About
You have questions. wE have answers.
Learn more about SymbioDei, our team, mission, and beliefs.
Glen A. Morrison has had a long-standing relationship with Jesus and His church. Even throughout his decades in business, he always looked for more in life than mere cash and career.
It was the year 2008 however that precipitated a real change. The retinae detached in one of his eyes, and an aggressive form of cataract grew in the other. He was in a fight for his sight. At the very same time, his father underwent open heart surgery in a fight for his life. Both men made it through their ordeals with the help of some artificial parts. They both emerged a bit more cyborg physically, but far more human spiritually.
Glen began to travel the world, often with his wife and children but alone, as well. At one point, he approached a missionary organization with an offer that he would like to donate to one of their missionaries, but that he wanted to give it to him personally. Six months later he was in Nepal. It opened his eyes to the plight of Christianity in third-world countries, but also the need for assistance. Foreign missions were a drain on the resources of their sending organizations. Once a mission was open, the financial drain only increased as the mission grew. Essentially, the missions never matured into self-supporting churches. The child-missions grew to adulthood in size but could never seen to ween. Glen began travelling throughout Africa and Asia, meeting with mission leaders and church-planters. He developed the BEST Program (Bi-Vocational Evangelist Support Training). The goal was to help mission personnel to better self-support by learning some basic business principles.
Ultimately, Glen realized that he was working at the wrong end of the organization. The adage, “Like father like son” had bearing. Missions in the field were operational prodigies of their parents. Perspectives, mentalities, operating acumen needed to change at the mission board level, as well. Yet even then, mission boards are the outcomes of their church organizations. Churches themselves had not been faring well for decades. They also needed help. But how?
The answer seemed the same and just as applicable out in mission fields as in church hierarchies: better organizational acumen. For-profit businesses have engaged in intensive studies of their operations for decades, attempting to increase their efficiency, improve their effectiveness, and better their operations. They call it Management Science.
Many people in churches and church leadership seem to resist any association with the terms business and science. That is regrettable. A “business” can be either for-profit or not-for-profit. It is just an organization. The term “science” simply means systematic study.
The field of management science has accumulated an enormous bank of information, systems, and processes. The field is wholly applicable to church organizations. Yet it does need to be selectively applied because we churches have different motivations and goals.
To prove this position, Glen approached the University of Birmingham in England. His proposition was to apply management science to church growth in a doctoral study. Eight years later and five academic firsts, he was awarded a PhD for his work. Two years later he launched SymbioDei to bring his efforts to bear and help churches grow.
Our name, SymbioDei, translates as “in symbiosis with God.” It parallels the Latin phrase “imago dei” translated as “image of God.” The Bible tells us that we are created in the image of God. The Bible also makes clear that God works through mankind to accomplish His will. Thus, we see ourselves working in symbiosis with God, as He designed it to be.
More commonly referred to as organizational or corporate “culture,” we prefer the term “ingenium.” The Latin cognate has been defined by some as a prerational genius: who a person is… before they know who they are. Ingenium appears often in English emerging in a variety of words. Such as:
⦁ Ingenious: a superior idea
⦁ Ingenuity: inventiveness
⦁ Engine: a power source used to drive a mechanism or process
⦁ Engineer: an individual who turns theories into working realities
All of these concepts align well with our identity and approach.
We coalesce a wide range of staff experiences into best practices. We turn theoretical abstractions into concrete processes. We are both creative and inventive. We seek to draw from all disciplines and experiences in an effort to provide solutions for wide-ranging client situations. We wish to be a resource in all areas of client need. We attempt to become everything possible to reach and assist as many clients as possible, in keeping with the wisdom of Paul who said in 1 Corinthians 9:22 (NIV) – “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”
SymbioDei does not offer God-for-profit solutions whereby doctrine is sacrificed in exchange for growth. Just the contrary, we hold that the preservation of doctrine outweighs all other interests. We are generators of systems and processes purposed for efficiency and growth. Our clients should work to adapt our systems to their needs – not adapt their doctrine to our systems.
Our mission is to become a primary resource to pastors, churches, and denominations.
Our vision is to see entire nations turning back to Christ.
We value the truths supplied in the Bible. They serve to guide our thoughts, actions, and relationships, elevating them onto higher ground and in alignment with God’s will. We value interdependence as a higher form of human existence exceeding that of independence and self-centeredness. We value persistence, employing the God-given virtues of free will, self-initiative, and responsibility.
Truth is scarce from such sources as governments, education, academia, media, internet, and filmmakers. From these sources, truth has degenerated into mere opinion. Survey averages have morphed into supreme declarations of normality.
Truth is hard to obtain from all entities other than churches. As truth is the living water, churches are its riverbed. God’s word:
⦁ Extends true love, demonstrating its value and determining its meaning.
⦁ Teaches us to be better humans.
⦁ Teaches us proper relations between a man and woman.
⦁ Determines right from wrong.
⦁ Offers salvation through Christ Jesus to all people.
Therefore, we equate the health and vitality of churches with the continued health and viability of the nations. As such, SymbioDei has dedicated its time, talents, and resources in partnership with the Divine to help churches grow and multiply.
⦁ If not by pastors, then who?
⦁ If not by churches, then what?
⦁ If not now, then when?
SymbioDei is a faith-based organization purposed to serve God and country by assisting churches of Protestant origin. We would not exist were it not for our faith. As such, our beliefs are fundamental to our purpose, mission, and operation.
We believe in the truth found in the Bible and profess a traditional credo Christian doctrine as established in the Apostolic Age of the New Testament. Our beliefs should be of interest, value, and comfort to all those whom
we serve. They should also be considered by any person or organization wishing to align with, or become part of, our organization. Our beliefs are summarized below.
The Bible:
Our beliefs are exclusively based on the Bible, which is the uniquely inspired and infallible Word of God. It is a revelation to all mankind and the final authority over all matters of faith and any personal conduct of which
it addresses. It teaches us that there is but only one God who is of superior reason and conscience to us. (2 Tim. 3:15-17; 1 Pet. 1:23-25; Heb. 4:12)
God
The one true God of the Bible has revealed Himself to be the creator and ruler of the universe, who exists simultaneously as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deut. 6:4; Mark 12:29; Isa. 43:10, 11; Matt. 28:19)
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, yet co-equal with both the Father and the Holy Spirit. He was born into this world by a virgin. He lived a perfect, sinless life, performed miracles, and atoned for our sins with this
death. (Isaiah 9:6, Matthew 1:22-23, John 1:1-5, John 14:10-30, Acts 1:9-11, Romans 1:3-4, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 1 Timothy 6:14-15, Titus 2:13, and Hebrews 4:14-15)
Salvation:
We are saved by grace of God through faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Salvation is a gift and not a result of our good works or of any human efforts. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians
2:16, 3:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 16:31; Hebrews 9:22)
The Church:
The Church exists to exalt God. It consists of a body of believers in Jesus Christ who are joined together to worship of God, engage in prayer and fellowship, and propagate the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ in accordance
with the Great Commission. (Acts 2:41-47, Matthew 28:19-20)
Men, Women, Children, & Family:
God created marriage and ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. Marriage is a covenant made between a man and a woman that makes them one. Gender is determined by God’s perfect will in biological
birth, not by surgical procedures and hormonal treatments. (Gen 2: 22, 24; Matt 19: 5-6)