Old process of leadership training.
Key words: lecture (monologue) – classroom – teacher oriented – individualistic – theory – just in case learning – long time (think 3-4 years of seminary) – costly ($$$ for seminary)
Josh Packard’s recent report that 65 million American adults were once part of a church (often leaders) but have now left is nothing short of astonishing! This points to a huge failure of church leadership. And, that points to a failure of the typical training process for those leaders (ie, seminary). Now is time to consider other paradigms of leadership training.
Current systems “unraveling”
This failure of leadership and leadership training exists outside of the church as well. Organizational expert, Margaret Wheatley writes, “I believe that the old leadership paradigm has failed us and that our current systems will continue to unravel…If we are to resource our communities with new, life-affirming leadership, we need a very different model for how to educate and nourish leaders at a new level of scale.”
New process of Leadership Training (it’s also old because it’s similar to what Jesus did)
Key words: dialogue – student oriented – learning in community – practice – just in time learning – rapid development of leaders – inexpensive
Communities of Practice
The new paradigm for training and supporting leaders that Wheatley recommends is called a “community of practice“. The concept “community of practice” was developed to illuminate that learning is a social experience. We humans learn best when in relationship with others who share a common practice. We self-organize as communities with those who have skills and knowledge that are important to us…The literature on communities of practice is filled with stunning examples of how workers learn complex skills in rapid time when seated next to those who have the skill. And of how workers reach out electronically across the globe with a question to colleagues, and receive back immediate, expert advice that resolves a crisis or dilemma.”
The LK10 Community as a Community of Practice
What Margaret Wheatley describe as a “Community of Practice” is exactly what the LK10 Community is committed to. Go here for more information. In the article below, Barb Lidfors, describes how she experienced this kind of global “learning in community” recently. (Barb and her husband, Bob, are LK10 Coordinators in Germany.)
How God and the Internet grow relationships within the Luke 10 family
As an American living in Germany, I have been amazed and thankful for the many heartfelt relationships that we have developed within the Luke 10 community this last year. Through internet connections we have been able to bridge distance and cultural obstacles and build valued friendships.
Last week I had a Google-Hangout from our home in chilly Germany with one of the Luke 10 coordinators in warm California and one in dry Wyoming. On the Hangout, Mina, from the Bay Area, gave me a run down of ways she had experimented with check-ins in the groups she has led. One of her suggestions sounded perfect for our house church meeting later in the week. Next, Lisa, from Cheyenne, passed on her wisdom for maintaining marriage harmony – tried and tested through years of marriage experience. So, during this last week, my husband Bob and I imported the California suggestion into our German house church and applied the Wyoming conflict resolution techniques to our relationship – all with great success!
A few days later, Bob and I had a European leaders’ hangout with Luke 10 coordinators from Russia, Norway and France. During our discussions, Liv-Heidi in Norway shared her insights into Matt. 9:36 where Jesus’ compassion was prompted by those that were harassed and helpless. Understanding this has helped her in praying for those in need. Laura, in Paris, then spoke of the importance of not trying to carry the heaviness of deep compassion by ourselves. We can exchange it in prayer for the expectancy that God will indeed send out more workers to meet the needs in the harvest around us. From Russia we were encouraged by recent answers to prayer in Dennis’ ministry and we agreed to stand with him in new prayer challenges. Needless to say, these regular international Hangouts have been personally enriching and encouraging.
Apparently the cross-pollination of the gospel across international boundaries is one of God’s specialties! It is good to remember that the books of the Bible were written by people living in diverse lands and cultures. And on Pentecost, God birthed His church into a gathering of people from “every nation under heaven” in Jerusalem, insuring that the church would have an international DNA. So what has God been up to in all of this?
Aside from just plain wanting everyone in the world to hear His gospel, I imagine that God enjoys reveal different aspects of Himself through differing cultures. The seed he plants is always the same, but each culture’s soil enhances the growth of the church in different ways. We particularly experience this living as Americans here in Europe. When the church loses its international perspective, we can easily mistake our own cultural preferences for essential parts of the gospel, limiting our understanding of God’s worldwide plan. Generally the fact that the gospel in itself translates so easily into new cultures is amazing, something we have witnessed many times on ministry trips to India and Africa.
But the aspect of God’s cross-cultural strategy that I like the most is that which we experienced this last week. Irregardless of where we live and what culture we call home, the most important place of overlap with other believers is during those moments of sharing our hearts. It is here that God also opens up His heart to us and we are restored in our relationships with Him and with others. This is the reason we could cross-pollinate last week so nicely with Luke 10 friends in California, Wyoming, Norway, France and Russia – all while sitting at our computer in Germany and sipping our Italian espresso coffee!
Barbara Lidfors – March, 2016