The Beat of the Drum

I have just returned from two fantastic weeks in Uganda, and while there I heard about an unusual village located just over the next hill.

In most respects, that village is like so many others: a scattering of mud-brick homes set back in the families' banana fields, goats grazing wherever they can, rice and beans simmering over charcoal-fueled fires, children playing with balls fashioned from plastic bags and banana leaves. Adults might be sipping afternoon chai, hanging clothes to dry, or loading bicycles with firewood or vegetables to sell at the local trading center.

What sets that village apart is a small plaza near its entrance. On that plaza sits a drum -- a drum belonging to the entire community. Whenever people in the village have a problem that they cannot solve alone, they go and beat the drum.

• My iron-sheet roof is leaking! Go beat the drum.
• We can't afford school fees! Go beat the drum.
• My mother is dying. How can I care for her and still tend the garden so our children can eat? Go beat the drum.

And here is the amazing part: whenever the other villagers hear the beat of the drum, they have all agreed to drop what they are doing and come to the plaza. Together, the entire village crowdsources a solution for their friend in need.

In order for this communal dynamic to work, two things have to happen. First, the villager with a difficulty has to be willing to admit it to others. Second, the rest of the village has to commit to responding and staying until a solution is reached.

Thinking about the distinctives of that village, I realized that Fellowship of Barnabas Partners has the same vision: to be a "plaza" for the "village" of Houston, a place where nonprofits and ministries come to "beat the drum" when there is a difficult obstacle. Like the responding Ugandan villagers, business and community leaders then come alongside and either find a solution or find someone else who can help. In both cases, the dynamic is only effective when we step up to assume our various roles, sometimes asking for help, other times extending it.

What about you these days? Is there a reason that you need to beat the drum? Or is someone nearby beating the drum, hoping that you will hear and respond? Our village thrives on this call-and-response rhythm, so let's unite at the plaza … around the beat of the drum.