Thanks Jordan for your help in capturing the time that was spent with Childers on the telephone last week Friday morning.
Childer’s Vital Signs – Sean Cordell Summary from April
1. Declaring/formulating a vision
2. Coaching
3. Leads over each area (signs)
Vision
Spiritual Renewal
Coaching/assessing
Talk & Questions for Childers
1. Should we consider having Childers come to TCT one day/year or two/days/year?
Childers: We will help you however we can! We will not let $ be an issue.
You asked me to hit TCT hard. The proposal is what you requested.
You saw the Lexus. What I would be very open to doing…is… (didn’t finish the sentence).
If the question is, “Am I flexible, with offering different services?” The answer is “Yes.”
The other answer is, “I’m very confident that you need more than a marriage retreat.”
That doesn’t mean that you need intensive weekly counseling. There’s something in between those two, and we could creatively work on, and would be within your means.
It’s not a “marriage retreat.” People are not trained by going to events, but by experiencing input, and practicing that input by a coach/mentor, and getting feedback.
That’s a process. For me that’s a non-negotiable. So in setting you up with a process, with intentionality, coaching, mentoring, we need to see that it cannot happen with a one-day event per year. A good metaphor would be, I don’t think a marriage retreat can serve your needs best. If that’s all you can do, we would do that. Not the best, but better than nothing.
TCT: “Seems good to us, and to the Holy Spirit.” What’s that?
Childers: It’s obvious that the “full meal deal” is not something your capable of. So, we need to find a happy medium.
2. What’s the best step from here?
Childers: Establish a regional network (Twin cities) that serves as a model for the other regional networks that would be established around the country where other TCT churches exist.
3. What about the distinction you’ve made between clergy vs laity led network?
Childers: A good healthy church planting network is not made up primarily of church planters. More important (?) would be the lay leadership that is brought into the network that makes up the greater network.
That (above statement) is called the “resource component” (spiritual gifts, and monetary). The laity are given a seat at the table, and have equal voice. A clergy-centered network will never become a movement. (Wesley? Methodism??).
Most networks have to fight the “law of gravity” that causes then to want to become clergy centered.
Thesis: All of the resources are already there, and yet to be tapped. We’re sitting on them, in the lay people, but just not released.
4. While establishing Twin Cities Network, what would distant TCT churches do? Come to MN network?
Childers: This (MN) is your prototype. I would argue for you to consider meeting in a way that the national network is periodically participating in the regional network (Like Kenny, Cleon going to the Atlanta network mtg).
National network being established would include having the network components being built into the fabric. We would rehearse those items in our first meeting with the laity that is brought from your churches. That’s A LOT easier to do on a regional level. Ease of travel, expenses.
The prototype would be the Twin Cities. Square one, we would seek to have the national network strengthened in each of these component areas.
The MN network carries the regional framework already, and can begin moving forward.
Regional Network: Each region would see what they dream of having.
