October 2009

October 30, 2009

Are 32,000 workers needed to finish the task?

I love the folks at the US Center for World Mission. Some of them, well known to me, are good friends. Some I’ve only known through the Internet. Their influence and ability to communicate the need of missions, and their focus on frontier mission, is incredible. At the same time, I have to say I disagree with their latest issue of Mission Frontiers, and in particular the “Amazing Countdown Facts.” I am bringing this up because it’s getting quite a lot of twitter traffic, and I think it deserves a closer inspection. On p. 31 (the 2nd page of 4 [...]

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October 26, 2009

The law of Dunbar’s Number

Seth Godin writes Dunbar’s Number isn’t just a number, it’s the law. I generally agree with him, and this is something that impacts swarms, micro-missions, churches, and all organizations. I have several hundred “friends” on Facebook. But in fact, as we all know, there are different levels of friendship, represented largely by different amounts of time spent with them. Some of my Facebook Friends are people who I barely know, but share my interests. Some are people who were once close friends and are now distant, and who I only see on Facebook. Some are people who are still close friends [...]

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October 17, 2009

Swarming ends, means, methods: the difference

The Washington Times had a detailed look at the debate over the Obama Administration’s effort in Afghanistan. It actually illustrates quite well the swarming principles of plausible promise, shared values and teachable behaviors. The article documents a debate that has raged in public via the media and others over whether 40,000 troops should be sent to Afghanistan. But Peter Mansoor, a professor of military history at Ohio State University, illuminates the difference in these principles when he makes the following statement: “The media, and by extension the American people, are focused on means, (troop numbers),” Mr. Mansoor said in an e-mail. [...]

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