The WhitbyForum website has gone silent for several months. But as any parent of small children knows, silence doesn’t necessarily mean nothing is happening. The past few months (actually all of 2014) may have slowed my blogging efforts, but this has been an intensely busy and productive time. At least I have plenty to show for it.

Frank and I have moved out of the Hobbit Hole and are now living above ground, albeit still with boxes to unpack and pictures to hang. We’ve enjoyed a wonderful holiday with our daughter and her family. I’m making steady progress on my recovery from surgery. And in May, (no small miracle) my next book—Malestrom: Manhood Swept into the Currents of a Changing World—comes out. I’m now an adjunct faculty member at BTS (Biblical Theological Seminary) and will be teaching a course on The Gospel of Ruth this Spring.

More about all of this shortly.

One of the biggest surprises of 2014 was the migration of Synergy from a stand-alone organization into our new home as part of the Missio Alliance. Here’s the announcement: “Breaking Synergy News!”

I’ve already been to a couple Missio conferences, and I am convinced this is a marriage made in heaven. Here are just a few reasons why I’m excited about this development:

• We are joining an organization where the men are firmly committed to women in ministry leadership. They’ve already demonstrated that commitment in a variety of significant ways, not the least of which has been their active pursuit of Synergy to become part of their organization. 

• The Missio Alliance Conference—coming up in May 7-9 in Alexandra, Virginia—gives us a way to reunite and resume building the strategic relationships that have enabled us to do a better job of answering God’s calling on our lives. Friendships with other Synergy women mean we are no longer alone, but are strengthened by the friendship, support, and wisdom of other women in ministry leadership.  

• Missio Alliance leadership is eager/determined to explore and embody the Blessed Alliance between men and women that is part of Synergy’s DNA. The partnership between Synergy and Missio Alliance gives us the opportunity to take this commitment to a whole new level as we work actively with our brothers to see the Blessed Alliance move from vision to reality. 

In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have imagined a more historic moment, a better outcome for Synergy, or a more promising development for women in ministry leadership than Missio Alliance’s welcoming embrace of the Synergy Women’s Network.

So here’s what’s happening next.

The May 7-9, 2015 Missio Alliance Conference in Alexandria, Virginia is our first conference together. The conference theme is “Being Truly Human: Re-imagining the Resurectional Life” #TrulyHuman. Here’s the line-up of presenters. Friday morning, I’ll be speaking at a special Zondervan sponsored Synergy breakfast as our entrée into the Missio Alliance community.

Already a bunch of us have signed up for the conference and would love to see you there. Whether you’re a long-time member of Synergy, have wanted to join us, or simply have always known you are one of us—we want to see you there.

Today—Super Bowl Sunday, January 31—is the last day for the Early Bird rate, so if you want to catch that rate, you’ll need to move fast! To register, go here.

The clock is ticking . . .    See you in May!