I’m posting the entirety of this piece written by Os Hillman, a leader in market place ministry.  It’s lengthy so I’m dividing it between today and tomorrow’s conversation.  Although it focuses on us as Christians in the marketplace, it is equally true for any person (male or female or both together) who has a passion for making a significant difference in their world (or corner of it).

It doesn’t matter whether we acknowledge that we are the creation of an omnipotent loving Father God or not - He is!  And He did allow us to come into the world for a specific purpose.  And to accomplish that purpose, He endowed us with certain natural abilities and inclinations.  He planted in us a primary motivational gift of the Spirit - and it functions whether we want to recognize, acknowledge or otherwise give credit where credit is due!  Sometimes, we participate in His divine ’scheme’ for our lives regardless - most often we come to it because of some significant spiritual experience that changes us internally and shifts our focus.  Such was the case with William Wilberforce and John Newton.  And all the others that joined them in making a significant difference benefiting many throughout centuries.

I post it because we tend to think that we don’t have a mighty purpose to fulfill - or even a tiny one at that!  And when we do feel that we’re to do something significant - we tend to think we have to do it “all by ourselves”.  Not true!  We are made for relationship and it’s through committed strong relationships that we make things happen.  Things well beyond whatever we could possibly imagine, hope for or dream.

I hope you’ll read this in its entirety and consider how you can be part of a “team” who bring positive change wherever you are at this point in your journey.  And then look for others of like mind who will band together with you.  Not only will you be glad you did - but perhaps so will history.

Reflect & enjoy:

“William  Wilberforce: Why Joining a Network Is Vital  for Every Marketplace Leader

Os Hillman
William Wilberforce (August 24, 1759 – July 29, 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780 and became the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812) and a close friend of Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. In 1785 he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, resulting in changes in his lifestyle and in his interest in reform. He was 28 years old at the time and wondered whether he could stay in politics and remain a follower of Jesus Christ. His good friend John Newton, who was a converted slave trader and author of the famous hymn, Amazing Grace, convinced him to stay in politics to model his faith in the public sector. His life was dramatized in a 2007 movie production from Walden Media entitled Amazing Grace.

In 1787 he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave trade activists, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Lord Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition; and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists, heading the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade until the eventual passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807.

The Clapham Group

Wilberforce was part of a small band of influential leaders in England called the Clapham Group. Its members were chiefly prominent and wealthy evangelical Anglicans who shared common political views concerning the liberation of slaves, the abolition of the slave trade and the reform of the penal system.

The group’s name originates from Clapham, then a village south of London (today part of south-west London), where both Wilberforce and Thornton, the sect’s two most influential leaders, resided and where many of the group’s meetings were held. They were supported by Beilby Porteus, Bishop of London, who sympathized with many of their aims.

After many decades of work both in British society and in Parliament, the group saw their efforts rewarded with the final passage of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, banning the trade throughout the British Empire and, after many further years of campaigning, the total emancipation of British slaves with the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833. They also campaigned vigorously for Britain to use its influence to eradicate slavery throughout the world. It was not a large group. It consisted of less than twenty leaders. However, these leaders were passionate about their faith, their causes and their commitment to them.”

 Tomorrow, I’ll post the remainder of the article.  It’s a piece of history which many of us may not be acquainted with and a statement about the importance of relationships - for whatever the good reason we engage in them.

Have an awesome day!

Linda, a fellow journeyer