Communitas

Almost two years ago, I was introduced to 27 other leaders from around the world who were to be in my online cohort at Fuller Seminary. Together we have learned, laughed, cried, argued, critiqued and shared life with one another. We have made the journey through nine classes together. Our remaining nine classes are electives that we now take on our own, which means that today, we said goodbye to one another and closed this formal chapter of our cohort experience. Before saying goodbye, our professor and two academic advisors came around and blessed each one of us by washing our feet and praying for us. It was profoundly humbling and powerful.

As we leave southern California, our cohort will disperse to Paris, Turkey, Switzerland, Cambodia, Vancouver, Jerusalem, Amsterdam, and various parts of the United States. We are from many denominations, we speak many different languages, but our hearts share the same love for God and for serving his Kingdom.

My heart is too full and words are not adequate to express the love I have for these friends. In his book, Exiles, Michael Frost talks about the difference between community and communitas. We often try to "build community" by creating a "safe place" that is encouraging to one another. The result is often an inward focus that rarely leads to mission. Communitas, on the other hand, is experienced through liminality where individuals come together outside of normal society and focus on a shared mission. The result is that the mission is accomplished and communitas happens - "an intimacy, a connection, that is more than the warm, inner glow experienced by many groups within our society today. It is hardened by battle, softened by true and genuine partnership, and forged by a shared vision for a better world" (Frost 120).

Little did we know two years ago that this Pangaean 8 cohort would find ourselves thrown together from all over the world only to discover a richer, deeper, more powerful sense of togetherness than many of us have experienced in a long time. We will continue to network, to support each other, to share resources, and to practice hospitality with one another. I carry the face and the story of each one in my heart. And I am deeply grateful.

California Sunshine

Well, I'm here in sunny southern California at Fuller Seminary. I arrived in Pasadena on Sunday morning, only to discover that I couldn't check into my room at Fuller's Guest House until 3 p.m. Fortunately, a friend from my cohort, Rebecca, was already checked in so I was able to crash in her room for a few hours. Rebecca is from Switzerland and has an amazing prophetic ministry there. This is one of my favorite parts of this program - connecting with people who are serving God all around the world.

I finally settled into my room - a mini apartment, really (picured at right). It was weird to have time and space to myself - it was so quiet! The next day, another friend from my cohort, Amy, discovered that her housing situation fell through, so she is living with me this week. Amy serves with a mission agency in Indianapolis but is moving to Pasadena to finish her degree on campus. It's been really fun reconnecting with everyone - we all joke that this is like summer camp for adults... only really expensive summer camp!

My class this week is "Organizational Dynamics." It's been a pretty interesting class so far, and I'm looking forward to bringing some good stuff back to Potter's Wheel. I've been thinking a lot about eight characteristics that reveal if your organizational development is working well:

1. There’s alignment in the organization toward mission, vision, values, strategy, and goals.

2.Communication is open horizontally and vertically and all the relevant facts and feelings are shared openly.

3. Those with the most relevant and direct knowledge make decisions. (Interesting note... the central leadership body should not be making strategy decisions – we should push as much of that down to others as possible. Especially the finances should be closest to the ground level or grass roots as possible... interesting!)

4. The reward systems promote and reinforce organizational health.

5. Conflict is treated and resolved constructively. It’s used for innovation and is not suppressed or allowed to interfere with productivity.

6. Processes and structures are based on present needs and the mission rather than past needs or fads, so they are efficient to help people.

7. People are rewarded for success, but not punished for failures or innovation or creativity.

8. Persons in the organization are continually aware of the needs of those they serve outside the organization.

I would love to hear honest feedback from those of you who participate in Potter's Wheel as to how well you would "grade" the effectiveness of our organizational development. Or maybe others of you could share about other organizations in your context... I have also been wrestling a ton with the idea of balance... how much organizational development and structure is too much? How much is not enough? Either extreme can hinder our growth and long-term health. I think we're tackling that topic tomorrow. I look forward to engaging in more dialogue when I get back home. Until then... I'll be enjoying the sunshine and eating at In and Out Burger.