The Surprising Power of Gentle Curiosity

Coaching (#1):  The Surprising Power of Gentle Curiosity
March 6, 2016

Ministry in the LK10 Community is radically different from what you will find in most American churches.  Why? Because we take seriously the idea that God is always the initiator.  He is always at work before we show up.  And, this changes everything!  

One of the ways we, as leaders, help people discover what God is initiating in their lives is through a skill set called "coaching". Here's what we mean by that word...

Coaching is one person helping another by asking meaningful questions and listening deeply with gentile curiosity.  

To learn more about coaching, click on Coach Tim's smiling face below.  (This is Lesson Eight in our Leader 101 Course.)

Building Better Relationships

Building Better Relationships New Audio Teaching from Chip Brogden

Hello Dave! The Two Greatest Commandments – love God, and love your neighbor – all rely on RELATIONSHIPS. Just think about how many RELATIONSHIPS you have right now… Your relationship with God Your family relationships Your work and business relationships Your friends and neighbors Your brothers and sisters in Christ I believe there are some basic things you can learn and put into practice that will go a long ways toward improving ALL these relationships and making them better. ​ The idea is to give you some practical skills for building better relationships, fixing what’s broken, and getting more out of your existing relationships, dealing with difficult people, and much more. In Part 1 of this teaching series, you’ll learn: The Spiritual Significance of Relationships 5 Reasons Why Relationships Are Difficult 4 Biblical Spheres of Relationship 4 Wisdom Keys for Excellent Relationships Next Steps to Improve Your Relationships In Part 2 of this teaching series, you’ll learn: The Best Way to Start New Relationships How to Recognize and Deal With Toxic Relationships 5 Ways to Know When to Let Go 7 Steps to Reconciliation of Relationships Click the link below to learn more: http://www.chipbrogden.com/product/building-better-relationships/ I am your brother,

Chip Brogden

PO Box 1007
Wake Forest NC 27588

Intentional, Loving Relationships

Intentional, Loving Relationships

By Dann Spader

 

Years ago, a friend of mine always used to say, “All change comes through relationships.”

When I first heard this statement, I disagreed. But as I studied the life of Christ, I soon saw the reality of this principle in every aspect of Christ’s life. Jesus’ whole strategy of changing the world was rooted in building relationships with a few. As a matter of fact, the whole theology of the incarnation is that God became flesh and dwelt among us; Jesus adding humanity to His deity, become one of us, to impart His life to us. Christ knew that life change happens through relationships!

The more I study the life of Jesus and the more I watch people’s lives change, the more convinced I am that my friend was right. All life change does come through relationships—whether it a relationship between friends, between a parent and child, or a relationship with God through His Word. In fact, true Christianity is all about relationships, because full humanity means participating in and fostering loving relationships. Jesus was that true friend . . . both to sinners and His committed followers.

God’s deep concern for genuine loving relationships is one of the reasons the Creator of the universe decided to become flesh and dwell among us. He wanted us to be sure we understood this truth. God did not just tell us that He loves us; He chose to show us His great love by walking with us in relationship. First John 4: 9–10 tells us that, “This is how God showed His love among us; He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

What amazes me about Jesus is that when He took on flesh to dwell among us, He did not come as a conquering king or even as a wealthy aristocrat. He came as a baby, born in a manger and raised in an obscure village called Nazareth for thirty years. He then spent the rest of his years investing in people.

Robert Coleman speaks powerfully about Jesus’ relational focus on a few when he wrote:

The multitudes of discordant and bewildered souls were potentially ready to follow Him, but Jesus individually could not possibly give them the personal care they needed. His only hope was to get men imbued with His life who would do it for Him. Hence, He concentrated Himself upon those who were to be the beginning of this leadership. Though He did what He could to help the multitudes, He had do devote Himself primarily to a few men, rather than the masses, in order that the masses could at last be saved. This was the genius of His strategy.

It can often be said that people who are concentrating on a focused strategy often pursue their goals to the detriment of their relationships. The remarkable thing about Jesus was that relationships were His strategy.

 

What is SASHET in Nepali?

What is SASHET in Nepali?
March 1, 2016  

The LK10 Community is helping small groups (house churches, etc) around the world to deepen their relationships and connect on a heart level by using the simple practice of "checking in with SASHET".  So far, we have stories of SASHET being translated into Russian, German, French, Flemish (Dutch) and Spanish.

In the picture below, Joe Showalter, LK10 Coordinator in Ohio, is teaching SASHET to a Nepalese house church in Columbus.  If you have examples in a language other than English, send us a picture or tell us the story.

Want to learn more about "checking in with SASHET"? Sign up for our Church 101 Course.

