There is a patch of snow five miles in the air that has captivated the curiosity of the world.
Reaching it alone is highly unlikely. If you desire to make a snowball there, you and an experienced companion must climb together. That patch of snow is on top of Mt. Everest, the highest point on earth.
No one had ever reached the summit until 1953. Sir Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the top of the world. It was a selfless Asian and European partnership to the top. Climbing alone would have been a death sentence, but the two leaned on one another’s resources and expertise. The mission would have been aborted if either were forced to stop the ascent. Reaching the summit required them to climb together.
SCBaptists climb together. We need one another to advance the Great Commission. The mission was always larger than one congregation, but it wasn’t larger than all of us. Making disciples of all nations is not a solo operation but requires partnership, humility, and selfless ambition. Cooperation proclaims, “We need each other.”
One of the greatest barriers of you reaching the summit is you. After reaching the summit, Sir Edmund Hillary said, “It is the not the mountain we conquered, but ourselves.” When a mountain seems insurmountable, do you give up instead of asking for help?
Climb Together is the theme of this year’s Impact conference, Feb. 20 (register at www.scbaptist.org/impact). The summit of Mt. Everest is reached one step at a time. The most important step may be the first. Let’s climb together!
— Lee Clamp is associate executive director-treasurer for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.