This cognitive shift brought a new level of insight about their work which they could then incorporate into their writing when they returned to the high-tech room. Although the house itself, like the Kingdom of God, is not finally complete, all thirteen rooms and their furnishings taken together, give a more or less complete picture of what it looks like and feels like to be involved in urban ministry. Storytelling was another low technology strategy of the Interactive Urban Network. Encouraging participants to relate and reflect on their own and others' personal histories, provided one more rich opportunity for inner learning. It also turned out to be an important bonding experience with fellow urban leaders at the Urban Strategy Institute.
Some individual stories appear in the text.
Through the STEP UP technologies of Groupware and Internet, the Interactive Urban Network takes advantage of the latest technology to reach more people in absolute numbers. What this means is that urban ministers need no longer work in a vacuum or in isolation. They can work smarter and harder, without feeling that they are in it all alone. In materials the most it takes is some foam core board and colored markers, but it can work just as well with paper taped on the walls and charcoal, just so long as everyone can see. Stories can be written down by hand or just expressed orally.