Partnering

In her delightful book, Partnering, Jean Oelwang—a remarkable business and philanthropic leader—asserts that every significant good thing that happens in the world, or nearly so—from the discovery and closing of the ozone hole in the 70s and 80s, to the dismantling of apartheid—happens as the result of robust partnering that gives birth to an ability to work at remarkable scale, do great good, and also find great fulfillment. She prefers the word partnering to partnership, by the way, because partnership is a noun whereas partnering is a verb.

In reading her book I’ve found incredible resonance, not just because of the inspiring case studies, but something deeper in my soul…and I think I understand why. We are made for partnering. Literally created by and for it. From the Holy Trinity in Creation, to the creation of humankind in the image of “Us”, to our mandate to steward the earth and make culture, to the solution to the Fall in Genesis 3:15 (and all the rest of the redemptive history, really), partnering is integral to it all.

Even this week’s Gospel reading in which the idea of partnering doesn’t at first seem obvious (or maybe even relevant), it is integral. And when you think about it, for the most obvious reason.

See you Sunday.

Steve+