Last week, I told you story of my old neighbour who helped build a deck.  He nicely represented the transition from strangers to neighbours to acquaintances to partners.  Today we’ll go one step further.  We’ll talk about becoming friends with those we work with, those we help, and those we live around.

When I was a volunteer paramedic, I remember one partner in particular.  We did several shifts together, and on calls he was always nervous, and second-guessing himself, which could be challenging to work with.  One day, he invited me to supper.  I met his family, saw his home and farm, and in the process learned about him and his values.  The next shift we had together was different.  I found we could communicate better, and I could anticipate his moves.  Debriefing the call afterwards was easier.  I knew this quirks, where they came from, and could work from a place of partnership and friendship rather than tolerance.

This has wider application than the workplace, but some good examples of how important this is follow from a few studies:

50 percent of employees with a best friend at work reported that they feel a strong connection with their company, compared to just 10 percent of employees without a best friend at work.  (A 2012 Gallup report which found that)

People planning to stick with their current job cited “good relationship with co-workers” as the major reason (67%) – above “job satisfaction” (63%), “flexible working arrangements” (57%) and even salary (which ranked seventh at 46%).  A 2013 survey of 2,223 business people across Australia

In the same way, being a follower of Jesus isn’t just about doing transactions, like dealing with other followers of Jesus because you have to, or caring for others in need simply because it looks good.

We’re actually meant to become friends with those we care for, and those we care with.  Not every single one to the same degree maybe, but we are actually meant to have a relationship with those we encounter in this life, and not simply use people or tolerate others.

We’ll focus this week on those we care for, those we’ve been talking about all along, and becoming friends.

Question: When have you unexpectedly “hit it off” with someone at work?

Ryan Sim - May 19, 2014

Monday - A New Idea - Pioneer People

We introduced our Pioneer Story series with the story of Steve Jobs. This may be because I just watched the film “Jobs”, that chronicles his life from starting the Apple company in a garage, and growing it to what we know today. There’s a scene where the filmmakers go to great pains to show a transformation in Steve. It’s the early days of Apple in a garage. He is angry, having found out his girlfriend is pregnant, and he’s told her to leave his life. He says it’s her problem, not his. We then find him enraged before a mirror, tucking in his shirt, tidying his hair. His face hardens. The next few scenes are designed to show us he’s isolated, hardened and hyperfocused on his success as a businessman. His anger is driving him now. One of his former friends explains to another ,”Steve changed.” This was not exactly a change to be copied in our own lives, that’s not why I tell the story! Steve Jobs accomplished great things, but at great cost. And the turning point, according to this film, was that day his girlfriend said she was pregnant. We’re going to explore a life transformation this week, but one that was ultimately for the good of the entire world, and those who were transformed themselves. This was the transformation that happened in Jesus’ followers when they received the Holy Spirit. With the resurrection of Jesus, they were transformed from terrified failures into emissaries on a mission. With the day of Pentecost, that we learned about last week, the Holy Spirit arrived and transformed them into confident speakers riskily challenging the status quo We’re going to see how that kind of transformation can happen with us. We want to explore those times where people say someone changed, not becoming a hardened, ruthless person, but changing for the better. Jesus still changes lives today, and it’s still up for debate among many whether that’s good or bad. People changed by Jesus are still disowned by families, shunned in workplaces, even killed in some places in the world. Following Jesus entails a transformation not to be taken lightly. Question: Have you ever seen Jesus transform a life? What changed in that person? Was it for the better or worse, in your opinion? What did they do?

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