Excited and anticipating our church Women’s Weekend, I was inspired to write.
The theme the Lord gave to our First Lady for our Women’s Weekend is “Unify to Maximize”. The supporting scripture is Philippians 2:1-5. The NIV translates it this way:
Imitating Christ’s Humility … 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
“Unify to Maximize”, although it is not a novel theme, it is still so relevant and timely. The Bible speaks often about unity in the body: being fitly joined together, and the goodness and pleasantness of dwelling (abiding, working) together in unity. It teaches us the importance of preserving the unity of the Spirit and about unity in diversity. This concept alone is encouraging as it clearly defines unity, not necessarily as uniformity (although it has its place), but as embracing a common purpose and interdependence in the body of Christ.
In thinking about the theme, I was reminded of a group dynamic known as synergy. Synergy, basically defined is one plus one equals a ton … talk about maximizing?! Then I had an ah-ha moment, ‘one chases a thousand, and two puts ten thousand to flight’. Back to synergy … it emphasizes the ability of groups to perform better than individuals working alone. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its individual parts. We have the ability to exceed the expectations of our individual abilities, gifts and callings when we unify in ‘cooperative effort’ toward a common goal and applying ‘deep diversity’ of values, skills and abilities. There is so much MORE we can accomplish when we are unified in purpose and mutually dependent upon each other to not only do exceptional things, but in whatever we do, also make an impact in and for the body of Christ.
Overall, I think of synergy as a collective effervescence or dunamis power that creates unfathomable results, fortifies common purpose, and releases us to accomplish MORE for God, for ourselves, and for one another.
I will conclude with this quote by Ray Nagin, former mayor of New Orleans, “If we’re unified, there’s nothing we cannot do.” So, women unite!
