Synergy, in general, may be defined as two or more agents working together to produce a result not obtainable by any of the agents independently.
In the first three parts of this interview with Jim Mellon and Wade Adams, we identified the following "agents" or components that create the synergy of the LK10 Apprenticeship.
1. Weekly (for 12 weeks) learning assignments
2. Private Facebook discussion group
3. Daily CO2 relationship with one other person
4. Personal coaching session every other week with cohort leader.
5. Community conference call every other week
In part four of this interview (see below), Jim and Wade comment on the final components...
6. Participants invest in the ministry of the cohort leader (see 1 Cor. 9:11)
Here's the best definition of the LK10 Apprenticeship: a small "community of practice" (a cohort of 12 people) that creates a powerful learning environment.
Our learning is focused on three foundational rhythms or practices...
1. Individually learning to pay attention to both our own hearts and God's heart.
2. Learning to pay attention in these two areas with one other person. We call this a CO2 (church of two).
3. Learning to pay attention in these areas with a small family like group. We call this a house church or simple church.
The learning environment of the Apprenticeship is the result of the synergy of several different components. In the last two posts we heard from Jim Mellon and Wade Adams about
1. The weekly learning assignments
2. The private Facebook discussion group
3. The CO2
In the video below Jim and Wade talk about two more components: coaching and group conference calls.
The LK10 Apprenticeship can best be described as a small "community of practice" that creates a powerful learning environment. Several components come together to create this community. In the video below, Jim Mellon and Wade Adams reflect on the third component: being a "church of two" (CO2) on a daily basis.
We are continuing to pay close attention to what God is doing through the LK10 Apprenticeship. Eight weeks have been completed with four weeks to go. This last week I was in Killeen, TX for a LK10 Leadership Training Conference. I had the opportunity to interview two of the twelve people who have been in my cohort.
Jim and Cathy Mellon are two of the mature, godly leaders in the house church movement. They started their first house church 18 years ago and helped found House2House Ministries about 10 years ago. http://www.site.house2house.com/
In the Apprenticeship, Jim has teamed up in a CO2 (church of two) with Wade Adams. The Lord moved Wade into the house church world in the last couple of years after 19 years as a pastor in traditional churches. So, these two men are mature, experienced Christian leaders.
The Apprenticeship can best be described as a small "community of practice" that creates a powerful learning environment. Several components come together to create this community. In the video below, Jim and Wade reflect on the first two components: weekly learning assignments and a Facebook discussion group.
I'll be reporting from time to time on how the Apprenticeship is going. In the video below, Tim Pynes tell about the first week with his cohort.
Each week there are learning assignments. The first week's assignments focused on learning about and then implementing the "church of two" (CO2). Each individual reports in their Discussion Forum what they are learning/experiencing. See below for a quote from one of the guys in Tim's cohort.
P.S. The Ning site that Tim mentions in the video is simplechurch.com not simplechurch.org
John
My wife and I have been doing C02 together over the past week. It has been awesome to have a daily check-in where we focus on our relationship with the Lord together. It's so easy to get busy around the house, cleaning up after the kids, and collapsing on the bed in exhaustion without making a focused effort to encounter Father together. It's been great. I'm thankful for the dynamic of doing C02 with my spouse.
The most surprising thing I encountered by using the SASHET method was an awareness of the state of my heart. I am a very driven, task-oriented person. It's easy for me to ignore the posture of my heart.
By using SASHET, it forced me to slow down and recognize how I am feeling. I like how John says that intimacy is the result of mutual self-disclosure. (JW: Actually, this is Kent Smith's quote!) As I recognize my intimate heart-posture and share that with my wife and with Father, I feel a deeper level of intimacy developing.
In the past few days, I’ve introduced you to the Smith Cohort and the Pynes Cohort.Today you will meet the White Cohort.Like the Pynes Cohort, my group will function as a virtual community although many of the people know each other.We also have an international element with Noah Cremisino in New Zealand.
One element of the virtual cohorts is conversation via internet discussion forums.Tim’s group will be experimenting with a Ning site and my group will try using a private Facebook group.We’ll let you know what we discover.
At the National House Church Conference last week, I caught up with two of the CO2s that will be in my cohort.See the video below for a bit of their stories. Notice that some of the cohort members are already thinking about how to pass the learning on to others.
Great comment from Carolyn Spence (Clovis, NM) in response to Mike Deaton's interview in yesterday's post:
OK, agreed! We need the opportunity to see it practised. My mother (89 years young) cried to experience the very tiny taste of our gathering in Clovis with MRT members from Albuquerque and Colorado saying, "now I see what you mean"... If you are going to spread a virus, personal physical contact works best... Carolyn
Today, we have an interview with JoEtta Deaton. She tells a similar story. To paraphrase: "By visiting some of the house churches in Brighton (CO), I experienced a whole different paradigm of church. What I saw was church that flowed out of listening to Jesus. This was transformational and I want to begin to try this out when we go back to Virginia".
(JW: This is the third of seven LK10 Practices. Church = a spiritual family focused on listening to Jesus.)
Now, listen to JoEtta tell the story in her own words below. Share with us your response to what she has to say.
