Our Construct: An Association Part 1
I think I'm going to try writing one of these weekly. Mondays. With this network, clarity in communication has been difficult to achieve. My sporadic, "no rhythm" writing pattern is probably not helping.
For the next couple months, I am going to try to communicate as clearly as I can about this work - our goals, our construct, the whys and some hows.
I want to do this because I wonder if conceptual understanding is a strategic imperative.
A few weeks ago, I spent an evening with Michael and Kristine Eller - great family, the Ellers! A couple days after, Tara and I met with the leadership team - great folks on our leadership team! Those conversation revealed a misunderstanding about our structure.
We are trying to become a functional organization that exists in a scattered network. Maybe easier to say, we're trying to turn what is barely a network (this email list) into an organization without having us get together all the time. The goal is better support one another - we'll get to why we need support later.
For now, let me try to clear up that misunderstanding. In both the conversation with the Ellers and with the leadership team, it seemed to help to draw on the analogy of an association, like the National Rifle Association or the Association of Orthopedic Surgeons.
As I imagine with these associations, the goal is a sense of connection with others, access to support, a collective influence, all made the more real by a gathering or two. The idea isn't to try to get all gun enthusiasts to hang out with one another nor is it to get all orthopedic surgeons to move to one neighborhood together.
Our goal is to give this sort of support to disciple makers, who share the Gospel, lead people to faith and help them grow in the context of their everyday life.
Not making disciples together. But an association of disciple makers. The association of Gospel laborers. The Union.
Helpful?