Summary: These unique characteristics (mobility, diversity, leadership vacuum) can be approached as problems for pastoral staff and leadership. For example, research on high turnover of congregants in ICs showed that the transient nature of the congregation resulted in relational, emotional, and ministry fatigue for pastors. However, these challenging characteristics can be perceived through a different lens—a paradigm […]
Summary: This oasis/nurture mindset—with its primary inward focus on member care and shepherding—is inadequate for making disciples of this highly mobile, diverse, accomplished group. By making room for apostolic leadership and switching to a missional paradigm, the IC can change from an oasis mentality to that of a strategic launching pad into God’s purposes for […]
In her book, Thinking in Systems, pioneer in systems thinking Donella Meadows aimed to give readers “a basic ability to understand and to deal with complex systems” (Meadows & Wright, 2008, p. x). Due to the author’s untimely death in 2001, the work was edited and published at a later time. It was the hope […]
“The church is not only ekklesia—a gathered people. It is also diaspora—a scattered-seed people,” writes Larry Peabody in his book, Job-Shadowing Daniel: Walking the Talk at Work (2010, p. 8). Like Daniel of the Old Testament book, who served God despite a challenging workplace during the Jewish diaspora, Christians today find their purpose and ministry […]
Author Glenn Barth’s personal mission is “to mobilize the church in cities and communities for the transformation of lives and institutions under the Lordship of Jesus Christ by identifying, connecting, and resourcing leaders.”[1] President of GoodCities, a non-profit organization based out of Minneapolis, MN (see www.goodcities.net), Barth uses his book The Good City to cast […]
The International Church, the Over-zealous, and the Unity of the Cross. They come from everywhere, bringing with them every variety of authentic Christian faith imaginable. From the exuberant to the solemn, from free-wheeling discipleship to the very prescriptive, our international churches embrace them all. Or do they? Earlier, in an MICN newsletter, I wrote some […]
Some time ago, on a Saturday morning, I met with a friend for a work meeting over breakfast. As usual, we got together at a pleasant little restaurant that serves traditional cuisine. We had already started our discussion when a particular scene drew my attention. In a corner of this little country restaurant, comfortably settled […]
With Four Leadership Priorities for Unity and Mission. Tribalism is a little too common across the evangelical church (and beyond) bringing particular challenges for leaders of International Churches and Fellowships (ICs). Many, both leaders and church members, have loyalties based on allegiance to particular positions on the issues of the day. We take sides, set […]
If The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry teaches you how to leverage positive experience to create vision and energy for a better future, The Thin Book of SOAR shows you how to build a framework around Appreciative Inquiry (AI) so that it can be used for strategic planning purposes within organizations of any size. This […]
In her book, The Thin Book of Appreciative Inquiry,[1] author Sue Hammond provides an excellent overview of the change philosophy developed by David Cooperrider and associates at Case Western Reserve University. Through this Thin Book publication, Hammond hopes to entice the reader to delve in deeper into the world of AI. Not only a student […]