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A pair of men in China can teach us a thing or two about working together in the church. Jia Haixa is blind. Jia Wenqi is a double amputee. They found it very difficult to find traditional jobs. In 2001 they began working together planting trees along the riverbank in their hometown of Hebei. The two…

During the rush hour just outside Tokyo, Japan, a woman slipped into an 8-inch gap between a commuter train and the station platform. An announcement was made asking for help and scores of passengers responded. All together they pushed and lifted the 32-ton car enough that the woman could be dragged…

Recently, there was a picture in the newspaper of a three-wheeled tractor, with the following editorial comment, “The old farmer in his 50s or 60s sits on a tractor, driving it down a street, perhaps on his way to get it repaired. There is a major problem: he is missing the front left wheel. Not a flat…

"The Baptists don't have a Pope, and nobody is in charge, and they seem to be going in all directions at once with no one knowing what anyone else is doing. And then, one day, you wake up to see that there is a Baptist at every corner, a Baptist behind every tree, a Baptist church or school on every…

It took online gamers to achieve a breakthrough that had eluded scientists for a decade. In a recently published article, gamers and researchers announced they have deciphered a key structure of an AIDS-like virus. They claim understanding the structure of an enzyme will help scientists understand the…

In his book, Leadership and Conflict, Speed Leas writes, “As contradictory as it sounds at first, the weaker the people perceive themselves to be, the more likely they will fight dirty or use violence. When one believes he or she is powerless against odds that are too much, he or she is likely to believe…

A father and his small son went out late one evening to look at the wheat field. The little boy wandered off. After some lapse, the father realized what had happened and started looking for his son. Frantically he called for him, but to no avail. He then returned to the little town and solicited the…

Suggested sign for office: If you don’t believe in cooperation, look what happens to a truck when one wheel comes off. Lifetime Speakers Encyclopedia, Jacob M. Braude, page 135

The story is told that during WWII, Jimmy Durante was asked to stop at a USO Program and give a brief monologue. Durante was pressed for time, but agreed to contribute one short routine to the program. However, once Durante was on stage he stayed and stayed to give a tremendous performance that was the…

Every orchestra, no matter how small, has a first-chair player for each section – the oligarchy. The strength of any organization depends largely on the strength of its oligarchy. Jesus had Peter, James, and John. It’s interesting how these men’s qualities worked in synergy. Peter was aggressive – do…

A blind man could not see where he wanted to go. A crippled man desired to reach the same destination, but could not walk there. The crippled man climbed on the back of the blind man. The blind man did the walking and the crippled mar did the seeing. Together – here is cooperation – they accomplished…

Five volunteers were needed to accomplish a dangerous mission. The commanding officer lined his men up, telling them of the need. He said that he would turn his back, and, while turned, those who would volunteer for the assignment could step forward. This he did, but, when he turned his back, his entire…

Cooperation will solve many problems. Even freckles would be a nice coat of tan if they would get together. Giving with a Purpose, Wendell Winkler, page 61

Light is the task where many share the toil. - Homer Lifetime Speakers Encyclopedia, Volume 1, Jacob M. Braude, page 135

Canadian geese instinctively know the value of cooperation. You have undoubtedly noticed that they always fly in a V formation and one leg of the V is longer than the other. (In Case you’ve wondered, I should explain that the reason one leg of the V is longer than the other is because it has more geese…

A woodpecker was hammering away on an old hickory tree in the woods. He was making the bark fly when a bolt of lightning out of the sky shattered that old tree into splinters. The woodpecker died thinking he had done it. 400 More Snappy Stories That Preachers Tell, Paul E. Holdcraft, page 46

Remember the banana; when it left the bunch, it got skinned. Braude’s Handbook of Stories, Jacob M. Bruade, page 82

Water is fluid, soft, and yielding. But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong. - Lao-Tzu

A partnership is like rubbing two sticks together. One stick won’t start a fire. A good partnership is based on the truth that good minds don’t think alike. They think differently. Partnership is more productive than either membership or followership. In a good partnership, “No one’s ever done it that…

Snowflakes are frail, but if enough of them stick together they can stop traffic. Pepper ‘N Salt, Vance Havner, page 10

Charles Osgood told the story of two ladies who lived in a convalescent center. Each had suffered an incapacitating stroke. Margaret’s stroke left her left side restricted, while Ruth’s stroke damaged her right side. Both of these ladies were accomplished pianists but had given up hope of ever playing…

In China when they are digging a tunnel, they start at both sides, planning to connect in the middle. If they meet, they call it a tunnel. If they don’t meet, they call it two tunnels.

A guard in an insane asylum was taking a group of twelve patients out for a walk. They were all big husky men, and the guard was unarmed. A friend said to him, “John, you should not go out alone with those twelve men. Suppose they should all unite and jump on you at the same time?” The guard smiled and…

COOPERATION David Letterman recently quipped, “People say New Yorkers can’t get along. Not true. I saw two New Yorkers, complete strangers, sharing a cab. One guy took the tires and the radio; the other guy took the engine. —Reader’s Digest, Sept 2003, p. 61 Illustration by Jim L. Wilson People who normally…

It is important to not the difference between giving up self in fusion and giving up self for cooperation or for the community’s welfare. Fusion results from automatic reactions. Cooperation is chosen. Congregational Leadership in Anxious Times, Peter L. Steinke, page 29