On Collaboration

From "In the Spirit of Transparency"
July 13, 2001 (3 parts)

The Importance of Collaboration

“ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone.” 1 Cor 12:4-6

In their book Collaboration- Uniting Our Gifts in Ministry, Sofield and Juliano defined collaboration as “the identification, release and union of all the gifts in ministry for the sake of mission.” From this we can infer that: (1) every member is gifted, hence equipped to do God’s work; (2) every member should unite his/her gifts with other members’ gifts in shared ministry work; (3) the entire community should work together in partnership for the Lord’s mission.

How important is collaboration in our community? Consider these: we have about 1000 members in all age ranges who are members of 18 different ministries & apostolates. We worship, reflect on the Word and fellowship as a community every week. We conduct teachings twice a month. We hold different class reunions every month. We run more than a dozen weekend events every year. Our community calendar is further filled with weekly and monthly ministry meetings, DLC and DCS meetings, praise practices.

In addition to looking after the spiritual needs of our own growing community, we are actively engaged in mission work outside our community. We administer 7 smaller communities in both coasts which are in various stages of district formation. We have four mission programs, three of which are within the archdiocese, and the fourth being an annual medical mission to the Philippines.

The growing, complex demands of building communion and mission make collaboration among our members and ministries essential. The sacred trust that the Lord has given us to continue His work of building His kingdom for the glory of the Father makes collaboration mandatory. How well are we collaborating with one another?

According to Sofield and Juliano, there are four levels of collaboration:

• Co-existence – we are in this lowest level of collaboration when our ministries operate separately and independently from one another

• Communication – we are at least “communicating” when our ministries decide to interact and share information with one another

• Cooperation – we are cooperating when our ministries realize that while each is different and distinct, they have the same purpose and mission. Hence, they cooperate with one another

• Collaboration –we are collaborating when all our ministries live up to their common ownership of the community’s vision & mission by working interdependently with one another to achieve the community’s goals.

Where are we in our collaboration with one another?

“…that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another. If (one) part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.: 1 Cor 12:25-26

Prerequisites & Obstacles

“Luke is the only one with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is helpful to me in the ministry.”
2TM 4:11

When a few members were asked where they are in their collaboration with others, most of them indicated that they are between the co-existence and communication levels. This assessment seems to be borne out by recent difficulties in interaction among some ministries. It is of course part of the growing process for our members to encounter difficulties in our relationship with other members. We grow in spiritual maturity when we are able to overcome such difficulties through dialogue and forgiveness. Dialogue is essential to communication. Forgiveness is essential to reconciliation and unity. As we get to know and accept each other's gifts and role in community, we move to the higher levels of collaboration. We begin cooperating and eventually working interdependently with one another, becoming the community that God intended us to be.

What are some qualities of the heart that are necessary for collaboration?

First, we must relate with one another in trust, recognizing that each of us is the Lord’s son or daughter, and hence is motivated by the good of others and the glory of God. This requires that we must be comfortable with our identity in Christ so that we may not feel threatened by others.

Second, we must have self-giving hearts, to enable us to share ourselves as well as our faith with others. This requires a spirit of compassionate action, which allows us to understand others’ pain, to offer help and to share their burden.

Third, we must be prayerful, reflective and attentive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. This quality flows from a sense of personal responsibility for the work entrusted to us.

Finally, we must be imbued with the spirit of forgiveness and reconciliation, which enables us to accept and learn from failure or mistakes, knowing that the Lord can be found even in them.

What are some of the obstacles to collaboration? Our own experience in community teaches us that the following work against collaborative ministry: refusal to dialogue, turf-mentality, insularity, unresolved conflicts, failure to provide fraternal correction, unforgiveness, pride, arrogance, perfectionism, suspicion, critical or negative spirit, judgmentalism, factions or cliques, etc.

How then do we address these obstacles? “The more an individual faces his or her shadow side, personal demons, or obstacles to collaboration, the more committed one will become…Difficult as it may be, surfacing obstacles is the single most important factor in facilitating a collaborative ministry.” (Sofield & Juliano- Collaboration, Uniting Our Gifts in Ministry)

“But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.” MK 16:20

Achieving Collaboration in the Community

“For we are God's co-workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.” 1 Cor 3:5-11

What specific obstacles held us back from achieving true collaboration in the past? We can name four basic obstacles:

(1) coming from a patriarchal culture, we did not fully understand what collaboration means and entails;

(2) lacking in understanding, we were not convinced of its value and hence preferred the more expedient approach – going it alone;

(3) struggling in our conversion process, we did not regularly practice Christian speech, fraternal correction and handling conflicts; and

(4) learning experientially, we did not know how to provide the capability for collaboration.

“Yet with the Lord, we shall always be; the Lord has hold of our right hand; with His counsel, the Lord guided us” Ps 73:23-24.

Through our discipleship formation, we discovered that collaboration is essential to a sound community culture. The lessons we learned from our community’s growth pains and our past mistakes only reinforced its value. As a first step to achieving collaboration, we introduced empowerment to our ministries, although even this has taken time to be properly understood. To bring healing to broken relationships and guidance to those who are struggling, the Spirit led us to renew our efforts at reconciliation, pastoral care, discipling and intercession. Last but not least, we are implementing new ways to bring capacity for collaboration in community.

Among these are:

DLC Steering Committee- A facilitating team of five couples within the DLC tasked
with promoting collaboration and interdependence among the ministries. Through
the steering committee, the DLC will be more actively involved in overseeing the
community operations and in planning and leading the DLC meetings. This will allow
the DCS greater time for prayer, discernment, pastoral care, teaching, discipling and preaching.

Integrated Objectives- Our ministries and members will be aligned behind just two
community objectives. The communion objective is measured in terms members in worship; the mission objective is measured in terms of disciples in mission. Thus is collaboration achieved: Evangelization brings in new members to worship, Pastoral nurtures and guides members to worship, Formation forms members into worshipful and mission-ready disciples, Mission sends disciples to mission, and Management resources both communion and mission.

“Complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.” Phil 2