Missional Renaissance Leadership Community

(If you know of churches that might qualify to be part of these groups, please send contact info to eric@tangogroup.com.

Missional Renaissance Leadership Community Overview
Although the next church’s shape is not yet obvious, the forces that give it shape are.

Leadership Network (LN) is pleased to announce the formation of a series of Leadership Communities for innovative churches whose leaders are thinking differently about what church could be and even should be. For these leaders church has moved from being internally preoccupied to externally focused, from primarily focusing on its institutional maintenance to developing an incarnational influence. These leaders find themselves thinking of kingdom impact more than church growth and are thinking of the church as a catalyst to mobilize all of the community, not just their church, to work on the big things God cares about. These leaders are changing the scorecard for what is measured and valued for the church. The difference in their thinking is not measured in degree…but in kind.

These leaders recognize that every domain of our culture is undergoing profound metamorphosis in its way of being and doing, from healthcare to education to arts and entertainment to the business sector. Dramatically increased levels of education, technology, and wealth are elevating the potential for many human beings to shape their response to the world. At the same time unprecedented numbers of people live in poverty, experience hunger, wrestle with disease and suffer from mal-education. The rise of the age of altruism, expressed by Bill and Melinda Gates, Warren Buffett, Bono, Oprah and others signals the readiness of individuals across multiple domains of our culture to tackle these huge societal issues

We are calling this LC the “Missional Renaissance Leadership Community.” During the 1400’s the most gifted and passionate artists, writers, architects, and mathematicians of the day converged in cities like Florence Italy. Through the cross-pollination of ideas and practices, they helped give rise to the Renaissance—meaning “rebirth.” As in Renaissance times this LC will convene cross-sector leaders to discover breakthrough approaches to the big issues that face our culture.

The Leadership Community Experience
Leadership Communities (LCs) are small groups of innovators and practitioners, pursuing common ministry outcomes, sharing ideas, developing strategy and benchmarking measurements in the context of authentic relationships. LN discovers emerging ministry initiatives and invites strategic leaders into these communities of peers who are seeking to improve their personal and organizational performance in the focused outcome areas.

The Missional Renaissance Leadership Community (MRLC) will gather four times, for two-day experiences over the course of 18 months beginning in November 2007. The MRLC will be comprised of church leaders and leaders from the private, public and social sectors of the community who are passionate about changing the world.

The MRLC will be directed by Reggie McNeal and Eric Swanson. Both men are experienced in helping churches become more externally focused and missional. For the past several years, Reggie, as a leadership development specialist and consultant, has been coaching churches and church leaders into the changes necessary to become more missionally effective. Eric has directed Five Leadership Communities for Externally Focused Churches. Both men have written extensively on the missional focus of the church and are recognized thought-leaders in the area of missional churches.

Who Can Participate
Churches will be invited to apply for entrance into the MRLC and will be approved for participation based on the following selection criteria:
· Churches must be currently transitioning to / engaged in missional ministry as an intentional strategic direction.
· Churches must be committed to developing a new scorecard for ministry that reflects the multi-dimensional facets of the missional church expression and impact.
· Churches must agree to bring a team of five individuals to each gathering—the lead pastor plus other pastoral staff and at least two leaders from other domains of the community. Such leaders could include superintendents of schools, the mayor of your city, business owners or company CEOs, arts and media/entertainment leaders, half-timers, and executive directors of major nonprofit organizations such as United Way, Red Cross, or Salvation Army.

Cost
Tuition for the MRLC is $5,000. This covers program fees and meals for five team members for the18-month experience. Travel and lodging are not included.


Contact Information
Gary Dungan
Leadership Community Coordinator
P: 214.754.9705 800.765.5323 x105
gary.dungan@leadnet.org