Leadership Development in Community – Prophets

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Dec 13, 2007 in Church, Church Planting, Leadership, Ministry Design | 6 comments

Kaleo Church is a movement of people seeking to change San Diego by the power of the gospel.  As we have examined what it means to be the church, Kaleo has shifted our emphasis to people living together being the church in the neighborhoods and patterns of life they are already in.  These Missional Communities are where people live as a one-anothering community and express mercy, hospitality, love and mission to the city.  Corporately groups of Missional Communities gather together weekly to celebrate together, worship and share in gospel-learning.

As such, we have re-oriented much of our leadership development & discipleship through these communities.  Our goal is to create a systemic discipleship process for the people of Kaleo as well as bring systematic development to those who seek to grow in using their gifts in the community.  We see the people of God exercising their gifts as Prophets, Priests & Kings.  You can download the example of Missional Community Leader Development (pdf), which are typically more Prophet oriented.  This track would also lead to Elders, Teachers and Church Planters. 

See also: Priests & Kings  

Definitions

Prophetic type – an emphasis on the unchanging truths of God’s character, the gospel message and the mission of the Church.
Priestly type – an emphasis on the care of the soul and caring for one another.
Kingly type – an emphasis on the tangible working out of the mission through structures, strategic thinking and hands on activity

The Lie of Transparency in Community

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Dec 11, 2007 in Church | 2 comments

Another idea that came from the Caesar visit deals with Transparency vs. Vulnerability in community.  As a church seeks to see the gospel transform their community and lead them to mission, sin/idols are exposed.  One potential danger is that people who enter into the life of the community are willing to be transparent, but they are not vulnerable.  Meaning, you can have a person publicly profess sin, being very transparent BUT they have no intention of letting other people speak into their life toward change.  This false transparency appears like humility but it is a charade of self-righteousness behind the 'right things to say'.  

As people get into each others lives, we must 'submit one to another' to allow others to confront the idols of our hearts.   

Contextualizing the Story

Posted by D. Goodmanson on Dec 7, 2007 in Church, Sermon, Teaching | 15 comments

I've been able to enjoy a few days with Caesar Kalinowski from Soma Communities a movement that is led through people living missionally together to reach their cities (South Puget Sound).  Of all the churches we (Kaleo Church) have come across, we are finding we share the most in common with Soma.  Caesar has spent years studying communication as it applies to mission.  In these years of training, they have created a story-based dialogical approach to developing disciples, which has led to far better results than just telling people information.

Did you know that in the USA…

• Researchers believe that 70% or more of the people in North America prefer non-literate means of communication.
• Over 50% of people over age 16 are functionally illiterate*.
• 58% of the U.S. adult population never reads another book after high school.
• 42% of college graduates never read another book.
• 80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book last year.
• 57% of new books are not read to completion. Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.
• Each day, people in the US spend four hours watching TV, three hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.
• It is estimated that people spend as much as 80% of their non-working, non-sleeping time in front of a screen – TV or computer.

You can learn more about story & these statistics at Echo the Story.

Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, "Why do you always tell stories when you talk to people?”

Matthew 13:10

To see some of the stories & the questions that implicate people (meaning it's more than trying to throw application in the mix) into God's story and disciple them (I've done a couple with my kids and it's been GREAT.  Gideon is 4 and his answers have been excellent in thinking this stuff through) download these Gospel Story Narratives. 

UPDATE: Caesar sent the following, "in Soma we are also using narrative and dialogical forms of preaching that hold to a very high view of Scripture and the Gospel."  This is important because many who attack story/dialogical often dismiss this because they believe it diminishes the Bible as the authority.

QUESTIONS?  Ask away, Caesar has promised to answer any questions as to why current forms of preaching are not as effective and betray our missional endeavors and why he believes story/dialogical is critical to the future of the church.