An email from Colin

This email just came in from Colin in London. Read it for a good example of someone who is learning by doing and by listening to others who are doing.

No easy answers, but I like the way he is wresting with how to apply key principles rather than taking the easy way out by saying, "This won't work here."

Steve

Had a good day with David Broodryk from South Africa yesterday. Learned a lot.

A few of his nuggets:

1. Probably takes about 50 people you think are persons of peace (PoP) to find a true person of peace. So build your strategy around volume searching!
      
2. Know the difference between 'connectors' and PoPs. Connectors look like PoP (because they are super connected influencers who want relationship with you), but aren't receptive to the DBS but will connect you to people who are. This is very relevant to us here because we've been banging our heads against the wall trying to see connectors be receptive to running DBSs.?? David's suggestion is to go to them and ask them to connect us with people who are also influencers who will be the PoPs.?? Observation on terminology: I know that PoP is used to refer to people who open their networks to you and so may or may not be open to the gospel. But from a field-perspective/training methodology, it would be helpful to talk about PoPs separate from connectors because your tactics with each need to be different.
3. David uses Discovery Bible Study (DBS) as a leadership training methodology. What he does is go into a community and ask who the leaders are. So a gang leader or a housing projects community leader. Then he uses the DBS by saying to the leader that he has a method that will help her/him take better care of the people they are leading would they be interested in it. In a way, he postures it as I'm going to teach you how to lead/take care of the people you are responsible for, and incidentally I'm using the Bible as the text around which to base the lessons. However, he just does a straight DBS and asks them to find the leadership lessons in the text. Crafty. But his methodology of asking who the leaders are in a community is a real nugget for us. You get straight to the influencers when looking for connectors or PoPs.
4. He had a good way of talking about the movements: First phase is to start a prayer movement. Second a movement of Disciple Making. Third is a movement of church planting. Fourth a movement of leadership development. Fifth, a movement of transformation.

5. Well getting to be a bit of an epistle this. Just thought I'd through it out to you but it is also helpful for me to write it down.

   Thanks Steve.

   Colin