Understanding the Times

Here are two Biblical examples of Contextual Intelligence

The first example is of leaders who did demonstrate that they understood the context they were living in and took action. I Chronicles chapter 12 is the account of the warriors of Israel gathering together to support David as the new king over Saul. In verse 12 the warriors from the tribe of Issachar are described as those "who understood the times and knew what Israel should do."

The second example is of those who did not have contextual intelligence. In Luke 12:54 Jesus said: "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, 'It's going to rain,' and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, 'It's going to be hot,' and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don't know how to interpret this present time?" Unfortunately John describes what happens in his gospel to this generation, chapter 1 verses 10 and 11, "He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to those who were his own, but his own did not receive him."

We are living in a time that requires leaders who will seek together to understand the times, to recognize the presence of Jesus in the world today (perhaps in places and ways that we did not expect), and to take collaborative action. Will we show up at "Hebron to support the king as the warriors of Issachar did in their day?

Leaders for the Mission

Leaders for the Mission in the 21st Century

I attended the Strategic Foresight Conference at Regent University School of Leadership Studies in September. While there I was introduced to the idea of "contextual intelligence." Leonard Sweet who was one of the presenters referred to a research project by Harvard Business School's Leadership Initiative. I found on the HBS site an article about the project, "What Great American Leaders Teach Us." The findings of the research project support the need for Christian leaders in the 21st Century to develop "contextual intelligence."

Tony Mayo defined contextual intelligence as the "ability to understand the macro-level factors that are at play during a given period of time." Sounds a lot like the ability to understand the times and the currents of history that we are living in. Tony said that the most surprising finding of the research project was that the "role of contextual intelligence became an increasingly compelling proposition...A business leader's abilitiy to make sense of his or her contextual framework and harness its power often made the difference between success and failure."

Why is this so important today? In light of the rapid changing environment we are living in, the effects of globilization, the emergence of true followers of Jesus within different religious traditions, and the hugh issues facing us as we seek to further the advance of the love and presence of Christ, we need to have frameworks for decision making and collaborative action that will help us navigate the future.

David Smith, a lecturer in Mission and World Christianity at the International Christian College in Glasgow, writes in his book Mission After Christendom, "Every day the church must wake up and ask itself, 'What kind of day is today?' For no two days are alike in her history."

The Big Horn Ministry

Last week I was visiting Spencer and Annette near Gunnison. I took this picture on the way up to the "Alpine Tunnel."

The Future of Global Missions

“Where do we go from here?”

Just as the industrial revolution introduced the Modern Era the information revolution is the transitional advance to the next era in history. We don’t yet know what will be post “post modern.” We can consider trends that emerged in the last decade of the second millennium. These trends seem to be gaining momentum and are emerging as contributing factors in a “New Third Millennium Era.”

There are social and cultural trends that will affect every future human enterprise whether it is business, government, education or missions. Those leaders who are able to recognize these trends and harness the human energy that will be released by them will more likely succeed in accomplishing their vision of the future.

Certainly as believers we know that God is orchestrating history and He expects us to consider the times in which we live. From a human perspective we should place our mission efforts in the currents of those times. But that is not enough; we must also seek wisdom from above. We must expect and anticipate what and where are the “Streams of God’s Mercy” that are flowing to lost in all the nations of the world. We must continually ask the question, “What are those ‘Streams of Mercy’ that will further the Missionary efforts in boarder ways than we could possibly imagine?” Where is God working and what difference will it make to our planning and allocation of God’s resources.

So as we consider the future of the missionary enterprise we must consider both the cultural and spiritual currents that will affect our prayer and work. Those mission leaders who recognize those currents and harness the human and divine energy that will be released by them will succeed in accomplishing a God given vision of the future. Those leaders who have their heads buried in their present realities and who are relying on past practices or models particularly models that are based on modernity may find themselves outside the streams of God’s redemptive power.