When Going to Church Isn’t Enough

When Going to Church Isn’t Enough

Mar 01, 2016 10:59 am | Mike Glenn

When I was growing up, devotion to Christ was measured by one standard—attendance. Going to church on Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and of course, any revival services and mission conferences were the absolute proof of one’s love for Christ. For us, it was simple. If you loved Jesus, you went to church and you went to church a lot. If you didn’t love Jesus very much, you didn’t go to church very often.
I’m being a little factitious, but not much. Now, here’s why church attendance was important. When I was growing up, almost all of our religious instruction was done at church. You learned about Jesus, the Bible, the church, salvation, ethics, theology, and the practical implications of discipleship during all of those hours you were in church.
One of the reasons we were able to live like that was how strongly the community supported our Christian faith. My teachers were all friends of my parents. (Sometimes, that didn’t work out too well for me.) My coaches all went to our church. Everyone I knew—everyone who impacted my life—was a Christian.
Obviously, that’s changed. Not only have our communities changed, there’s no guarantee the individuals impacting your children will be Christ followers. The cultural ocean (social media, trends, music, movies, etc.) in which our children must swim is decidedly NOT Christian. This is the reality. It’s not cause for us to panic; we’ve been in these situations before. It is a time when we need to be serious and intentional about the discipleship of our children.
And the first disciplers of any child are the parents, and parents need to take this calling seriously. For one thing, parents are far more influential in their children’s lives than commonly assumed. Secondly, knowing HOW to live faithfully is far more important than knowing HOW to make a living.
Now, by all means, take your children to church. Worship with them, sing with them, but also read the Bible with them, pray with them, and tell them your own faith story. Going to church is great, but in our culture right now, it’s no longer enough.
The post When Going to Church Isn’t Enough appeared first on MikeGlennOnline.com.
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Is your dream as big as this one?

Hi Church,
Your prayers are appreciated as we head to Thailand this month to work with an international mission organization's leadership team. We won't take the time to ride elephants in the forest since we have 'been there, done that.' But you can pray with us that this organization's vision for ten-fold increase of harvest among unreached people groups will become reality!
Also, we thought you would enjoy the story below as it exemplifies the importance of spiritual transformation in raising people out of poverty!

Finally, if you are not following our travel journeys, you can sign up here for on-the-road, unedited stories from the field!

You help bring transformation that BREAKS POVERTY

Kaskil, church planter from the DR Congo, saw Victor and his family pulled out of poverty by the power of the Gospel:

Victor, a graduate from college, was unable to support his wife and newborn son. When the baby was born he begged for help from friends and relatives to pay the $25 needed for the hospital expense. Many times his living expenses were met the same way.
During this time, Kaskil invited him to start a discovery Bible study in his home to discuss the real life message that Jesus gives and how He changes people with new mindsets. Some of the Bible verses he shared address the false thinking that keeps people in poverty.
Victor said, “I just thought that Christianity was about going to church and praying. But there are many things that Jesus died on the cross to bring us. I found that He wants to change every area of my life.”
Today, Victor has seen his life change. “It’s like my eyes were opened and I got the vision of starting my own company and to be self-employed and to work hard.” He began a household services business that provides clothes washing, painting, and child care. “I found that I could work hard and trust that God would give me opportunities so that I could care for my family.”

As you support spiritual transformation in six different countries in East Africa, families are lifted in very practical ways!

Water filters you provide bring hope & health

When water filters were given to his community, a local government leader said, “This is God’s love-gift to my family and to our people.” He has begun a discovery Bible study in his own home and is excited that his people will see the health and life-saving benefits of clean water!
Thank you for your prayers and partnership that is changing lives!
With Love,
Roger and Brooks

A Question

We have friends her in the North American part of the minority world who have a common friend in the majority world who is a wonderfully fruitful disciple maker.  The idea was floated to invite this majority world brother to come and share with us here.  He is making disciples and most of us here are not.  

The idea was to see if the circle here could put up some funds for his airfare and an honorarium and commit to a weekend seminar together.  This did not happen simply because there was not sufficient commitment to it.   Nice idea but few wanted to commit to it.  All good. 

Then I thought what if there had been the commitment to the weekend but we had asked the majority world brother what he wanted to do with that commitment?

What commitment?  Well, to make the weekend work we would have needed about 30 people to put up at least $100 each to cover plane fare and a small honorarium.  Plus travel, food, lodging and time off work for those travelling could have added an additional average cost of $400 per person (assuming some were close by and could commute from home).  Thus the cost of the seminar could easily run to $20,000.  

So I asked the majority world brother which he would have wanted- to come and do the seminar for a $1,000 honorarium or have $20,000 to invest in all of the projects that he is involved with?  

His response?  He would take the $20,000 since anything he could say was  pretty much already on his website and face book pages and if some one really wanted to interact with him, they could do so via Skype.  

All hypothetical since the commitment was not there and the question was never asked but the truth is that minority world christians often spend more on conferences and seminars for themselves than they invest in their own communities or the  majority world.  

Your comments?

Your brother

Steve Hill