by Linzy Slayden
Synergy is defined as a “mutually advantageous conjunction of participants” or more simply as “combined action.” To illustrate the concept of synergy all we have to do is think of a job that one person cannot do alone but that is easily done working together. Through the combined action of many, much can be accomplished. Indiana State Chairman Dave Adams wrote, “The ministry of the local church is most effective when we understand that combined action is better than individual action. We are stronger and more influential for the kingdom of God when we work together.
Sometimes I am concerned about the attitude of independent Baptists in this regard. I wonder if we haven’t gotten fuzzy on what being independent meant originally. I wonder if somehow the concept of independence hasn’t morphed into an unhealthy sense of “I’m an independent. I don’t need you.”
As I understand it, the independent Baptist movement had much to do with the government of the local church. Independent Baptists believe that each church is autonomous or self-governing under the headship of Christ, rather than being ruled by some distant assembly or convention of denominational leaders. This in no way denied the reality of a degree of interdependence among local churches. Though each church would be autonomous in terms of its polity, they would be very much connected in terms of working together for the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Looking closely, one could see that no church was entirely independent of all others. For, in order for a church to be born and to grow there must be much investment along the way on a variety of levels from multiple sources.
Any single independent Baptist church today is a representation of many independent Baptist churches that somewhere along the way have contributed to its life. Acts and the Pauline epistles depict clearly that among the churches of Asia, Macedonia, Greece, Rome, and Jerusalem there was synergy, or a mutually advantageous conjunction of participants. One example is the offering that Paul gathered from the various churches for the benefit of the saints in Jerusalem. Though those churches were independent, they voluntarily took combined action on a project that was of mutual importance to them. There was independence, yes, but there was also interdependence.
Fulfilling the Great Commission can’t be done alone. It requires synergy. This is a great part about our Fellowship. When we gather in Cebu City, Philippines, in February we will get a glimpse of what we have done together. When we meet on a state and national level we get a glimpse of what we can do together. We all have different stories, but we hold common hopes; we may not look the same, and we may not come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction together. I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together. We need each other! Let’s work together and reach our world for Christ.