January 23, 2019

Joining academics and practitioners to better understand congregations in Canada.

Current Musings

 

The third Monday of January is Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States. Annually reminded by my Facebook feed, I often take time to listen to or read one of his sermons or speeches in and around that date. Again, this year I was refreshed by both listening to and reading his Nobel Lecture.

 

His characteristic weaving of deep experience, social meta-analysis, Scriptural truth, insights from literature, sages and life, provide practical wisdom that is as contemporary now as when delivered over 50 years ago.

 
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Hospitality to the Highest

 

Can Jesus’ team provide a safe, fun gathering, to serve people without diminishing them? Maybe Yes- at ‘The F.N.C. (Friday Night Community)’ in downtown Burlington, ON., where every week some 300 people (50 volunteers, 250 ‘guests’) gather for an ‘open-doors, no-charge’ meal. The dinner itself is impressive, including a salad and dessert bars, and full main course (varied weekly). However, it is the atmosphere of hospitality and camaraderie, set in a soft Christ-centered spirituality, that sets this ‘dinner’ apart. 

 

The ‘Men’s Group’ who initiated these open dinners 10 years ago, foresaw only a hearty meal for hungry stomachs. As one of those founders, I make public confession here & now, that we dreamed only of simple pots of spaghetti, or platters of burgers…served to a moving line of passing faces.

 
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We're Reading

 

The Partnering Intelligence Fieldbook

Stephen Dent, Sandra Naiman

 

Prompted by current work with group of leaders who are exploring the potential of taking their historic partnership further and deeper, I’ve been reviewing Stephen Dent’s Partnering Intelligence and he and Sandra Naiman’s The Partnering Intelligence Fieldbook. These are excellent resources with helpful insights. They emphasize the importance of trust, mutual benefit/mutual gains, and fostering an appetite for interdependence that contribute to increased partnering intelligence (PI). The authors advocate and provide means for assessment and development of self-disclosure (feedback), win-win and future orientations, resilience to change, along with what other authors have called adaptive confidence and reciprocal interdependence.

 
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Upcoming Opportunities

 

Joel Thiessen will be leading a few sessions at Breakforth Canada (Jan. 25-27, Edmonton) on Religious Nones and Passing On the Faith From One Generation to the Next.

 

Ambrose@Large invites you to be a contributor to . . .The Volunteer Project- Share the insights, tools and resources that you've discovered and used in tackling the challenge of enlisting, equipping and encouraging ministry volunteers. These contributions will be curated into an easy to access tool kit for staff and ministry leaders in Canada. Find out more.

 

Missed our National Gathering in November at Ambrose University? Watch videos from many of the presentations here.

 

Missed our latest newsletters?

January 9, 2019

December 19, 2018

150 Ambrose Cir SW, Calgary, AB T3H 0L5
403-410-2000 ext.2979

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Flourishing Congregations