The reason that the best built temples in ancient Egypt are still standing thousands of years later is because their foundation is so strong.

The preparation phase of a building project was so important, the king would initiate a “foundation ceremony” to begin the construction.

The practice included burying “foundation deposits,” items made of clay, wood or other inscribed materials, at key places around the site.

The purpose of the ceremony was to secure protection from the deities, to keep the building from falling into ruin.

Foundational principles

Building a strong foundation wasn’t invented by the Egyptian builders or their deities. The idea was established by God, the Grand Architect, the Master Builder who “In the beginning, laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens.” (Hebrews 1:10)

And God’s creation, the world, is so strong, its foundations so firm, that it cannot be moved out of its place; overthrown, destroyed. (Psalm 104:5)

It is often taken for granted that Christian digital builders and workers already know and apply God’s absolute foundation principles…

• God no longer lives in a man-made temple; He lives in you; in your body. Your body is holy and you should be employed in the service of God alone. (1 Corinthians 6:19)
• There is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Any venture built on man or anything else is doomed to fail. (1 Corinthians 3:11)
• God has provided the only “foundation deposit” you need, the indwelling of the Spirit. The Spirit gives you total access to God’s personal treasures and power, enabling you to lead a Godly life, do good works, and have a secure future. (1 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 5:22-25)
• If you build with cheap or inferior materials – the love of power, instead of the power of God – you will be found out. There is an inspection. If your foundation is in good shape, great. If not, you won’t lose everything, but your part of the platform may be torn out so you can start over and get it right. (1 Corinthians 3:12-13)

Foundational words

The Son of God upholds all things by His all-powerful word. Hebrews 1:3

This new age is moving so fast that we (I) too often treat as incidental the foundational instruction, “So then, anyone who hears these words of mine and obeys them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (Matthew 7:24)

The beginning of any digital missions project is an occasion for the digital builder to first, pay honor to the One who laid the foundation.

Thank God for His almighty power that could create something out of nothing; for the firm foundation, Jesus Christ; and for the privilege of building gospel platforms on the word, the salvation of the the Lord, extended to all nations of the earth.

Make Creator God the sole object of your worship. Celebrate with a “foundation ceremony.” Have a hallelujah moment. A sacred jam session. Then build.

Are pastors and churches racing toward wide-scale adoption of collaboration and partnership with others to do great things for the kingdom?

In the media and technology space:

They see the waste and redundancy risk of the “every church for itself” approach to building digital ministry.

They are putting up “welcome here” shingles for parachurch ministries and organizations that have developed advanced web and social media expertise and tools.

They work with Christian business leaders who believe they are called to fund innovative technology ventures.

They meet regularly with others outside the organization to share knowledge. They are open to sharing resources at unprecedented levels. It is not “their” money after all.

The question is, should they collaborate and partner?

Leadership Network is predicting that strategic partnerships between churches, organizations and even businesses will become the norm in next generation churches.

The tide is turning. Perhaps the question should be, what opportunities do you see to partner or collaborate on kingdom initiatives?

The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses. Revelation 19:4

Collaboration is taking place worldwide between organizations, corporations, educational institutions, and even farmers.

Sometimes churches have risk-averse cultures and tend to be “slow out of the gate” with innovative practices. The trend toward more collaboration may be happening because the Rider is saying to make the push at the end of the race to win.

If so, we have only one word to add. Hallelujah!

Pizzazz is defined as “a vigorous spirit; energy or excitement.” Sounds fantastic doesn’t it? Give me some of that for breakfast.

Pizzazz can be a defining and collective force of personal identity that energizes teams to do great things.

But we have all seen it. Projects and missions that start with pizzazz but eventually end up in defeat.

Unmanaged opposition and obstacles are two of the most common momentum killers.

The book of Nehemiah gives us a textbook example of a project that started with great hope but immediately faced a pizzazz killing plot.

“Sanballat was very angry when he learned that we were rebuilding the wall. He flew into a rage and mocked the Jews.” (Nehemiah 4:1)

The wall builders could have buckled. As we know, however, their first response was…to pray.

“Hear us, our God, for we are being mocked. May their scoffing fall back on their own heads, and may they themselves become captives in a foreign land!” (Nehemiah 4:4)

Throughout the rebuilding effort, Nehemiah and his building regiment prayed their way through one barrier after another. “Now strengthen our hands.” (Nehemiah 1:9)

The outcome, the dedication of the rebuilt wall, was a joyous occasion.

“Many sacrifices were offered, for God had given the people cause for great joy.” The celebration was so loud it “could be heard far away.” (Nehemiah 12:43-44)

Make your case before God

Kyle Idleman says “rebuilding prayer makes our case before God, not because we deserve for Him to do anything, but 1) because of who God is; 2) because of what God has done; and, 3) because of the promises God has made.”

So what needs rebuilding in your church, in your organization, in your community, in the industry that you serve?

