Learning Communities

I was reading Reggie McNeal's book, Practicing Greatness this week. He writes about the value of learning communities. I want to excerpt out some of what he says:

"Increasing numbers of lifelong learner-leaders have either created or joined intentional learning networks. These networks are organic and fluid, based in shared affinities such as a worldview-ministry paradigm and a similar ministry assignment (church leader, staff member, and so on). Some ministry associations provide a learning network for their members as part of the value-added features of membership. Some denominations facilitate the emergence of these networks (learning communities or learning clusters) by providing resources, recruiting facilitators, and convening the networks... "

"Several reasons account for the rise of learning networks. First, smart leaders realize the short shelf life of whatever formal preparation they had for their role. They are aware that a new world poses new leadership challenges across the board, from shifting pardigms to enhancing skills to developing resources to nurturing personal development. Leaders can no longer adequately build knowledge alone; there is simply too much to learn. Privatized learning not only fails in its ability to deliver adequate content; its process is also fundamentally flawed. Collegial learning allows leaders to check their own biases and prejudices, to question their assumptions, to figure out what they don't see that keeps them from learning..."

"The rise of learning networks acknowledges the recent trend of leaders who enter spiritual leadership roles from other careers. These leaders are less likely than their prededcessors to put their call on hold for years to go through academic course work and credentialing before engaging in active leadership. These leaders, coming from business nad educational backgrounds, are often highly competent and usually highly motivated people who feel a sense of urgency to shift their life work, so they are anxious to be deployed and engaged as rapidly as possible. These leaders bring a boatload of skill and experience to the table. They just want to get with other leader-practitioners to shorten their learning curve and to accelerate their development so they can take on and succeedd in their current assignment." (Practicing Greatness, pp. 66-68

"Learning communities debrief the life and ministry experience of the participants. They challenge each other's biases and decisions. They create knowledge together by articulating an expanded awareness of what is going on in their lives, their ministries, and the world around them."

"There are several approaches to convening these communities. Some meet in the face-to-face sessions of two to three hours once a month, some more and some less frequently. Some communities augment their face time with Internet communication. Some peer-mentoring groups study books together; some retreat together or attend conferences together; others invite resource people to visit their group...No matter the type of learning stimulus, the major learning curriculum is the same: the participants own the leadership of the learning."