Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ, and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God, who created all things. His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3:8-11
Today’s post is a template for Christ-followers who read the Apostle Paul (above) and resonate with the fact that “the church” is God’s channel for deploying the boundless riches of Christ to a broken and lost world, and specifically the body who must “make plain to everyone” how life fits together and works in God’s economy.
In Spain last week I met Matt Bird, the founding director of Cinnamon Network. Brilliant brother in Christ! What I am putting forth today is Cinnamon Network’s seven core values, because they are mobilizing churches across the UK by the hundreds to mobilize volunteers by the thousands to deploy millions in keeping with NT teachings.
“The Cinnamon Network has seven core values which define its identity and way of working. We are passionate about:
1. Jesus – We are faith-based but not faith biased; motivated by Jesus to serve people of all faiths and none;
2. The Local Church – We work through local churches to deliver community projects;
3. Relationships – We value trust-based relationships and partnerships as the basis for successful working;
4. Professionalism – We are committed to quality, excellence and best practice;
5. Transformation – We are passionate about the holistic well-being of individuals, families and communities;
6. Simplicity – We prefer simple approaches whilst recognising that poverty is multiple and complex;
7. Speed and Scale – We believe community franchising is a powerful way of responding quickly, efficiently and at scale to urgent social need.”
If you like what you see, visit their website to learn more. And if you are a leader with a passion to champion these core values with and among those you serve, let me know and I’d be happy to connect you with Matt. He just had an article about networking published in the Harvard Business Review. Personally, I can’t wait to spend time with him again.