training others to serve strangers

Last year I attended a training course in empowering teams who are trying to start different ways of coming alongside outsiders qand different ways of doing church - radically different, radically sensitive to cultures and contexts: Mission Shaped Ministry

I am always suspicious of these franchise courses, but this one is quite good. very practical. very group orientated. and quite well suited to our complex South African multi-culture matrix

Anyway the upshot of that is that this year I am on a team empowering this group of three teams to set up three different expressions of church in three different culture contexts! Tomorrow night is my turn to present (we meet about once a month) - my task is "Listening for Mission" a concept that has always been very dear to Lesley & me. One does not simply open one's big mouth in a new cultural environment!