Acts 2:42-47 (CEB)

42 The believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the community, to their shared meals, and to their prayers. 43 A sense of awe came over everyone. God performed many wonders and signs through the apostles. 44 All the believers were united and shared everything. 45 They would sell pieces of property and possessions and distribute the proceeds to everyone who needed them. 46 Every day, they met together in the temple and ate in their homes. They shared food with gladness and simplicity. 47 They praised God and demonstrated God’s goodness to everyone. The Lord added daily to the community those who were being saved.

On a beautiful October Friday, alumni from past Missio Madison and Awaken Dane cohorts gathered at Dottie’s Ranch in Oregon, WI to talk about the ongoing work of collaboration in the Church in Dane County. The retreat, co-led by Christina Roberts (Missio Madison/Awaken Dane) and Wendy Porterfield (Collaboration Project), was organized around the themes of Kinship, Discernment, and Collaboration - or Kin-Di-Co for short.

Participants noted that the image of the Church projected in Acts 2 (above) seems natural, fluid, and idealistic - very unlike many of our own experiences of the Church. Too often, pastors lack the dedicated time, focus, or awareness of needs to collaborate effectively with colleagues. Sometimes our best efforts can be impeded or derailed by differing geographies, visions, and ideologies. Many pastors work in isolation from one another, a habit reinforced by shrinking staffs and cultural values of self-sufficiency, independence, and individualism.

Only in times of crisis or extreme social need - as we have experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic - do churches seem to reach a threshold of urgency necessary to work together. And even then, leaders can easily default to seeking partners strictly among our denominational or ideological peers rather than another congregation down the street.

Retreat participants named seeking collaboration and building relationships across theological and ideological differences as a spiritual calling, akin to social transformation and justice work in other areas. The same polarization found in our broader culture is often mirrored in our churches. Therefore, the Church is called to healing divisions and witnessing to our unity in Christ both outside and inside our faith communities.

Living into a calling of collaboration takes work and intention. Seeking common ground with other Christians - even for the good of the community - can be tricky and has the potential to risk established relationships in pursuit of new ones. It is work that relies heavily on trust, grace, curiosity, emotional maturity, and humility.

In spite of the challenges, God’s calling on our lives to be the Body of Christ is worth all the struggle, frustration, and discomfort. There is JOY in coming together with others who love Jesus, sincerely desire to bring more good into our community, and to live lives of meaning and purpose. Actively listening to one another and sharing stories of our faith journeys can open us to a bigger understanding of who God is and what the Spirit is up to in our lives and in our community.

BIG and FUNDAMENTAL differences exist. And yet, our collective witness to the power of God’s love and grace is diminished when we fail to see one another as wholly beloved and siblings in faith. Retreat participants left encouraged by the richness of discussion and inspired by the many little steps toward understanding and collaboration that were shared in our time together.

If you are so moved, pray for those who are called to this ministry of collaboration. Share with us questions, stories, and learnings from your own faith journey. We would love to hear from you!