It was a hot day and I was running late and I was lost. Not a great combination. In a sweaty, stressed and rather disjointed way I managed to ask a security guard for directions. His reply was less than helpful: “Sorry mate, you can’t get there from here”. Perhaps it was when he saw the colour drain from my face, or my jaw drop that he realized the incongruity of his remark. The security guard went on to tell me that if I could just relocate myself to the other side of campus I would easily find the meeting I was running late for.
The journey from disunity to unity may seem impossible, but perhaps we just need to change our starting point a little to see that it is actually more within reach than we thought. Here are five postures that we could adopt to begin the route to unity…
23 May 2016 by Daniel Dow
In this video talk, originally presented for HCJB Global, Phill Butler discusses the eight key principles that drive effective mission partnerships…
23 May 2016 by Daniel Dow
Consensus decision-making is vital to the effectiveness of mission networks and partnerships. However, many of us who serve as network leaders struggle to build genuine consensus in our networks, partnerships, or working groups. The reason is that consensus decision-making processes are very different from the top-down decision-making processes most of us know from our own organizations….
17 May 2016 by Daniel Dow
In April 2016, visionSynergy and HonorShame.com co-facilitated a global online learning conversation on SynergyCommon.net. The burst group focused on leading and ministering in honor-shame contexts. Network leaders will find it a useful resource for leading global network teams. This document — Global Insights for Leading and Ministering in Honor-Shame Contexts — summarizes the key ideas that were shared over the course of 14 days by 30 participants from around the world.
05 May 2016 by Daniel Dow
In his Christianity Today blog “The Exchange”, Pastor, author, and blogger, Ed Stetzer explores why people are more attracted to networks than churches or denominations. This blog post is drawn from a recent seminar he gave at a Pastor’s conference. At this seminar, he challenged denominational leaders with five ways that denominations could adapt and become more like networks.
26 Apr 2016 by Daniel Dow
Leaders of networks and partnerships know that helping groups collaborate together can involve countless meetings. Unfortunately, we have all been in meetings that seemed to go nowhere and achieve nothing. In this video, productivity consultant Ed Muzio shares a simple agenda tool that will make your meetings much more effective …
01 Apr 2016 by Daniel Dow
If we are investing time in a network as a leader or participant, wouldn’t we prefer that our network operate with excellence and its efforts land right on target? High-performance networks don’t happen accidentally; they are marked by specific characteristics that set them apart…
30 Mar 2016 by Daniel Dow
Members of mission networks and partnerships often need to share private information with each other. And sometimes, that information can be very security-sensitive. But sharing sensitive information like passwords, contacts, or document links over email or chat is a bad idea …
20 Mar 2016 by Daniel Dow
In this webinar presented for Synergy Commons members, Cru project specialist Paul Konstanski introduces the Lean Canvas as a valuable tool for strategic planning…