[Book review] Together, The Great Collaboration

You may immediately notice the North American style of this book, with its pragmatic approach. Characteristic lists such as ‘6 reasons for this’ and ‘7 solutions to the other’ appear throughout the text. However, focusing too much on these risks missing the book’s more important messages.

The authors have discovered and implemented a series of simple yet profound biblical principles concerning relationships, collaboration, and networks. These principles are transferable across cultures and sectors.

The content of the book centres on their passion and vision for church planting. However, it is not a stretch to apply the lessons about collaborative networks to other areas of Christian service. An entire chapter is even dedicated to possible models of networks—some of which are geographical examples.

Given that it is a very short and accessible read, it is not difficult to apply its principles of collaboration to working together in other contexts, such as:

·        reaching next generations (childreneverywhere.com and nxtmove.global)

·        serving orphans and vulnerable children (worldwithoutorphans.org)

·        coming alongside the forcibly displaced (refugeehighway.net)

·        protecting the freedom of religion and belief (rlpartnership.org)

How much more might we be able to achieve together in all these areas? As authors, Dave Ferguson and Patrick O’Connell put it, ‘Networks build the kingdom, not individual castles; and networks build the kingdom by tearing down the walls that divide.’

The authors explain that God is a relational God, so people made in his image are (by definition) designed to be relational beings. They illustrate this by examining a cruel experiment apparently conducted in Germany in the 13th century. They also look at statistics about loneliness in the Northern Hemisphere in the mid-20th century (‘one study found that loneliness is as bad for your health a smoking fifteen cigarettes a day.’)

The church of Christ is one Body. It is not designed to be splintered and divided. As Dave Dummitt put it, ‘When Jesus comes back, He’s not coming for a harem; He’s coming for His Bride. We are one church – His church.’ Ferguson and O’Connell quote extensively from Jesus heartfelt prayer, recorded for us in John 17. Meanwhile, they look to Jesus as the antidote to self-centered thinking and the building of personal Empires.

As the authors say, ‘The reason that shocking moral failures occur, large ministries collapse, and movements implode always comes back to this – a leader, leaders or leadership who wake up one day and rather than pointing to Christ, they point to themselves’.

Their conviction is that the biggest barrier to collaboration is ego. As they put it ‘My tendency is to depend on me. My tendency is to give me the credit. That tendency is sin.’

Christian Daily International is committed to promoting Christian unity, so we welcome this strong appeal to effective missional unity. Again, recognize that this book is written in a North American style. If you aren’t from that context, you will need to lay aside cultural prejudices and ignore that which is not relevant. As you do that, you will allow the authors to lead you to the culturally transferrable truths found in Scripture that point to the ways of Jesus.

Together, The Great Collaboration, Dave Ferguson and Patrick O’Connell, Exponential, Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1-62424-047-8, eBook ISBN-13:978-1-62424-046-1