Meeting with each of them, learning of their history, operations, and vision, we eventually learned of a total of fourteen agencies in the country committed to seeing this people group know of Christ. 

Clearly well-intentioned, these agencies, particularly their leaders, had never met. It was unclear to what extent the leaders were aware of the complex religious history of the major people group.  There had been no sharing of plans, vision, possible priority action steps, much less praying for God’s blessing on their efforts to share Christ. 

Eventually we were able to bring the leadership of all of these fourteen agencies together, allowing each to share their story. That took time. We met, talked, prayed, and planed for three days. It provided another lesson – that effective listening takes time. As an American, I readily admit that people from my culture, including myself, want quick action. Out of that action, we hope, will come information on progress we can report to our administrative leaders and/or donors. However, an investment in listening yields a more fruitful and long-lasting result.

Getting Started

Remember, the quickest way to kill effective collaboration is to call a meeting. First, listen – one-by-one with relevant leaders in like-minded ministries, or through contacts that emerge. Whether your interest is a highly-specific geographic area, a specific people group, or a specialized form of ministry – the Deaf, street kids, media, medical, or a dozen other possibilities – there is likely to be some other person or ministry with your interest.

Be in touch with the ministries that are already working full-time to help launch and sustain effective collaboration – partnerships, networks.  Here are suggestions:

• Linking Global Voices (linkingglobalvoices.com): This is a wonderful resource with information on 600+ forms of cooperation. This includes existing networks and specialized gatherings. All the data is organized around geography or specialized ministry focus (medical, children, media, literature, etc.)
• visionSynergy (visionsynergy.net): This full-time global team has a sole focus on helping launch ministry networks, partnerships, or other forms of collaboration. They train, coach, and help ministries in many ways to connect and minister effectively.
• The Lausanne Movement (lausanne.org): Since 1974 Lausanne has pro-actively worked to bring leaders and ministries together for effective evangelism. Their website provides access to both their knowledgeable regional leaders as well as catalytic leaders in 36 types of specially-focused ministry. The information you can access here is just a few calls or emails away.
• World Evangelical Alliance (worldea.org): If your ministry is focused primarily geographically, contact with the WEA may be productive. They have collaborating fellowships in 125 countries. Leaders in each of these countries can be helpful with their knowledge of the local church and evangelism context.
• Kingdom Resource (kingdom-resource.org): This website has a rich supply of material related to collaboration and kingdom communication including information about start up, operations, evaluation, structure, and how to encourage. It has over 140 articles and more than 30 videos dealing with the topics. No matter what phase of collaboration you’re considering, this is a go to place for help.

When you do meet – personally or digitally – determine what level of interest leaders have shown in the past. Often leaders have had no experience, heard bad stories, or have been personally disappointed with their own initiatives. 

Over the years, many times I have found a simple, direct question to be very helpful. “Would you be willing to sit with other leaders, one time, and ask a single question: ‘Is there anything we might do better in this work if we worked together rather than continuing to work separately?’” If the leader believes in the potential of collaboration but finds it disappointing, he loses nothing except some time. If he does not believe in collaboration but others do and go forward, he stands to lose all of the benefits.

So What?  The Consequences of Collaboration

Psalm 133 sums up the benefits of collaboration. However, for greater specifics, here is a brief list of the types of positive outcomes that can occur as a result of collaboration:

• More people come to Christ sooner.
• A greater kingdom impact occurs on some area of acute social or spiritual need.
• The credibility of our message is enhanced because the communities we serve equate our Christian faith with our love for and support of each other.
• Costs for individual ministries are reduced.
• Options for ministry engagement expand because ministries bring their experience, team, and sphere of influence.
• Lives of those engaged are enriched (Watch a video which recounts the remarkable relational and spiritually-related development that happened in North Africa between ministry leaders: https://kingdom-resource.org/2020/10/19/video-the-north-africa-story).

So, what to do? Pray. Satan will do whatever he can to destroy collaboration among God’s people. A healthy initiative must always be built on prayer. Satan’s infections can creep in many ways. Specifically allocate time and identify others you may engage – whether you are concerned about collaboration in your local community or some type of international ministry.

I always recommend engaging a group outside the initiative who will commit to praying for the vision. Then, within the initiative, establish some type of working group that is committed to prayer – for the initiative, for the people involved, and for open hearts you are seeking to reach. Finally, whenever your leadership team or the larger group meets, always allocate time to pray for the elements I’ve mentioned above.

NOTES

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[i] “Staph Infections,” Mayo Clinic, last modified May 25, 2022, https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/staph-infections/symptoms-causes/syc-20356221.

[ii] Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church (Grand Rapids, MI: William Erdmans, 2004).

[iii] Rodney Stark, Cities of God: The Real Story of How Christianity Became an Urban Movement and Conquered Rome (San Francisco: Harper One, 2007).

[iv] Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries (San Francisco: Harper One, 1997).

[v] For a case history of God’s people coming together for effective evangelism in a closed region of the world, check this web-based story: Phill Butler, “The North Africa Story,” Kingdom Resources, accessed November 8, 2022, https://kingdom-resource.org/2020/10/19/video-the-north-africa-story/.

[vi] Manuel Castells, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996).

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EMQ, Volume 59, Issue 1. Copyright © 2023 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.