Understanding the Times

What did you hear/see?

In several cities there were movements resulting from the government asking for help: East Asia, Mexico, El Salvador.

Several cites had difficulty getting pastors involved but business leaders are responding.

Leadership development is a need in every city.

Several cities talked about transgressing age old boundaries to forge new connections.

What does it mean?

What is the significance of business leaders involvement: God is working outside the church/organized structure of the church.

We need a everyone's engagement.

Not all pastors are leaders, not all leaders are pastors.

Business leaders are tired of not being channeled to significant work in churches.

In Bergen, there is a house church for business people because established churches are boring for them. What does it mean when God says, I will build my church.

It is important to bring smaller groups of leaders together.

Much Apathy in the western Church. Challenge: spiritual hunger among business leaders, those who are looking for leadership. Religious Apathy,
Spiritual Hunger.

Bonnie Raitt: Religion is for those who are afraid to hell, spirituality is for those who have been there and back.

Ignorance makes cowards of us all.

Nurturers in the church, Leaders in business. There is a tension and an opportunity there.

A secular business leader in Oslo built a mall asked for a church to come into the mall, because it's good for the building. Why did he have to ask.

The equation is shifting, instead of us asking them, "they" are asking "us". A school asked for a church to meet in their facility because "every time you show up, good things happen".

Go to city and ask, "how can we help" and be prepared to respond. The door is wide open in East Asia.

Governments are more comfortable with networks than individuals.

In El Salvador the church started rural. People have moved to the city but the church has a rural mindset: The pastor knows it all and does it all.

Christians mobilize in spurts, how do we mobilize significant numbers on an ongoing basis?

Often mobilization is simply connecting the dots between those who are already doing the job.

There's a trap in bigness. Smallness brings buy in. If you can network small groups you can mobilize. Synergy and Unity are important.

Kingdom building

What is the role of prayer?

Elites shape culture. Elites have key characteristics. Can we become influencers? Often Pastors are not influencers. Influencers have 5 discernible characteristics.

Culture has many layers. Each layer has it's own influencers. Are we going after the influencers or just going to those who will talk to us. Pastors may be feeling marginalized with the growth of shared and new leadership.