As someone who spent 15 years climbing the corporate ladder at a multi-national telecom company, and later went into vocational ministry for nine years, I can tell you I’ve never been at a place where the people are so focused on doing what God built them to do.  It’s what Max Lucado called “living in your sweet spot” in his book, Cure for the Common Life.

UpperRoom was started by a group of Christians who said, in essence, we feel called to serve our church by using our technology experience from the workplace to energize small groups ministries.  These were young couples who wanted to get connected, and were willing to bring their professional gifts to bear to serve the body of Christ.

I’m impressed daily with two things:

Missional Focus

First, the focus and passion of the staff and volunteers who unswervingly fulfill their personal rendering of the Great Commission:  to make disciples by connecting and deepening the communities of the Church, to care for each other and impact the world.  This is their mission statement.

Ministry-driven

The second thing is more subtle but just as impressive.  As the latest technological features become more widely available through cloud computing and shared services, it’s easy for the tail to wag the dog.  As someone has said, “The worst reason to do something technologically is because you can.”

The best solution providers know how to make technology serve the church, rather than the other way around.  I’m glad that UpperRoom carefully discerns this boundary, so that each implementation with each church partner is carefully calibrated to match their particular circumstance and need.  It’s all about our common mission.

How cool is it to work in this biosphere?  Very.