Transform World Connections (TWC) is a Starfish Type Structure

Transform World Connections (TWC) serves the Transform World Movement and TW 2020 Vision as a Starfish decentralized organization.   This is based on ideas from the book The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations which compares centralized and decentralized organizations. A centralized organization is much like a spider; cut off its head and the spider dies. A decentralized organization, on the other hand, is like a starfish. When an arm of the starfish is cut off, the starfish generates an entirely new body.

Background: Global Context regarding Structures of Mission

• Movements are going to raise and fall with increased rapidity in the world in which we live. That is because the context around us is changing so rapidly.
• Organizational structures can’t hope to keep up with these rapid changes.
• As a documentation of past effectiveness, most organizational structure looks back not forward.
• It seems that the core of a movement in today’s world is a few gifted people, a core of people, who trust and respect one another and apply their gifts and creativity to God’s common existential calling on their lives.
• There will always be movement of people into and out of the motivational and empowering circle because of very permeable, shifting, and porous boundaries.
• Diversity of gifts, experience, and background within the core provide a necessary flexibility to keep renewal going. This diversity must be protected and nurtured as the natural tendency of the core is to homogenize.
• Structures is usually built to protect a “brand”, exercise quality control, enhance communication, secure property, or perpetuates and replicate processes. All these functions come from a desire for positive control of a process or product.
• One needs a “brand” if the organization is raising capital from a broader public.
• Structure and leadership consume a greater amount of resources.
• We have decided that we are not going to try to protect our “brand” of transformation.
• TWC does not seem to have any of those functional needs except to possibly enhance communication.
• Our natural default position when something good happens is “program or package it” so that it can be scaled up.
• Positional leadership may not be essential but there must be appropriate and acknowledged leadership.
• Leadership is functional and not necessarily positional and may shift from person to person in the core as the challenges to the movement change.
• Many others will plug in and plug out as their personal calling and vision find resonance and enhances the vision and values of the core and they are useful and fulfilled. In the article on the Starfish you all are essentially the starfish.
• Honest communication, meaningful interaction, and successful execution of the vision constitute the currency or fuel that drives the network.
• To the extent that the “starfish” is a structural response to the movements needs it is a helpful concept. It is however a “means” not some static ideal structure we are aiming to build. It is much more dynamic than that.

Basic thoughts on the Spider/Starfish concept and TWC

• TW pursues “Starfish” type of ministry.
• The “Starfish” ministry empowers all of God’s people (paid and volunteer) to participate in God’s work.
• Prayer is foundational.  To facilitate effective “Starfish” and servant paradigms, we need God’s continued and major help.
• The “Starfish” ministry encourages greater dependence on God.
• This does not negate the need for structure and leadership, but it should not be overpowering.
• Wherever leadership is needed, it does so in servant hood and humility, with dependence on and glory to God.
• Transform Word events serve as a platform where God’s vision of global transformation is being cast, not where the details are controlled.
• Decentralization is the best model only when parts are connected by connecting ministries.
• To the extent that the “Starfish” is a structural response to the Movement’s needs it is a helpful concept.  It is however a “means” not some static ideal structure we are aiming to build.  It is much more dynamic than that.
• Positional leadership may not be essential but there must be appropriate and acknowledged leadership. It is functional and not necessarily positional and may shift from person to person in the core as the challenges to the movement change.
• To the extent that the “starfish” is a structural response to the movements needs it is a helpful concept. It is however a “means” not some static ideal structure we are aiming to build. It is much more dynamic that that.
• We have never said that there is any desire to perpetuate the movement.

TWC’s role in moving forward

• TWC is essentially the “Starfish.”  Honest communication, meaningful interaction and successful execution of the vision constitute the currency or fuel that drives the network.
• TWC core maintains vision and values.
• There needs to be a core that possesses a diversity of gifts, experience and backgrounds to provide necessary flexibility to keep renewal going.  This diversity must be protected and nurtured as the natural tendency of the core is to homogenize.
• TWC events play a role as platforms of sharing knowledge, experience, inspirations, ideas and relationships, while the focus groups as communities of servant catalysts, and set up practical agendas for local and global transformation.
• In TWC we have said that we want to trust the Holy Spirit for many of those functions.
• Many others will plug in and plug out as their personal calling and vision find resonance and enhances the vision and values of the core and they are useful and fulfilled.
• We have stated we will follow the Holy Spirit’s quickening of individuals who “get it.”
• Honest communication, meaningful interaction, and successful execution of the vision constitute the currency or fuel that drives the network.
• TWC events play a role as platforms of sharing knowledge, experience, inspirations, ideas and relationships, while the focus groups as communities of servant catalysts, and set up practical agendas for local and global transformation.