the Coast Guard and the Simple process

I watched "The Guardian" again a couple of nights ago. It's such a great movie...I'm a sucker for semi-true to life stories that are inspiring. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

By the way, I watched it again because we own it. We own it because Blockbuster's "no late fee" rule really means "if you return it late, we will charge you for the whole movie. If you return it really late, we'll charge you and then not let you return it at all. Congrats!" 

I digress...

I've read the movie is factual to a great degree concerning how the Coast Guard works.  They even used actual Coasties in the movie.  Here's where the Coast Guard resembles the Simple Process.

Every CG school trains it's recruits the exact same way.  For instance, when Hurricane Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast, CG choppers flew in from all over the US to provide rescue and support.   Many flight crews were thrown together who had never met, and never trained together, much less flown missions together.  But, because they all had trained the same way and  knew the process of each aspect of their mission, their unfamiliarity was not an issue.

Missions were completed successfully because they understood the process and the ultimate goal of the mission.

Is this a stretch for us to consider in ministry?  No.  When all the ministries of a church are aligned around one process, there isn't confusion or "silo-ing" of different goals.  When all the team members of one ministry (like...the student ministry!) are committed to the process, the goals are achieved.  The goal is the same, the process to reach that goal is also the same.   

You probably won't have to jump into the Bering Sea to save anyone soon, (how awesome would that be!?) but you will most likely be part of the growing body of Christ.  Be committed to the process of making disciples.