the magic in connections gordon macdonald chancellor, denver seminary this material is not to be...
TRANSCRIPT
The Magic in Connections Gordon MacDonald Chancellor, Denver Seminary
This material is not to be reproduced without written permission from the Dr. Gordon MacDonald
Leadership is often exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love.
/sr
Henri Nouwen
Connections: Important to me
Troubled family; great mentors;
Bible is a relational book;
21st century all about relationships;
A relationally broken world;
50 years of relationship building.
Busyness
Tendency to use people
Prefer the role of the fixer/counselor
Fear of loss of control
Secretive: fear of transparency
Unresolved woundedness
Competitiveness
Avoiding Connections
/sr
I have given you a new way of living: the way of love. Love each other in the same way that I have loved you. As you do this, everyone will recognize you as my (people).
/sr
John 13.34
Gmac Paraphrase
Intensive Casual
Marriage
Family
Friends
Mentor/Mentee
friends
/sr
Relational Sets
Stranger
Enemy
Colleagues
Neighbor
"Weaker"Competito
r
Vision or purpose: why this connection?
“Baggage”: what issues from the past influence the present?
Temperament: how is each person different?
Communication: clarity or confusion?
Connections: Ten Vital Signs
/sr
Cooperation: mutual contribution to the maintenance of the connection?
Growing: is each person growing in maturity and effectiveness?
Appreciation: are people appropriately affirmed and respectfully corrected?
Statement: what does the quality of the connection say to outsiders?
Reset: when there is offense, how is the connection repaired?
Durability: how long is the connection designed to last? How is it sustained? Under what conditions is it terminated?
We say in our African idiom, "A person is a person through other persons." The solitary human being is a contradiction in terms. I need you in order to be me as you need me in order to be you. We are caught up in a delicate network of interconnectedness. I have gifts that you don't and you have gifts that I don't...We are made different so that we may know
/sr
Desmond Tutu
our need of one another. The completely self-sufficient human being is subhuman. Thus diversity, difference, is of the essence of who we are.
/sr
Who mentors you and offers a perspective of wisdom?
Who inspires you to be a more noble person?
Who challenges you to think?
ConnectionalInventory
/sr
Who supports your dreams?
Who cares enough to rebuke you?
Who is merciful when you have failed?
/sr
Who shares the load without being
asked?
Who brings fun & laughter into your life?
Who offers encouragement when you become dispirited?
Who elevates your spiritual life?
o
The Magic in Connections