In recent months, we have been working our way through the details of a fairly large rebuilding project. Sometimes I spend too much time thinking about all the things that can go wrong and get bottled up.

Prayer and asking God to help us take the next right step, enables us to break out and keep going forward.

I prayed to God. Nehemiah 1:5

Prayer is one of the Christian’s most important and underutilized kingdom resources. The enemy is hip to that and sends attacks designed to keep us from bowing our heads. Like Nehemiah and his crew, prayer should be our first response, not our last resort when we those poisonous arrows are flying.

Then, once we ask, we have to be ready to act. But don’t stop praying!

Prayer can produce a Holy Spirit infused pizzazz that will fire up a team for undertaking great rebuilding programs. Prayer ensures that His pizzazz will last when the Sanballat’s of this world try to extinguish the passion that brought everyone together to do it.

Question: What else keeps the spiritual and emotional fires burning when opposition threatens?

Creating new digital communication strategies for evangelism and discipleship will take partnership. I’ve been thinking a lot about that lately.

“Partnership” is so commonly used in business today that its meaning has been diminished.

For Christians, however, partnership is more than a word.

The apostle Paul defines partnership as “a fellowship (sympathetic cooperation, contribution and partnership) in advancing the gospel.” Philippians 1:5

After the resurrection, we see the disciples out on an all night fishing expedition. They had caught nada.

At dawn, Jesus arrives on the scene, helps them assess the situation, and says they should cast their nets on the other side of the boat.

Partnership with Christ that night resulted in a miracle catch of so many fish “they couldn’t haul in the net.”

A Christian’s first partnership is with God. Then, whenever you cooperate with others you are carrying out God’s mission. You are working together to bring the love and peace of Christ to the world.

I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6

For believers, partnerships are the pathway that lead to life, the unprecedented global mission led by Jesus Christ.

Technology is making it possible to accelerate the mission. To take the gospel to those who haven’t heard. To those who are still untouched by this mission of mercy and love.

Partnerships are the only way global ministry relationships and major technology initiatives are going to thrive and grow in the Digital Age.

For this reason, developing strategic partnerships should be among the top priority areas for Christian leaders and organizations. Ultimate fishing experiences and great catches await. Powerful, long-lasting and meaningful relationships with partners are icing on the cake.

Creating strong bonds and joining forces with others will ensure mutual success for ministry, business and the gospel. Here’s to the beginning of what I pray will be many very successful partnerships.

Collaboration in its simplest form is working together to achieve shared goals.

A friend recently asked me why I thought collaboration between churches or Christian organizations was so hard to do?

A provocative question.

Some of us would rightly point out that theological convictions and cultural differences stand in the way of bringing individuals or different entities together.

Collaboration is deemed to be too great a risk; not worth the trouble or the cost.

On the other hand, some of us would also rightly say that believers in partnership with other believers is central to God’s strategy for redeeming the world.

Throughout my years in Christian broadcasting, I’ve witnessed the exciting benefits of partnership. Churches, music artists, media ministries, businesses and radio stations uniting to leverage resources, create synergy and build innovative outreaches.

All of us recognize there is power in joining hands.

One key aspect of Christian collaboration should be settled up front: Working together should never involve compromise on the fundamental teachings of Scripture.

Once that is established, we come to the central question.

Sharing a similar faith, would we be willing to work through all other issues to join hands on projects to reach our cities for Jesus Christ? Consistently, until the goal is achieved?

Here are eight basic ideas to help you consider Christian collaboration the next time an opportunity rolls around.

The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind. Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
John 17:22

1. Settle the faith issue. These are the non-negotiables of what makes Christianity Christian. No compromises can be made here.  “By this gospel you are saved. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance.” 1 Corinthians 15:2, 5

2. Decide who you can work with. Seek out the leaders of organizations who share your vision, i.e. building innovative technology platforms to engage the unchurched. “Honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work. They work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12

3. Get out of your comfort zone. Accept that working together takes hard work, change and risk. You can’t reach any city by yourself. “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” Romans 12:6

4. Choose charity before prosperity. Ask who can we help rather than how much can we make. “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

5. Engage in healthy discussions. Grand ideas and breakthrough strategies can come from unexpected sources. “Apollos turned out to be a great help to those who had become believers.” Acts 18:27

6. Be willing to endure sarcasm and cynicism. Change agents often take heat for their radical ideas. “Some will make fun of you.” 2 Peter 3:3

7. Learn from others. In February, six very different media outlets, along with a major Jewish organization partnered to create a platform to share ideas in one mass brainstorming session. Called 28 Days, 28 Ideas, the goal was to transform the Jewish future, make the Jewish world a better place.

8. Work together with Jesus Christ. He is the Master collaborator. You will be amazed at how much more you can do. “I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me.” Romans 15:18

When the goal is giving the next generation multiple opportunities to hear the gospel, working together will always, always, always be worth the trouble and the cost.

Churches will grow, lives will be changed and cities will be touched with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Can’t we all just work together as one to this single end?