Last week, I told you story of my old neighbour who helped build a deck. He nicely represented the transition from strangers to neighbours to acquaintances to partners. Today we’ll go one step further. We’ll talk about becoming friends with those we work with, those we help, and those we live around.
When I was a volunteer paramedic, I remember one partner in particular. We did several shifts together, and on calls he was always nervous, and second-guessing himself, which could be challenging to work with. One day, he invited me to supper. I met his family, saw his home and farm, and in the process learned about him and his values. The next shift we had together was different. I found we could communicate better, and I could anticipate his moves. Debriefing the call afterwards was easier. I knew this quirks, where they came from, and could work from a place of partnership and friendship rather than tolerance.
This has wider application than the workplace, but some good examples of how important this is follow from a few studies:
50 percent of employees with a best friend at work reported that they feel a strong connection with their company, compared to just 10 percent of employees without a best friend at work. (A 2012 Gallup report which found that)
People planning to stick with their current job cited “good relationship with co-workers” as the major reason (67%) – above “job satisfaction” (63%), “flexible working arrangements” (57%) and even salary (which ranked seventh at 46%). A 2013 survey of 2,223 business people across Australia
In the same way, being a follower of Jesus isn’t just about doing transactions, like dealing with other followers of Jesus because you have to, or caring for others in need simply because it looks good.
We’re actually meant to become friends with those we care for, and those we care with. Not every single one to the same degree maybe, but we are actually meant to have a relationship with those we encounter in this life, and not simply use people or tolerate others.
We’ll focus this week on those we care for, those we’ve been talking about all along, and becoming friends.
Question: When have you unexpectedly “hit it off” with someone at work?
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This week we’re exploring how to become a church community united by common learning goals, even when we are busy!
We’ve seen that the church is made up of many different complementary gifts and passions, but all put to use pursuing the same goal. The Bible described this as “maturity, the full stature of Christ”. The learning goal is learning and emulating Jesus’ character in everything life throws our way.
How?
Well, most topics are learned through a mixture of learning styles, like a textbook, lectures, discussion and homework, and experience.
These are many different learning styles, but the same content is meant to be communicated through them all.
Textbook: We’re going to start to read Bible together. We study it in in our challenges, but only a little snippet at a time. Now we’re going to start reading longer portions in sync together.
Lectures: These challenges are obviously one form of teaching, and our live Christianity 101 course that just concluded in Whitby. Take advantage of whatever future learning opportunities you can!
Discussion: This is critical, so I encourage you almost every day to start a discussion group based on our challenges. Have you? This means you’ll be getting encouraged and challenged by those you know, and can see and learn from others trying to follow Jesus. Make sure to contact Ryan with the good news, and to enjoy some leadership coaching and encouragement.
Lab Experience: Every Thursday we give a challenge, and although they are easy to ignore, this learning process depends on you actually trying to live out Jesus’ teachings in your life, where they will transform you!
In our case, Jesus’ character, lifestyle, spiritual maturity that comes from God alone, is learned through many forms.
Challenge: Start with the textbook learning. We are going to start to read the Bible in sync as a community every day. We will add a Bible reading plan to our web site and app, where you’ll find a daily Bible reading starting next Monday!