In response to the story about the Hyatt family doing CO2, Jared Looney, a church planter in NYC, posted this comment yesterday...
We recently did S.A.S.H.E.T. as a family. That is, my wife, my five year old daughter, and me. My wife and I had practiced this tool in various settings before, but doing it as a family with our 5 year old was pretty awesome.
Isn't that encouraging! Nothing excites me more than stories of children, even young children, responding to these simple ways of doing/being church.
Today, in the fourth and last part of this interview, Sean tells how his family has shared CO2 with other families and individuals. Notice again how natural and almost effortless this is. It creates a whole new picture for the term "church planting".
Also makes me think of the title of Roland Allen's famous book: The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church.
There's lots of talk these days about "the missional church". The thinking is that the church needs to stop being so inwardly focused and become concerned about the needs of the world. We are told that this is accomplished by exhorting believers to change their focus and become more concerned about the lost and needy.
In the short video below, Sean tells a story that illustrates the alternative approach that LK10 takes towards becoming missional. Being missional is certainly a good thing. But, how this comes about is the critical element.
We believe that Jesus followers become more missional not by focusing on mission and trying harder but rather by focusing on listening to God. In other words, mission is not the starting place but rather the by-product of hearing God's voice. This kind of mission is natural, spontaneous and joyful.
So, two questions to ponder as you watch the video...
1. Imagine if there were hundreds (or thousands) of households in your city who were doing what the Hyatts are doing. What kind of learning would be going on in the hearts and minds of the children in those families? Doesn't this kind of "Christian education" beat what goes on in most Sunday School classes?
2. And, imagine the cumulative effect of hundreds (or thousands) of small family-centered "mission projects". How would that impact your city or region?
In today's short video below (3 minutes), Sean explains two things that might seem impossible to those of us who have spent our entire lives in traditional church.
First, he explains how he has trained his two boys (aged 7 and 10) to facilitate the family's daily CO2 (CO5!) time.
(Observation: children and teens often "get" CO2 more easily and more quickly than adults who have been in the current religious "system" for years.)
Second, he tells a story that illustrates that worship flows spontaneously out of listening.
(Observation: Simple church (CO2) is built on the belief that Jesus is really present when we meet in His name and that He is a great "worship leader". Worship is no longer something that we have to "make happen". It emerges naturally out of listening to Jesus.)
A CO2 (church of two) is simple. Two people committed to two practices as close to daily as possible.
But, the CO2 concept is also highly adaptable.Sean Hyatt has applied it to his family. (Since he has a wife and three young children, it's now a CO5!) The result is a simple way that families can function as churches (think "church = vibrant family of Jesus".
Over the next four days, I'll be sharing an interview with Sean where he tells how this has worked out in his family. Today, Sean explains that this is a model that has been sustainable over time and that he loves what it has produced in his family.
Two things for you to think about. First, what would happen to the church in America (or wherever you live) if this practice became normative for every family? Second, is there anyone you need to pass this on to?
What if there were small groups of Jesus followers meeting weekly to connect with one another and to listen to God for their city or region. And, what if these groups were so simple that they could multiply rapidly?
That's what an MRT is. The initials stand for Missional Resource Team. MRTs form around two practices or rhythms that allow for structure without hierarchy. In addition to six groups in Denver, the concept has spread organically to many other locations.
In the video below, a Denver MRT shares what they are learning and sends greetings to a group in New Zealand.
First, and most important, it changes our relationship with God. Here's how John Eldredge says it...
Whatever our situation in life - butcher, baker, candlestick maker - our deepest and most pressing need is to learn to walk with God. To hear his voice. To follow him intimately. It is the most essential turn of events that could every take place in the life of any human being, for it brings us back to the source of life. Everything else we long for can then flow forth from this union.Walking With God, xi.
A second thing that changes is how we approach ministry or mission. As with Jesus, mission flows from listening. See Jn. 5:19.
See the short video below for my interview with my friend, Hugh Brandt, on this subject of learning to hear God's voice.
Share with us your comments on what Hugh has to say.
More and more we are seeing regional or citywide gatherings of house churches. This last weekend (May 21 - 22), many house churches from Denver came together for a wonderful time of worship, fellowship and teaching. On Friday night there was a time of ministry and one of the men experienced a rather dramatic physical healing. On Saturday morning he told what God had done. See below for that story.
It's also about listening well to others as they share. It's about creating a safe place where people can talk about what they are really feeling.
This means we have to learn not to give advice during SASHET. Tod Brown explains more about this in a short video. Scroll down to "Digging Deeper into SASHET - Part 3. http://www.lk10resources.com/practice-2.html
What have you learned about doing SASHET well?
John
BTW - I had a great picture for this but the upload wasn't working!
How many times have you had that conversation with Christian friends at church or in other settings? We want to go deeper but we're not always sure how to do it. SASHET gives us a simple tool to do just that. To begin to develop heart level relationships.
At first glance, this tool appears so simple that we are tempted to dismiss it. Take a look at this 3 minute video where Tod Brown takes us deeper into SASHET. http://www.lk10resources.com/practice-2.html (Scroll all the way down.)
"How are you?"