“I wish that highway wasn’t there.”
As a couple of Ontarians walked into our meeting space for the week, we whipped out our phones to snap an obligatory photo of the incredible snow-capped mountains to the west.
“It’s so beautiful, I just wish that highway wasn’t in the way. Can you photoshop that out? I bet you could photoshop that out. I bet AI could do it in about five seconds.”
Earlier this month, lead implementers from districts across the country came together in Calgary to learn, to plan, and to make some decisions together. Although I’m not an implementer, I got to join the team this time around, and at the same time gather some content for upcoming projects. The Western district graciously arranged a meeting space for us at Encompass Partnerships, and we set to our agenda.
First on our list was coaching. It struck me that it’s not always apparent from the outside, but coaching is far more than a resource we provide: it’s one of the most critical aspects of the New Ventures process. Expert coach and trainer Greg Langman from Lead from Transformation walked us through some of the finer points of coaching in a New Ventures setting. We learned about how a coach not only coaches the leader: helping them discern their calling, story, and leadership health; they also coach the leader in relation to their partners: the connections and leadership patterns that shape those relationships; and coach the project itself: working toward organizational clarity, sustainable systems, Spirit-led practices.
With General Assembly coming up in June, there was lots to discuss and plan. New Ventures is hosting a session, and we wanted to get on the same page about our priorities for that day. We also had a tour of the space at First Alliance Church, our hosts for Assembly, to start thinking about how we’ll set up for all the leaders we’ll meet, and important conversations we hope to have that week. [Note: registration is now open, so we hope to see you there!]
We also had a long overdue communications team meet-up. This fully remote team consists of national, district, and contract staff from three districts, each of whom devote just a few hours a week to telling our story well. But the Calgary location meant we got to have breakfast together in person, and take in the morning meetings together.
When our very last meeting had wrapped up, I suggested a group photo out in the parking lot.
“Can we frame this so we don’t see the highway in the background?”
As tempting as it was to take out the highway out of the background, I’m glad it’s there. You see, it’s true that New Ventures is about places, and we have a bit of a travel vibe in our graphics and language, and I love that. But the real story is that we only care about places to the extent that we care about the people in those places … and the people in the next place over, and the next, and that small town with the shuttered white wooden church, and the resort town that hasn’t had an active church presence in 25 years, and to “the street and the alleys . . . the roads and the country lanes” (Luke 14).
So yes, meeting within view of the majestic Canadian rockies is awesome, and those of us from flatter parts of the country will always appreciate it. But meeting near a major highway intersection? That sounds like the New Ventures approach.
by Jared Taylor