Why Winning Big in the NFL Isn’t the Same in Ministry

From the first time that I picked up a lacrosse stick, played soccer, or watched the New England Patriots, I have always loved competition.  But I’ve started to question the impact my competitive attitude has on the way I view other organizations.

Because of charity watchdogs like Charity Navigator, following nonprofit trends is like following sports statistics.  Nonprofit ratings are out in the open—you can track revenue growth, organizational efficiency—whether nonprofits are winning big or in stages of decline.

A few days ago, a friend sent me a summary of HOPE’s key statistics compared to our “competition.”  But then it hit me—the Gospel of Jesus calls us to a different way of measuring success. It should be about using what we’ve been given—other organizations should not be the measuring stick.

I believe there are two simple questions that serve as a gut check on whether or not you see other organizations as partners or competitors:

  1. Do you celebrate their success? When you hear that another organization just landed a major grant from a foundation that recently denied your proposal, can you still celebrate?
  2. Do you openly share information that would give another organization an advantage? If you’ve just discovered a new piece of information that would positively impact another organization in the same sector, do you pass it on or keep it to yourself?

I believe in competition—it strengthens and sharpens. But I also believe that between ministry organizations, the pervasive attitude should be one of collaboration and partnership. When we see partner organizations primarily as competition, we all lose.

[Note – we will have the opportunity to live this out during the Microenterprise Development Summit in Baltimore on November 16-17. Info at http://accordnetwork.org/forum/microenterprise/]

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