Articles

By Steve Pike, Founder of Urban Islands Project You’ve heard about I.Q.—Wikipedia says I.Q. is a total score derived from several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. I.Q. was a big deal when I was a kid. In more recent years, a lot of research has been conducted and books have been written about E.Q.—Wikipedia says that E.Q. is the capability of individuals to recognize their own emotions and those of others, discern between different feelings and label them appropriately, use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior, and manage and/or adjust emotions to adapt to environments or achieve one’s goal(s). More recently, a new category of intelligence has emerged. Wikipedia calls it Organizational Intelligence and defines it as following: “Organizational Intelligence (OI) is the capability of an organization to comprehend and conclude knowledge relevant to its business purpose. In other words, it is the intellectual capacity of the entire organization.” The application of the concept of organizational intelligence […]

By Gary Rohrmayer, President of Church Multiplication Partners Twenty years ago, I left the pastoral ministry of the local church. Not a day goes by where I don’t think about going back into the pastorate. If I could be both a regional leader and a pastor of a local church, I would do it in a heartbeat. This year, I am celebrating the twenty-year mark of serving with Converge MidAmerica. When I entered this ministry, a well-known church planting leader told me, “Gary, remember that movements are messy! They are filled with all sorts of victories, setbacks and defeats. Don’t let the messiness of church planting and regional ministry distract you from moving forward in God’s mission.” Taking three steps forward and two steps back happens because we are in a battle—a spiritual battle of epic proportions! The Apostle Paul wrote, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark […]