One of my primary misconceptions stepping into this work was how simple collaborating would be among those with like minds/hearts. I was under no delusion it would be easy, but I didn’t think it would be all that complicated. After all, it is somewhat built in that we are all on the same team, which is far different than the marketplace.

In business, the unifying ethic is clear: profit. If you and I both stand to gain, we will find a way to work together. We don’t have to trust each other deeply. Contracts protect us. Incentives align us. Collaboration becomes rational.

The motive isn’t even all that noble, but it works.

In the Church, the stated ethic is higher. We are all the same Body, with the same clearly stated mission, under the same leader.

And yet, collaboration often feels significantly harder in the faith space than it does in the business world.

Why?

Because in business, you can collaborate without trust.

In the Kingdom, you cannot.

Kingdom collaboration requires something deeper. It requires trust that if I choose trust, you will not turn around and choose control. If I choose peace, you won’t turn around and choose harm or return selflessness for selfishness, and that is a higher ethic.

Profit lets us work together while guarding ourselves, even letting our own selfishness serving as necessary checks and balances.

Love asks us to work together while surrendering ourselves, and unfortunately, that takes time, effort, honoring, and vulnerability. It demands humility over pride and a genuine belief that there’s enough for us all. Abundance, even.

I am coming to believe that collaboration feels harder in the Kingdom space not because our ethic is weaker – but because it is higher.

And higher always requires more of us.